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GoDaddy Goes Down, Anonymous Claims Responsibility
An anonymous reader writes "A member of the Anonymous hacktivist group appears to have taken down GoDaddy with a massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS). The widespread issue seems to be affecting countless websites and services around the world, although not for everyone. Godaddy.com is down, but so are some of the site's DNS servers, which means GoDaddy hosted e-mail accounts are down as well, and lots more. It's currently unclear if the servers are being unresponsive or if they are completely offline. Either way, the result is that if your DNS is hosted on GoDaddy, your site may also look as if it is down, because it cannot resolve."
I was just noticing the large number of sites that are down. I hope it gets resolved soon!
Back when GoDaddy was publicly in support of SOPA, I moved away from them. Ended up saving a lot as well.
No regrets.
-- lk t lv ll th vwls t f wrds. T svs lts f tm t wrt bt ts pn n th ss t rd nd mks m lk lk cmplt dpsht.
Hmm, attacking innocent people at random, could have sworn there was some other word for that...
Anonymous member AnonymousOwn3r has stated that this was not an Anonymous operation, and that he did this by himself.
Because they hacked an exploitable DNS system which every provider on the planet uses? Yeah, totally saw that one coming.
Hate to blame the victim but why on earth are you using godaddy who supports anyone having the ability to take your website down?
What information are you basing this one? GoDaddy itself does not appear down. This appears to be a DNS exploit. That would put .... oh I don't know... every single host on earth at risk.
Events like this further underline why we need a new secure, distributed DNS system, one that is not subject to tampering by either Anonymous or ICE. Yes, there's a huge installed base issue to deal with, but DNS is falling apart, and if things continue the way they have been, the Internet may be completely balkanized across national lines in a few more years.
Not saying that people that choose Go Daddy deserve to have their sites down, I don't blame the victim for choosing them as their provider, however Go Daddy is not exactly the most ethical company. I can see why they would be targeted in such an attack.
K Man
If you have registered your domain with Godaddy, and used a third party DNS, everything will be fine. I've found it's better to use a 3rd party DNS as it allows more flexibility in managing the domain name.
His point is that GoDaddy supported SOPA, which allowed companies to shut down websites on a whim.
If you continued to support GoDaddy after learning about this, then it is assumed you're fine with people's websites being shutdown for no good reason.
Therefore, why are you upset now?
You're the roofer on the Death Star. You knew the risks.
Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
you know, to let them know their network is down.
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
You could host your own dns, like a big boy.
This is what happens when you push everything out into the cloud. Somedays it rains and there ain't shit you can do about it.
By chance GoDaddy holds one of my domain since several days for ransom. Expiration date is tomorrow and they wont release it and delaying, reviewing, delaying. Requesting me to write them from an email under the domain name, not realizing that I am already doing this and they actually answering me to an email under the exact domain name. I guess to force me to renew with them due to the expiration date is their goal. Well, they manged. I have to renew today and now I can't even do that. The review60 team at GoDaddy is a class of its own. Besides shooting elephants, half naked girls and SOPA support, they just show unorthodox, unprofessional, possibly illegal business practices. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM! (The DOS attack is not their fault)
Citation needed
Perhaps a link to a document on their web site :)
You are right, I could. I don't sit on mutiple ISPs in a SAS70 rated datacenter with diverse physical location redundancy and power backup. So I let them do it. It would be trivial for me to move my DNS records. That totally misses the point. The hacking is causing loss of productivity. I know this is funny to you but for the people affected it is a giant waste of time and nothing will be accomplished by it.
If you're already with Gandi, check out their Simple Hosting. It's pretty slick, as far as basic hosting goes: you get your own Apache/MySQL/PHP processes, the web server runs with the same permissions as your user account (so setting up stuff like WordPress is trivial as there's no permissions-related issues), can host multiple separate sites on a single instance, etc.
Their VPSs are pretty standard paravirtualized Xen systems which work out pretty well (I ran a Team Fortress 2 gameserver for a while on one and it was stable and reliable).
As a domain customer you get a 50% discount code for the first year ($30/year rather than $60/year).
Disclaimer: Gandi customer, not employed by them in any way.
On top of that, you didn't read the TOS from GoDaddy. That allows *them* to turn your site off on a whim without prior notice. This might just be the hackers turning on the built-in kill switch for every GoDaddy site simultaneously.
I highly doubt that they didn't know the details of the bill. The bill was available via Thomas and it's broad strokes were known for quite some time.
GoDaddy wanted to placate the MPAA/RIAA/etc because it was a business decision. Once they realized that they had a massive exodus of customers, they made the business decision to reverse their stance.
Their decision had little to do with knowing the bill. Their decision was made because it was the fiscally responsible thing to do. They probably didn't predict that the fallout would be as drastic as it was.
We don't live in Shouldland.
So since people stopped caring about SOPA it's not a big deal now? It's getting pushed through piecemeal. I'm gonna laugh when your precious website can't be reliably hosted anywhere in the USA.
Lesson is: Don't do important business with losers.
So, you thought giving your domain name to a bunch of clowns that support laws that they don't understand was a good plan?
Doesn't seem to be working out good.
Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
Danica Patrick, fossilized and covered in Farina!
So a bunch of non-profit groups I support are down thanks to these "activists".
SOPA opposition, "ends justify the means even if it means f*cking over everyone with our scorched earth actions", and the "if you were stupid enough to be supporting our enemy then you are just collateral damage because we are so right we're justified in harming you to make a point" aside, I don't think it will win them many fans.
/me sips his coffee and ponders a new sig...
Well, it explains why my podcast app didn't update my favorite podcast--just ran a whois to confirm that they're hosted on GoDaddy.
What's obnoxious about something like this is that the attack isn't likely to get the attention of the general public. Most people will see their favorite site is down, say "Aw, shucks," and check again later. The news likely won't even mention this, what with election season going on and giving them better yellow journalism fodder. The people who will know the reason why some of their favorite sites are down are like those here on Slashdot: The same people that already dislike GoDaddy.
I'm not saying that protest is a bad thing--far from it. But ineffective protest is. All this attack accomplishes is to hurt the little guy--the people who use GoDaddy.
But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe GoDaddy's customers will all jump ship because of this. I doubt it, though.
If you can't convince them, convict them.
Considering their website stayed up during the whole attack, your joke fails. http://support.godaddy.com/godaddy/statement-about-sopa/
You're the roofer on the Death Star.
B-but... it's a sphere? How? Where... does the roof? I... i'm so confused.... Shouldn't he also be the, uh, waller... and flooring guy...? My childhood... crumbling... Nnooooooooooooo!
Oh well, at least I still have Clerks...
And how in your brain is Anonymous forcefully taking down websites based on their ideals any different than the Gov. using SOPA to take down websites?
Pot meet kettle, Hey! We're both black who-da-thunk!
I was going to be all like "citation required" and shit, but then I looked and I found this:
Bob Parsons' 16 Rules
(Yes. It's down at time of writing. That's the joke.)
Their decision was made because it was the short-run profiteering thing to do.
There, fixed that for ya. The fiscally responsible thing to do is to ensure the long-run fitness of the United States and global economy.
The MPAA and RIAA are pushing for increasing the strength of their regulatory monopolies to channel a larger share of GDP into their products, which shifts us further out on the cultural supply curve. That increases units produced and per-unit price, which has the effect of increasing cultural production while reducing the per-unit cost efficiency. That would be a good thing if we were suffering from a shortage of cultural production and the economy was running strong. Since we are on the opposite side of both those balances at the moment, however, supporting that agenda to curry their favor is short-run profiteering -- not fiscal responsibility.
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
His point is that GoDaddy supported SOPA, which allowed companies to shut down websites on a whim.
If you continued to support GoDaddy after learning about this, then it is assumed you're fine with people's websites being shutdown for no good reason.
Therefore, why are you upset now?
You're the roofer on the Death Star. You knew the risks.
Actually, his point is probably that GoDaddy's policies, regardless of SOPA/PIPA support, allow them to shut down websites on a whim. They've repeatedly demonstrated this by completely shutting down entire accounts when served a DMCA complaint for one site. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/05/25/1744246/photographer-threatened-with-legal-action-after-asserting-his-copyright is one example. (Part of the reason she went crazy was that all of her sites, including one regarding special needs children, were suspended after GoDaddy received the DMCA complaint over one photo on one specific site.)
GoDaddy has made it clear that it takes very little to convince them to suspend a customer's entire account. If you choose to use GoDaddy's services, that's a risk you're taking.
That might have mattered back when SOPA was still a thing people cared about.
This right there is why this stuff is so insidious. We have to be vigilant.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
I was giving good business advice actually, most of the time when I lose money it's because I wasn't selective who I trusted. So it's my fault for losing money because I trusted a moron with business.
Also good job with the rape out of the blue.. why don't you throw in some nazis and compare me to bush while you're at it. You're like the idiot who shops at wal-mart... except with best buy prices and customer service.
Its his only quote on wikiquote among other places: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bob_Parsons
You mean the advertising company that makes its profits by hijacking DNS requests?? The company that breaks things like MX lookups by default? The company that takes advantage of dimwits who thing anything with the word "Open" in the name is actually somehow open? That OpenDNS?
-Lod
A lot of companies (and unions) supported SOPA: http://www.scribd.com/doc/76259944/SOPA-Supporters
Therefore, why are you upset now?
Do you use a MasterCard or VISA? Do you watch ABC, follow pro football or basketball, buy books published by Random House, HarperCollins or McGraw-Hill, are a paying member of any of a dozen unions, buy any products made by Revlon, Pfizer, LOreal, Sony and a hundred other companies?
According to your logic, if any of the above is true, you should not be upset if a group of random hackers shuts down your website and causes you financial harm.
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
If i recall GoDaddy had a hand in writing the bill as well. they finally changed their stance after there was an exodus from their service over SOPA. and even then it seemed they only changed their stance because of their bottom dollar, and ultimately they still believed in it.
I pulled all my domains from GoDaddy a long time ago because of their SOPA support.
It seems anonymous is rather late to the party for this. all the SOPA stuff was many months ago.
What's obnoxious about something like this is that the attack isn't likely to get the attention of the general public. Most people will see their favorite site is down, say "Aw, shucks," and check again later.
"Most people" aren't the target audience here. The target audience is IT administrators who are given the task of choosing a domain hosting solution.
Domain hosting choice involves a lot of factors such as cost, customer satisfaction, down-time, and so on. If Anonymous can insert a new factor "being down due to backlash from unethical behaviour", they will have accomplished their goal.
Numerous studies show that tiny influences can have a noticeable effect on large populations. We see this all the time where human decision-making is involved - tiny influences will not sway any individual decision, but those same tiny effects have enough of an effect to be measurable in the population at large.
That's what Anonymous (or rather, the hacker with "Anonymous" in his name) is doing here - generating a new, tiny influence which might have an effect on the overall population.
They are bringing "company reputation" back into the purchase decision process.
Once they realized that they had a massive exodus of customers, they made the business decision to reverse their stance.
GoDaddy never reversed their stance on SOPA! They basically said that they will not be so upfront with their support of the bill.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
It's affecting a lot more than commerce.
My cancer research website is down, too. (Only works on computers that had cached the DNS entries.) So much for inviting seminar speakers today.
I'm an academic. I set my site up years ago (before all the SOPA business) and don't have time to muck with moving my site around, hosting DNS here and content there, and the like. I barely have time to maintain content in the middle of a busy research career. I suppose I'm now supposed to be an expert on mathematical modeling + cancer + hosting my own DNS?
It's always worth keeping in mind that these things affect far more than business sites.
OpenSource.MathCancer.org: open source comp bio
If you take your project seriously and believe your website is an important part of it, you simply must acquire the skill to make good decisions regarding it's implementation or hire an expert who can do this for you. You cannot stick your head in the sand and cry "I'm too busy, too important!" and expect any sympathy from me. Do you use that approach as an excuse for every area in which you fail to bring in proper expertise?
GoDaddy has a long track record of poor service and questionable practices the predates any SOPA business by many years. They offer nothing unique and have dozens of more reputable competitors. There is only one reason anyone uses GoDaddy: low cost.
This is your responsibility. Certainly you didn't end up using GoDaddy's services purely by random chance. A decision was made by someone, and it was made poorly. Probably someone trying to save a few bucks. It's highly unlikely that this will be the only ramification of that bad decision. It's also somewhat likely that other, similarly poor choices have been made in how your technical infrastructure is designed.
-Lod
This point has been brought up before. 'Godaddy' should have known better since they're in the technology business sector. Their whole business revolves around the lifeblood of the internet. I think practically every other registrar wasn't involved with SOPA one bit.
More to the point though, Goddaddy is simply a less efficient company compared to many, and the world would be better off without them (no offense intended, since it'd be great to free up their time for more productive tasks, or simply free time for its own sake).
Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
+5 Insightful.
For a quote taken out of context that means nothing even close to the implication.
full quote is
I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers.
He is talking about your own personal comfort zone.
Of course you either already knew that or were you just ignorantly posting stuff you heard but never understood?
Of course I still do not like GoDaddy.
I just dislike liars even more.
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?