4chan Hit by Distributed Denial of Service Attack

DDoSers get DDoSed

TechnologyNovember 2011 • Views: 24,310

The irony is almost palpable: 4chan hit by DDoS attack, struggling to get back online.

The website 4chan was taken offline Sunday by a distributed denial-of-service attack, and the team behind 4chan is still struggling to get back online. On Sunday morning, 4chan’s status blog reported: “Site down due to a large DDoS attack. We hope to have it back up soon.”

There were reports yesterday that 4chan was accessible again, though moving incredibly slowly. We haven’t been able to access 4chan.org this afternoon, and 4chan’s status page was updated this morning with the message: “Site continues to be down due to a DDoS attack, consisting of a UDP flood on port 80.”

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78 comments

McSpiff Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:20:29pm

Shouldn't that be incredibly easy for the upstream to filter, given that HTTP traffic is TCP and not UDP?

Kragar Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:21:26pm

THINK OF THE PRON!!! OH THE DEPRAVITY!

lawhawk Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:21:40pm

Facebook getting revenge for the porno-palooza occurring over the past couple of days? Anonymous getting payback for 4chan being 4chan?

Or an errant LOIC? They've been nuked from orbit.

wrenchwench Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:21:56pm

I hope this appeared on the screen, as it did on mine:

May God bless you my brothers, but the password is wrong.

goddamnedfrank Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:25:10pm

Unitedwisconsin.com was also hit with a ddos yesterday.

wrenchwench Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:26:05pm

Or maybe this appeared on the screen:

Image: medium_c21c2b3c1b759288099c19baf37690c5.jpg

Not that Brown seems worried, as is clear by his live streaming of his recent bubble bath while sipping red wine.

shutdown Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:26:14pm

Happens to 4chan every so often, IIRC. Anon periodically devours itself.

Kragar Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:28:08pm

re: #6 wrenchwench

Or maybe this appeared on the screen:

Image: medium_c21c2b3c1b759288099c19baf37690c5.jpg

Such imagery was uncalled for.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:31:11pm

re: #6 wrenchwench

Or maybe this appeared on the screen:

Image: medium_c21c2b3c1b759288099c19baf37690c5.jpg

Ewww - man nipples.

Obdicut Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:31:11pm

People also seem to think DDOS attacks are 'hacking'. They may be evidence of hacks that have already occurred, but the problem with DDOS attacks is there's no way of telling legitimate from illegitimate traffic, unless the DDOS is coming from one IP bank. which they often are.

Anyhoo, yeah, Anon turns on itself with great regularity. Again, the new, scrubbed up and besuited Anon that takes on corporations is a new thing. Their normal meat and potatoes is harassing 14 year old girls and asking them for nude pics.

wrenchwench Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:31:36pm

re: #8 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Such imagery was uncalled for.

Sorry.

Actually, if there is a DDoS attack, nothing appears on the screen, right?

(I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was) Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:32:08pm

This is not the first time this has happened, by far. Used to happen all the time, back in the days.

Obdicut Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:32:26pm

re: #11 wrenchwench

Sorry.

Actually, if there is a DDoS attack, nothing appears on the screen, right?

Yeah. It's not a hack. It's just putting in so many requests to the website that it can't handle the traffic and slows to a crawl, crashes, or what have you, depending on how it's set up.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:32:49pm

re: #10 Obdicut

People also seem to think DDOS attacks are 'hacking'. They may be evidence of hacks that have already occurred, but the problem with DDOS attacks is there's no way of telling legitimate from illegitimate traffic, unless the DDOS is coming from one IP bank. which they often are.

Anyhoo, yeah, Anon turns on itself with great regularity. Again, the new, scrubbed up and besuited Anon that takes on corporations is a new thing. Their normal meat and potatoes is harassing 14 year old girls and asking them for nude pics.

"meat and potatoes" - is that a euphemism for something?

Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:33:15pm

Stupid question time: is Skyrim playable, story-wise (not technically), as a standalone game? Never played any of the previous games in the series, but wanna try the last one, since everybody seems to be drooling about it.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:33:33pm

re: #13 Obdicut

Yeah. It's not a hack. It's just putting in so many requests to the website that it can't handle the traffic and slows to a crawl, crashes, or what have you, depending on how it's set up.

A clash of packets taking a header.

(edit)

Obdicut Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:35:02pm

re: #15 Sergey Romanov

Yes.

Idle Drifter Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:35:48pm

I wonder if this has something to do with the Pony Fan Fic contest (or War depending on who you talk to) between 4chan's /co/ and Ponychan. People sure do take their ponies seriously.

wrenchwench Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:36:12pm

re: #13 Obdicut

Yeah. It's not a hack. It's just putting in so many requests to the website that it can't handle the traffic and slows to a crawl, crashes, or what have you, depending on how it's set up.

So much for my attempted humor. Back to work before I attempt it again.

*Shakes warning finger at b_sharp*

engineer cat Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:36:45pm

re: #13 Obdicut

Yeah. It's not a hack. It's just putting in so many requests to the website that it can't handle the traffic and slows to a crawl, crashes, or what have you, depending on how it's set up.

i'm not much of a web person, but don't most servers have detection programs that stop processing packets when the arrive too quickly from a particular address?

i do know that if you programatically send the google servers search requests, therefore peppering the server way too quickly for any human being typing in a search string and hitting return, they will shut you down with a message accusing you of being a bot, which you are

McSpiff Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:38:18pm

re: #20 engineer dog

i'm not much of a web person, but don't most servers have detection programs that stop processing packets when the arrive too quickly from a particular address?

i do know that if you programatically send the google servers search requests, therefore peppering the server way too quickly for any human being typing in a search string and hitting return, they will shut you down with a message accusing you of being a bot, which you are

Its possible that the requests aren't even hitting the server. The upstream router may be forced to drop packets depending on the volume.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:38:28pm

re: #19 wrenchwench

So much for my attempted humor. Back to work before I attempt it again.

*Shakes warning finger at b_sharp*

Who, me?

Obdicut Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:38:37pm

re: #20 engineer dog

i'm not much of a web person, but don't most servers have detection programs that stop processing packets when the arrive too quickly from a particular address?

The first D in DDOS is Distributed.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:39:41pm

re: #23 Obdicut

The first D in DDOS is Distributed.

Is this thread in danger of becoming a thread thread?

Obdicut Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:41:04pm

re: #24 b_sharp

Is this thread in danger of becoming a thread thread?

A friend of mine's thesis is called The Danger of Danger. It's about how being in danger makes you more likely to take risks that put you in danger.

shutdown Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:42:17pm

re: #25 Obdicut

A friend of mine's thesis is called The Danger of Danger. It's about how being in danger makes you more likely to take risks that put you in danger.

I tried to find something about this concept that sounded derivative, but I failed. It sounds really interesting.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:42:56pm

re: #25 Obdicut

A friend of mine's thesis is called The Danger of Danger. It's about how being in danger makes you more likely to take risks that put you in danger.

OK, now you're just being redundant again.

Kragar Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:43:02pm

re: #25 Obdicut

A friend of mine's thesis is called The Danger of Danger. It's about how being in danger makes you more likely to take risks that put you in danger.

First rule of survival, don't take any risks.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:44:04pm

re: #28 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

First rule of survival, don't take any risks.

First rule of survival, do whatever is necessary to survive.

Fat Bastard Vegetarian Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:44:14pm

I've never been to 4chan. Am I missing something?

Kragar Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:44:37pm

re: #30 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

I've never been to 4chan. Am I missing something?

Traps and tentacle porn.

WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.] Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:45:39pm

re: #15 Sergey Romanov

Stupid question time: is Skyrim playable, story-wise (not technically), as a standalone game? Never played any of the previous games in the series, but wanna try the last one, since everybody seems to be drooling about it.

EVERYONE I KNOW is playing it

and this includes game developers who work for Bungie :D

Kragar Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:45:46pm

re: #29 b_sharp

First rule of survival, do whatever is necessary to survive.

Taking unnecessary risks aren't necessary.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:45:47pm

re: #31 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Traps and tentacle porn.

FBV, in his attempt to see all that tentacle porn, is the whole DDOS.

I Am Kreniigh! Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:45:49pm

re: #15 Sergey Romanov

Stupid question time: is Skyrim playable, story-wise (not technically), as a standalone game? Never played any of the previous games in the series, but wanna try the last one, since everybody seems to be drooling about it.

It should be. The series uses the same world and races and such, but it doesn't have the level of game-to-game continuity as Mass Effect or Dragon Age.

I started the series with the last game (Oblivion) and didn't need to know anything about the earlier ones. Skyrim is set centuries after Oblivion in a different part of the world, I believe, so no problem there.

lawhawk Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:45:56pm

re: #28 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

That's risky.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:46:35pm

re: #33 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Taking unnecessary risks aren't necessary.

Let's roll a die and see.

Fat Bastard Vegetarian Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:46:42pm

re: #34 b_sharp

FBV, in his attempt to see all that tentacle porn, is the whole DDOS.

I don't get that. But, DING!

WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.] Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:46:55pm

re: #31 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Traps and tentacle porn.

the incredible /d/ public enemy number one

five oh said freeze

Kragar Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:46:55pm

re: #32 WindUpBird

EVERYONE I KNOW is playing it

and this includes game developers who work for Bungie :D

I've got enough on my plate right now. I'll wait a few months and pick it up when Steam has a special on it.

Obdicut Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:47:32pm

re: #26 imp_62

I tried to find something about this concept that sounded derivative, but I failed. It sounds really interesting.

It's good stuff. It's on a masters and he's hoping to expand it into a PhD. There's some actual neurological backing for it to-- our brain acts differently when we think we might die or be injured than at other times. It's related to the 'life flashing before your eyes' sort of phenomenon.

One of the studies he included as background was this hilariously unethical one the air force did, where it had guys-- mostly pilots-- on a plane. Then they had the actual pilot of the plane put it into a steep dive, blew a smoke canister out an engine, told them the plane was crashing, and asked them to fill out some paperwork to make sure their heirs could get their life benefits. Seriously, plane going in, engine making terrible sounds, smoke pouring out and they asked them to fill out forms.

The result was that they tended to make a royal mess of the forms, but they all really did attempt to fill them out.

I wonder what they did after they pulled the plane up and announced it was just a test? I think I would have just straight-up vomited on the dude running the test or something.

Kragar Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:47:54pm

re: #39 WindUpBird

the incredible /d/ public enemy number one

five oh said freeze

Party van is here. The pool is closed due to aids.

WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.] Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:48:29pm

re: #42 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Party van is here. The pool is closed due to aids.

Obdicut Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:48:57pm

re: #30 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

I've never been to 4chan. Am I missing something?

You're more a somethingawful kind of guy, and that's a compliment.

WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.] Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:49:32pm

re: #44 Obdicut

You're more a somethingawful kind of guy, and that's a compliment.

PAK CHOOIE

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:49:48pm

re: #41 Obdicut

It's good stuff. It's on a masters and he's hoping to expand it into a PhD. There's some actual neurological backing for it to-- our brain acts differently when we think we might die or be injured than at other times. It's related to the 'life flashing before your eyes' sort of phenomenon.

One of the studies he included as background was this hilariously unethical one the air force did, where it had guys-- mostly pilots-- on a plane. Then they had the actual pilot of the plane put it into a steep dive, blew a smoke canister out an engine, told them the plane was crashing, and asked them to fill out some paperwork to make sure their heirs could get their life benefits. Seriously, plane going in, engine making terrible sounds, smoke pouring out and they asked them to fill out forms.

The result was that they tended to make a royal mess of the forms, but they all really did attempt to fill them out.

I wonder what they did after they pulled the plane up and announced it was just a test? I think I would have just straight-up vomited on the dude running the test or something.

You've heard the joke about castrating a bull with a pair of bricks and getting your thumbs in the way?

makeitstop Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:49:53pm

4chan, couldn't really care.

This, however, bums me out.

Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:50:13pm

re: #42 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Party van is here. The pool is closed due to aids.

Are you now or have you ever been a /b/-tard? @_@

Idle Drifter Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:50:19pm

re: #30 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

I've never been to 4chan. Am I missing something?

Well there's /b/ It's like Mos Eisley Spaceport. You'll never find a more retched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

shutdown Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:50:28pm

re: #31 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Traps and tentacle porn.

trap traps or ...?

Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:50:46pm

re: #47 makeitstop

4chan, couldn't really care.

This, however, bums me out.

They lost basketball?

makeitstop Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:50:53pm

re: #39 WindUpBird

the incredible /d/ public enemy number one

five oh said freeze

Yay for the PE ref.

BenghaziHoops Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:52:33pm

#occupy4chan

I wonder if they just couldn't shut down port 80 and open port 8080..

makeitstop Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:52:33pm

re: #52 makeitstop

Yay for the PE ref.

Full disclosure: No idea how/if this relates to 4chan.

Just a big fan of Nation of Millions.

Killgore Trout Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:52:43pm

I think we have a decision: Occupy Wall St. protesters can't camp in Zuccotti Park: judge

A judge backed up Mayor Bloomberg’s clean sweep of Zuccotti Park Tuesday, ruling that the city has the right to keep Occupy Wall Street protestors from camping out in what’s supposed to be a 24-hour open space for all of the public.

The ruling from the bench by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman will likely be appealed so it’s not yet clear whether the city will reopen the park and allow in protestors – without tents.

makeitstop Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:53:18pm

re: #51 Sergey Romanov

They lost basketball?

Of the NBA variety, yeah.

Stupid professional sports.

WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.] Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:53:27pm

re: #54 makeitstop

Full disclosure: No idea how/if this relates to 4chan.

Just a big fan of Nation of Millions.

/d/ is a board on 4chan for damaged people like me :D that's the only reference

Idle Drifter Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:53:45pm

re: #51 Sergey Romanov

They lost basketball?

The NBA can feel what I felt during the NHL 2005 season. Oh yeah, there wasn't an NHL 2005 season.

McSpiff Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:54:06pm

re: #53 HoosierHoops

#occupy4chan

I wonder if they just couldn't shut down port 80 and open port 8080..

Doubt it. The traffic isn't even hitting the web server daemon if they're sending UDP traffic IIRC.

jaunte Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:54:24pm

re: #56 makeitstop

Imagine how cheap it would get if the audience laid off for a year.

BenghaziHoops Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:55:37pm

re: #59 McSpiff

Doubt it. The traffic isn't even hitting the web server daemon if they're sending UDP traffic IIRC.

LOL..So they are flapping the router? Ironic...

McSpiff Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:55:40pm

re: #58 Idle Drifter

The NBA can feel what I felt during the NHL 2005 season. Oh yeah, there wasn't an NHL 2005 season.

The Leaf's best showing in years!

makeitstop Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:56:09pm

re: #58 Idle Drifter

The NBA can feel what I felt during the NHL 2005 season. Oh yeah, there wasn't an NHL 2005 season.

Might be headed that way. Best case scenario is a 50-game season.

Of course, the last 50-game season saw my Knicks make it to the Finals, only to get destroyed by the Spurs.

Still. Gimme quality hoops and cut the crap already.

Killgore Trout Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:56:38pm

Judge Upholds City Ban on Camping in Park
A state Supreme Court judge upheld the city's right to enforce rules that bar the Occupy Wall Street protesters from camping at Zuccotti Park.

The judge, Michael D. Stallman, wrote in his ruling Tuesday afternoon, "The court is mindful of movants' First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and peaceable assembly." But he added, quoting from another case, "Even protected speech is not equally permissible in all places and at all times." He said that the protesters "had not demonstrated that the rules adopted by the owners of the property, concededly after the demonstrations began, are not reasonable time place and manner restrictions permitted under the First Amendment."

During a hearing that lasted about an hour and 20 minutes in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, lawyers for the protesters told Justice Stallman that the actions of the city and the owner of Zuccotti Park impinged on their clients' First Amendment protections.

Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:56:52pm

re: #32 WindUpBird

EVERYONE I KNOW is playing it

and this includes game developers who work for Bungie :D

Heh. Well, that literally leaves me no choice.

McSpiff Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:57:01pm

re: #61 HoosierHoops

LOL..So they are flapping the router? Ironic...

That's what I'm guessing, although depending on 4chan's platform and configuration they may be swamping the server's networking stack... Not sure how that'd work to be honest.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:57:04pm

re: #53 HoosierHoops

#occupy4chan

I wonder if they just couldn't shut down port 80 and open port 8080..

How would that help? Without a proxy, it would be equivalent to blocking port 80.

Idle Drifter Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:58:07pm

re: #62 McSpiff

The Leaf's best showing in years!

I'm looking forward to the NHL reshuffle of divisions. I miss the Leafs and Red Wings rivalry.

b_Snark Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:58:14pm

BBL

WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.] Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:59:00pm

re: #65 Sergey Romanov

Heh. Well, that literally leaves me no choice.

/

I'm always late to the party on Elder Scrolls games, I've played all of them, but always after the buzz is gone

I was a big fan of Oblivion, even with its flaws, so Skyrim will probably make me very happy

shutdown Tue, Nov 15, 2011 1:59:09pm

re: #55 Killgore Trout

I think we have a decision: Occupy Wall St. protesters can't camp in Zuccotti Park: judge

Makes sense, as much as I would like to see the OWS campers find a place to remain outside and visible. No judge was going to allow a semi-permanent tent city on public ground. In London and in Zurich, churches have agreed to allow OWS campers on their grounds (St. Paul's in London, Offener St. Jakobs in Zurich). I would like to see that type of thing happen in New York.

Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton Tue, Nov 15, 2011 2:01:49pm

re: #70 WindUpBird

I'm always late to the party on Elder Scrolls games, I've played all of them, but always after the buzz is gone

I was a big fan of Oblivion, even with its flaws, so Skyrim will probably make me very happy

How continuous is the storyline? Or it's basically the same world but different personages and stories?

Idle Drifter Tue, Nov 15, 2011 2:02:04pm

re: #63 makeitstop

Might be headed that way. Best case scenario is a 50-game season.

Of course, the last 50-game season saw my Knicks make it to the Finals, only to get destroyed by the Spurs.

Still. Gimme quality hoops and cut the crap already.

I haven't been paying attention to the lockout but I can feel your pain. A year without your favorite sporting event is depressing. This deadlock between players and owners hurts regular people and cities more.

(I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was) Tue, Nov 15, 2011 2:15:28pm

re: #44 Obdicut

You're more a somethingawful kind of guy, and that's a compliment.

4chan was borne out of somethingawful, more or less.

Obdicut Tue, Nov 15, 2011 2:25:39pm

re: #74 000G

4chan was borne out of somethingawful, more or less.

Yep. By anime-lovers.

RadicalModerate Tue, Nov 15, 2011 2:41:53pm

Likely that it isn't Anonymous or LulzSec, as their MO is more of an attention-grabbing variety, and their attacks don't last more than a few hours.

The other group mentioned, Reddit, isn't nearly organized enough for something of this magnitude.

Personally, I'm guessing that this is another attack by Kimmo (of AnonTalk), who has engaged in huge amounts of threadspamming, online threats toward site administrator Christoper Poole (aka "moot"), and has engaged in multiple DDoS attacks toward both 4chan and other sites before. It's pretty well known that he has access to a fairly sizable botnet, and has leased time from server farms before to carry out his attacks. Since he resides in Sweden, prosecution efforts have been difficult.

Dancing along the light of day Tue, Nov 15, 2011 4:33:21pm

re: #6 wrenchwench

Or maybe this appeared on the screen:

Image: medium_c21c2b3c1b759288099c19baf37690c5.jpg

That is hysterical!

funky chicken Tue, Nov 15, 2011 6:20:48pm

re: #18 Idle Drifter

I wonder if this has something to do with the Pony Fan Fic contest (or War depending on who you talk to) between 4chan's /co/ and Ponychan. People sure do take their ponies seriously.

OK, is this a joke? I'm laughing, so hopefully this is a joke? I'm old, so I'm not quite sure.

Spy Mode Auto

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