Demonoid eTorrent Site Takes Fatal DDoS Strike
Recently Demonoid, a popular but private eTorrent community, was critically wounded by a DDoS strike, and as of this writing, remains comatose, keeping dependent users deeply worried the attack could fatally put an end to their service. In case you are wondering, eTorrent represents websites being used for peer-to-peer sharing/downloading of large files. While the process itself is not illegal, those who share copyrighted materials (materials obtained without legally paying for them) have given BitTorrent or eTorrent sites a very bad rep. In fact, authorities continue to aggressively identify and crack down on sites harboring pirated material, threatening extinction.
Like many other legitimate websites, Demonoid has not been without challenges in the past or its share of outages due to site errors, server migrations or changing of top level domains. However, this recent traffic jam and ultimate blackout came courtesy a strategic malicious attack also known as a DDoS or DNS strike. Hackers manipulate botnets, groups of infected systems, to launch a DNS strike or overload web traffic on targeted systems. Demonoid site seekers were surprised to get the following server error when they attempted a visit:
Server too busy
The action you requested could not be completed because the server is too busy. Please try again in a few minutes.
Questionable are subsequent reroutes to advertisements, such as bestfastget(dot)com, that reflect a low-trust rating and reportedly are malicious. When questioned, the Demonoid admin confirmed intentional rerouting to adverts in hopes of offsetting escalated bandwidth expenses due to the DNS strike. He also alluded downtime would continue to allow a full investigation and much needed maintenance to better block exploits or defend against malicious attacks, leaving many to worry about the future state of one of world's largest eTorrent sites.
Sadly, many PC users are not aware they may have innocently played a part in a DNS operative. Bots are secretly implanted on poorly guarded computer systems, allowing hackers to activate them at will after making use of a backdoor, also a malicious program installed without user's permission or knowledge. The Internet is a landmine, and one wrong step or click on a poisonous link or compromised website can deliver a nasty infection helping to turn your system into a viral warhead for a hacker or cybercrook. These days, malware is fortified by obfuscation tricks giving malicious programs longevity or extended life, if not eternal.
Many malicious programs, i.e. Trojans, computer worms or viruses, for example, are without an interface and are sneaky, working in the background stealing data, intercepting and installing more malicious programs by way of an unauthorized opened port. Malicious programs are built to disarm weaker defenses, thus keeping the victim in the dark and unaware an invasion is upon them. Malicious script can scan an entire system, copying personal or system data, including passwords and email addresses, for transmission to a remote server. The victim may not be aware that a keylogger was installed to capture keystrokes being entered in web-based forms of a financial nature nor a backdoor that gives a hacker remote access. This is how the hacker will turn the infected system into a bot so that he can use the resources to partake in a DNS strike, like the one wedged against Demonoid and so many others. Unfortunately, malware, i.e. scamming, hacking, phishing, hijacking, etc., is simply not going away too soon.
If your system is running slow, shutting down on its own or you are experiencing other weird behaviors such as force reroutes to unwanted URLs, there may be a nasty infection at the root of the mayhem. Be cautious of exploding alerts or unauthorized scans from some scanning tool you did not invite or install by yourself. Rogue security programs, another type of malicious programs, set up and simulate a security breach to dupe persons into buying useless software and distract while a Trojan ransacks the infected computer. Instead of panicking, fight aggressively by using a professional antimalware solution able to combat obfuscation tricks, i.e. rootkits, etc., and able to better guard your data and system resources going forth.
Update: Sources have verified that Demonoid is currently no longer redirecting.