JUL 12, 22 (2/3) .. OUR WEBSITE IS EXPERIENCING A BRUTE FORCE ATTACK FROM HACKERS ..

OUR WEBSITE IS EXPERIENCING A BRUTE FORCE ATTACK FROM HACKERS ..

For all (and even more than) you ever wanted to know about a brute force attack on a website, please click onto the below wikipedia link ..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brute-force_attack

This attack is not new. Andrej, my webmaster, has been defending our website from attack by hackers for at least the past six (6) months.

What is new?  The intensity of the attacks continues to escalate. 

What to do? 

The most obvious way to block brute-force attacks is to simply lock out accounts after a defined number of incorrect password attempts. Account lockouts can last a specific duration, such as one hour, or the accounts could remain locked until manually unlocked by an administrator.

What is a computer bot? 

A bot — This is a term short for robot and also called an internet bot — is a computer program that operates as an agent for a user or other program or to simulate a human activity. Bots are normally used to automate certain tasks, meaning they can run without specific instructions from humans.

So our attacking hackers, without any use of their own time, can (using sophisticated computer programs employing bots) automatically continue to endlessly and relentlessly attack a website 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Andrej has been employing the above method of defense. When (even Andrej and myself) anyone or anything (such as a computer bot) attempts to log into our website, they get only one chance to log in. If their one effort is unsuccessful, they can not attempt to log in again for one full hour. IF, after the one full hour has passed, and they try again and fail, they are locked out for 24 hours.

Do you realize what a hassle this is for me. One mistake, one idle error, in entering my password and user identification, I am locked out for, first an hour, then a day. So far I have never failed on a second login attempt. Because I have become so super aware of this challenge, I haven’t made any login mistakes for some time now.

Andrej has decided to pull out all of the weaponry (and there are very sophisticated anti bot measures) available to, once-and-for-all, stop these hackers.

Why Oh Why Do Hackers Hack ?

Some common reasons for hacking include basic bragging rights, curiosity, revenge, boredom, challenge, theft for financial gain, sabotage, vandalism, corporate espionage, blackmail, and extortion. Hackers are known to regularly cite these reasons to explain their behavior.

If you are interested in reading more about hackers and their motivations, please click onto the below link.

https://cwatch.comodo.com/why-do-hackers-hack.php#:~:text=Some%20common%20reasons%20for%20hacking,reasons%20to%20explain%20their%20behavior.

But why our small website? What have we done to offend anyone? We’ll probably never in this lifetime know because there may be absolutely no reason (other than those listed above) that makes any sense to Patti and me.

We both hope.. 

If you haven’t already seen our earlier post about our seeing a wild moose at Sitka Park, please continue to scroll down and enjoy it.

Still Smiling, Bot Attacks not withstanding.

Cap and Patti

• ← JUL 12, 22 (1/3) .. ENJOY A SMALL TOUCH OF ALASKAN WILDLIFE WITH US
• JUL 12, 22 (3/3) .. A DAY WITH GREAT EXPECTATIONS .. →