How I Think about Site Attacks
We are in the midst of getting hit right now by some attacks. We are working really hard at fixing it right now. Our programmers keeps knocking these things down, so then these guys try a new strategy. This is not new. We've been doing this for years now. I've had a lot of time to think about this. Here are some thoughts that help me cope when these things happen:
1. These guys don't attack sites that don't matter. We are actually doing a lot of good here and trying to change the world. The energy they utilize to try to knock us down is evidence that we are succeeding.
2. Stress is good. Nobody likes dealing with stress, but it forces you to cope and it makes you stronger. We've implemented hundreds of fixes to protect our community. When we implement fixes it keeps more bad guys out. We are doing that same thing now and after tonight, we'll be much more stronger than we were earlier today.
3. Attacks unify us. They make us stronger. I don't think this is something attackers really understand, otherwise they'd stop. I look at this as an opportunity for us to become a stronger and more unified community.
Please really think on these things with me. We'll have this figured out soon. We'll be stronger on the other side and even more unstoppable than we were before!
Dealing with obstacles makes us grow stronger, keep up the great work dev team! ❤️
Thank you, Glen, for this update and these thoughts! You guys work so hard, thank you so much.
Absolutely! Let's stick together in these annoying times! ( I currently have bad internet and am trying to remember that stress is good, it's not going great... xD)
I agree, this was inspirational to hear about in the middle of an attack. Thank you!
I would suggest spinning up load balances and/or getting Incapsula or Cloudflare who can take a beating without flinching, it's easy to mitigate with those.
Also, it doesn't matter whether they are attack it because its a support site or not. Its probably because this site has no form of security
@MarquisPorter Without going into lots of details, I can assure you the site has very good security.
@GlenM Then how come every single day the site barely functions, not to mention it seems like every month someone attacks it.
@MarquisPorter
think of it like an arms race. people attack, we defend. we make preemptive protections, they look for ways to circumvent them.
there have been some mounting attacks lately, but we have pretty good data and I beleiv your generalizations are a bit off.
@MarquisPorter
quick question, since your account was made yesterday -- where did you get the idea after one day that "every month" someone attacks us?
@KrinkTheMellowUnicorn Because I had another account before?? 😂😂😂
So I guess the forums aren't having problems, just the chats?
@Alystem The forums and feed seem to be working correctly at the moment
@Alystem chats are back up and functional now.
@GlenM The group chats seem to still be having issues. The rooms aren't updating automatically when new messages are being sent out. Users have to hop from one room to another in order to force the room to update for them and that's when they see the new messages.
Thank you for posting this topic. It's reassuring to know the cause is known and that people are actively working to protect us.
@GlenM Yeah it's still not really working.
@GlenM I am still having to refresh to see any chat, and it took several minutes to load this forum.
Attacks show us what we can do better and then we do that even better and become even stronger.
Attacks show us that even though we are a loving and unified community, we have the potential to grow even more unified and resilient.
Attacks show us how valuable we are as a community that someone is ready to expend their skills, time and energy to impact us. Even though I wish those skills were used to make 7 Cups better and get help to more people in need.
Most likely DDOS with bot/tel net. Maybe you can get a DDOS protection? Just a option, love the site ofcourse!
I asked in a room if I was allowed to post something. They agreed, so to help keep some semblance of normalcy, I posted this in each of the rooms:
"Anybody who's currently seeking 1-on-1 support may find that the wait times will be long. Seeking support in the rooms from friendly faces may be the best option at this time, as we work to resolve some technical difficulties. Thank you for each of you for your kind words of support and encouragement that we see you share toward one another"
They wouldn't be able to see it unless they refreshed, but it may have helped. At least that was the hope.