An issue on security: Is denial of service the way out?

Gary Strode

Active Trader
Jul 6, 2010
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A denial of service problem occurs when too many client requests are made over networks to servers. It is a digital gridlock, similar to too many cars trying to merge onto a highway at once. It differs from 'traditional problems,' such as viruses, trojan horses or worms, which infect files so that the files are distorted, erased, or made inoperable. The former builds a dam and stops the flow of information.

In the mid-1990's, certain group of 'netizens' joined and 'flamed' other netizens to protest against their errant online behavior. It resembled a spontaneous protest march. In the US, it occurred for the first time when two aggressive lawyers sent unsolicited mail (spam) over the net to solicit business. Netizens were so inflamed and outraged that they retaliated by sending innumerable messages back to lawyers so that their servers could not handle the incoming traffic and could no longer function. This was largely an ad hoc kind of attack that predated the strategic denial of service.

In 1996, thousands of messages sent by a single machine brought down Panix, a renowned Internet Service Provider (ISP). The messages required the machines of Panix to perform bogus 'housekeeping chores' (such as checking account data and storage space). The normal service of the ISP was interrupted, as its machines were busy performing these requests. The denial of service attack engaged too much of Panix's resources with frequent and fake requests.

The best forex platform managers have taken pains to manage these problems. To solicit business they never indulge in sending spam mails. Instead, their own reputation has helped them to garner more business. The prominent forex platforms have dealt with this 'denial of service' by incorporating emergency lines. In addition to that, the modern intelligent software modules have done a good job in managing such situations.