Alert: Planned Site Outage Tonight: Tue. July 28th, 9pm-Midnight PST
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Care2 is being hit with a DDOS attack
Jun 16, 2009

Starting at around 9:30pm on Monday, June 15th, Care2's PetitionSite has been under a DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack.  This is a malicious attack intended to overload our servers and shut down our site.  If you are unable to reach thePetitionSite.com, or find Care2.com slow, the cause is this cyber attack.

We are working with our ISP, and taking a variety of measures to counteract the attack, however, the attackers have adjusted their tactics in response.

The attack is large, and appears to be from tens of thousands of computers.  DDOS attacks are usually perpetrated via viruses that have infected computers around the globe.  The perpetrators take control of the computers to send massive numbers of requests to a server, thereby overwhelming it. It is hard to fight because it is coming from so many computers, and new computers are periodically brought online to continue the attack.

We do not know who is behind the attack. Clearly, someone is threatened with the impact the PetitionSite is having.  It's possible the attack is being coordinated by a single unhappy hacker, or it's possible it's related to some of the petitions we've recently had related to international events.  It's pure speculation at this point as we simply do not know, however its size and characteristics suggest it's a well coordinated attack.

If you are unable to access Care2, please check our twitter pages (see Care2 and my twitter account) for updates on the situation. 

Thank you for your patience. We will have things back to normal as fast as we possibly can.

[update: Mon Jun 22nd: The attack is back on in force, probably 4 times the original size.  You will likely be unable to connect to the petitionsite periodically as we take measures to thwart the attack.

Obviously, someone wants thePetitionSite.com shut down.  Given the cost of the attack (estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars), it's very hard to believe this is the work of an individual.  I'm not usually one for conspiracy theories, but the cost, combined with the timing of these attacks (on the heels of a petition to free Euna Lee and Laura Ling from North Korea and various petitions related to the disputed Iranian election) raise troubling questions.]
Visibility: Everyone
Posted: Tuesday June 16, 2009, 10:31 pm
Tags: attack DOS cyberattack DDOS dosattack [add/edit tags]

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wolfgang s. (13) 		Wednesday June 17, 2009, 1:19 am
Thanx for the information

Patricio D. (0) 		Wednesday June 17, 2009, 6:26 am
Itīs hard to fight against that, I hope it doesnīt last long

Michael Owens (1626) 		Wednesday June 17, 2009, 8:38 am
I hope care2 can take care of the attack.

Jenny Dooley (433) 		Wednesday June 17, 2009, 10:51 am
Thanks for letting us know, Randy. The situation does sound bad. I hope the Care2 team can deal with it without too much trouble.

Deb A. (33) 		Wednesday June 17, 2009, 11:46 am
Thank you for this. I thought it was just our puter playing up as usual. Its amazing that the Power of People can scare for this to happen. We are doing a good job then, well done to everyone. Hope this problem can be fixed.

Cheryl Sunshine Benson (524) 		Thursday June 18, 2009, 2:00 am
thx 4 notice going around by members. want to share on FACEbook, I dont see a share button for blogs, humm, maybe an idea. namaste

Cheryl Sunshine Benson (524) 		Thursday June 18, 2009, 2:01 am
or RSS to import or am I missing it and half asleep

Carrie Burton (139) 		Thursday June 18, 2009, 6:04 am
Thanks so much for the info. I'm sure things will be back to normal soon!

Aisha Ameena Rafeeq (660) 		Thursday June 18, 2009, 7:14 am
Thank you for the update Randy, I hope it is fixed soon :(

Past Member (0) 		Friday June 19, 2009, 5:43 am
Thank you Randy and team.It has been happening a month.Hope you can stop this soon.Always take action!!!

Darice Wert (11) 		Sunday June 21, 2009, 10:06 am
Randy.
Hi been with Care2 for a long time and love it, but have not been able to even access my e-mail for two days. i can log in but can not get to e-mail. Says it is a errd2007 on page. I know you are working on it and thanks very much hope that others are not having this problem as well.

Nona B. (16) 		Monday June 22, 2009, 12:53 am
Randy, I cannot imagine who would be so evil to do this to your wonderful website! I am unable to open anything except your newsletter. I hope you will have everything back to normal quickly!

Road LessTraveled (3129) 		Tuesday June 23, 2009, 7:54 am
Based on the 'clues' and evidence, it is starting to look like either Iran or North Korea... hmmmmm.


CHIEF DUBIE (213) 		Tuesday June 23, 2009, 9:53 pm
The Internet and free speech it's self are under attack, I have lost all of my friends, yet again, what better way to silence someone, than disconnect them from their friends!!!

Patrice J. (44) 		Wednesday June 24, 2009, 11:36 am
I will be fighting the attack by signing as many petitions as humanly possible. I advise everyone who can still access the petitions page to do the same.

Anonymous A. (2) 		Thursday June 25, 2009, 2:41 pm
I find this very disturbing. This site is meant to help not hurt. I am happy to of found this where people like myself have the same beliefs in many areas and would like to believe that all who are part of this site is here for the same reason more positive than negative. This is my only connection to help out with an email address. I couldn'd do it without this site. I am saddened that there are care2 hackers, hijackers or terrorists on here, afraid that their dirty little secrets will get out if this is the case. Shame on them who ever they are. We are here for the good of all no matter where in the world it is. I am hoping that they will stop attacking this site and move along their business and think about what they are doing and their own issues. LEAVE US ALONE ON CARE2.

Patrice J. (44) 		Friday June 26, 2009, 12:09 pm
Randy, is there any chance that I will be able to get myemail account back, intact? Will I need to sign up for another email account?

Randy Paynter (470) 		Sunday June 28, 2009, 12:22 pm
Thank you all for your concern over this situation. It seems we've been able to out-maneuver the attackers, and they appear to have given up. All aspects of Care2 should be operating normally. Of course, last time I thought we were clear the attack came back the next day, so time will tell.

This has been frustrating and costly, but if anything, makes us all the more resolute in our efforts to support freedom of speech throughout the world. As the saying goes, “the pioneers were the ones with the arrows in their backs."

Susan Brady (0) 		Tuesday June 30, 2009, 8:47 pm
Hi Randy I'm also getting errd2007 on my email page. Do you know if I will be able to use it ever again?

Paul McGill (3) 		Tuesday July 21, 2009, 7:43 pm
blocked from care2 email today errD2007? help!
Paul Mc

Brittany Connor (2) 		Saturday August 1, 2009, 8:25 am
If people are attacking the website, then it must be causing some sort of effect.

Past Member (0) 		Wednesday September 9, 2009, 11:55 pm
Hi! I'm having this problem. Haven't had email for one week and no one will respond to my requests. I guess my care2 email account is just no longer valid. Bummer. I loved the news and information...

Quintessence Challis (8) 		Wednesday September 23, 2009, 12:12 pm
i am having this problem as well, and can't see my e-mails! Anyone have a solution yet??

Jasmin S. (0) 		Sunday September 27, 2009, 11:21 pm
I am also receiving errD2007, can we please get an update on the situation?

Carla H. (1) 		Monday September 28, 2009, 9:04 am
I can't read my emails, when will this be repaired?
c3harrison

Danny Goldberg (0) 		Tuesday September 29, 2009, 10:55 am
Anyone know how to gather my contacts from my care2 e-mail account?
I keep getting the screen: errD2007

Ayesha Ayesha (0) 		Wednesday September 30, 2009, 7:41 pm
errD2007

DITTO being denied access for like 3days now. this is a bit unsettling because i have work oriented stuff fwd to my personal email and now i can't even access it for a pending conference call tommorow.

HELP!!!!
Customer service recording states that a human doesn't check the voice mail and I've sent at least a 1/2 dozen help request emails.... UGGGHHH!


Carla H. (1) 		Tuesday November 3, 2009, 9:43 am
This needs to be handled in a quick way. This is the second time it has happened. I will be looking for a new email account. I have work related email and need to access this information.

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Randy Paynter
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