Denial-of-service attack Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Denial-of-service attack - Essay Example There are a number of network activities which people carry out in order to prevent users from working with a particular website or virtual organization effectively. Denial-of-service attacks are not a new phenomenon in the technological industry. These attacks are launched to slowdown or affect the smooth running of a particular website. These attacks are really troublesome for the users who have an immediate need to launch a website and retrieve information or process a transaction online (Morley & Parker 2009, pp. 383-384). Such attacks are, hence, widely discussed by researchers and the debate relating to the causes, effects and prevention of such attacks has been continuously given attention. This paper aims to analyze the causes, effects and reasons behind denial-of-service attacks. Denial-of-attack refers to a situation created by an attacker with an aim to stop or make difficult for the legitimate users from accessing the information they require or using services offered onl ine (Komar et. Al., 2003, p. 99). An attacker may affect the performance of the network or the computer system of the user or the computers and network of the website that the user is trying to get access to (Zhang, Zheng & Ma 2008 p. 588). An attacker may be able to stop users from getting access to the emails, chat databases, websites, online services like banking, online educational websites etc and so on (Vacca 2007 p. 238). It is important to understand the ways in which an attacker manipulates or worsens the situation of the network and its working abilities. The most common method used by attackers of Denial-of-service attack is the use of massive amounts of information to slow down the network. The ‘flood’ of information or massive requests for access to a site for viewing the information uploaded there, prevents a number of legitimate users from gaining access (Das & Gulati 2004, p. 214). Servers are designed to process a limited number of access requests or in formation

Effects of Hurricane Katrina on the gulf coast Essay

Effects of Hurricane Katrina on the gulf coast - Essay Example Effects of Hurricane Katrina on the gulf coast To understand what happened to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast during Katrina, however, one must first understand a bit about hurricanes, tropical storms, and their classifications. Storm occur when there are four specific weather conditions present – low air pressure, warm temperatures, moist ocean air and tropical winds blowing near the equator. Hurricanes begin as a tropical depression, with wind speeds of 23-39 mph, and falling air pressure. Once the wind reaches speeds of 39-73 mph, it upgrades to a hurricane. Category 1 hurricanes have winds from 75-94 mph, which does not cause real damage to structures, only to mobile homes, trees and shrubs, and flooding is kept to a minimum (Brinkley , 2006, p. 17). Category 2 hurricanes have winds from 96-100 mph (Fradin & Fradin, 2010, p. 14). Category 3 is much stronger, with winds from 111-130 mph, which causes some structural damage to small residence, destroys mobile homes, and more flooding (Brinkley, 2006, p. 15). Category 4 hurricanes have winds from 131-155 mph (Fradin & Fradin, 2010, p. 14). Category 5 has winds in excess of 155 mph, which causes â€Å"complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 feet above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within five to ten miles of the shoreline may be required†.... Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 feet above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within five to ten miles of the shoreline may be required† (Brinkley, 2006, p. 17). Beginning as a tropical depression over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, then gaining strength while hitting landfall in Florida (Hoffman, 2005, p. 4), Hurricane Katrina began hitting the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 Hurricane, with winds up to 141 mph (DesRoaches, 2006, p. 1). The original reports were that Katrina might only hit the Gulf Coast as a Category 1, which is the lowest grade of Hurricane, but, even while reports were that she was a Category 1, there was apprehensiveness that she would pick up fury and steam before hitting the Gulf region (Reid & Theiss, 2005, p. 4). As Hurricane Katrina hit the mainland of America, in Florida, she was only a Category 1, with wind gusts of 80 MPH, but picked up strength as she passed the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which put the Gulf states of Mississippi and Louisiana into a state of emergency (Rodger, 2006, p. 11). While the devastation in New Orleans is what attracted the most attention, and is what will give Hurricane Katrina its most notoriety, Hurricane Katrina was a devastating storm all around, as it damaged 45 bridges, destroyed railroad tracks and caused debris to fall into the road which cost $200 million in cleanup costs (Rodger, 2006, p. 1). Of course, Katrina was not the only hurricane during the 2005 hurricane season, although she was easily the most famous of that bunch. 15 hurricanes