@mdmac92: Self defense and fighting for sport aren't the same thing. Aikido is perfectly fine for self defense against an ordinary human being who you don't want to maim. It's terrible for fighting a trained opponent when you're locked in a cage with them. Different tools for different situations.
@wrongway: I actually describe a bit of that half handshake sort of thing in a blog I wrote about DDoS attacks. We didn't really have time to dive into all of the different permutations in the interview or the article, but I always love hearing about the different, weird techniques people figure out.
@chalky_r_white: Thanks for that added info! I didn't want to get that far into the weeds in the piece, but I'm glad that someone added that clarification.
@redhook347: @audiobusting: Yeah that's my bad. I clobbed together the application and transport layers in that sentence. When I was writing I realized that most people don't actually know TCP and UDP exist, but HTTP relies on both of them and most people are familiar enough with that acronym that I wouldn't lose them. I ended up losing clarity when I was trying to avoid a long trip down layers of abstraction lane.
Thanks for the correction. The addressing and fields I mention are a TCP/UDP thing (more TCP than UDP), not an HTTP thing (though those two transportation level protocols are happening in the background of most internet interactions).
@megalowho: You can thank Austin for that. If I was left to my own devices, it'd be Magic cards and Final Fantasy all up and down this thing. Thank goodness for Austin's picture choices.
@stressedoutcat: Good to know! Like I said in the interview, I'm not an expert so it's good to hear that more strides are being made. Are those pieces of equipment used in the ISP level or the corporate server level?
@mikelemmer: Yeah in an earlier revision I ended the column by comparing a DDoS attack to a bullet. Yeah it takes down the target, but it doesn't really say a lot about security under normal circumstances.
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