What Is A DDoS?

DDoS incidents have become more and more prevalent of late, so Aaron examines what they are and how they affect us

If you’ve got a computer or a games console, you’ll probably be familiar with the term DDoS and know that it’s often referred to as a hack and linked with the

unavailability of various services. In the past, there have been numerous reports of groups of hackers launching DDoS attacks on specific companies, taking down services, inconveniencing users and causing the affected companies a lot of money. However, even with the term being more recognisable by the general public, the actual truth behind these attacks is often hidden or delivered in a misleading way. Let’s correct this and examine what DDoS incidents really are, what they can do and if they can be stopped.

The $9 Computer

David Briddock investigates an amazing value for money computer

What’s the right price for a barebones system-on-a-board computer? With well over five million boards sold so far, the Raspberry Pi certainly hit a sweet spot with its $35 offering. The original Model B has now been joined by the Model A , the Model B+ and most recently the significantly more powerful Raspberry Pi 2.

TokyoFlash Kisai Link

If you hate missing phone calls, this could be just what you need

Sometimes, I really miss my old Nokia phones. Unlike the fancy smartphones I have today, when they vibrated or rang, you were sure to feel or hear them. These days, missed calls and messages are a near certainty if I’m out and about, because when my phone (a Samsung S5) is in my pocket, its weedy speaker and vibration function simply don’t do enough to get my attention.

Dustbowl

As the dust settles, a post-apocalyptic world emerges. Can you survive?

There are some wonderfully creative and inspirational indie titles available on Steam at the moment. We seem to have entered an 80s-like golden era of the lone developer or small team releasing something that could easily blow a triple-A title out of the water. It’s something we and a lot of other gamers can appreciate and thoroughly enjoy.

Vodafone Smart Prime 6

Vodafone entices the young and mobile with cheap Lollipops

It seems like yesterday that I was getting excited about the Orange San Francisco delivering Gingerbread Android for less than £100. But these days, we expect so much more from PAYG phones, as well represented by the Vodafone Smart Prime 6.

BenQ treVolo

Michael has been organising his music listening with the help of a BenQ device

Adding to its range of products, BenQ has developed the enigmatically Bluetooth speaker named treVolo. This product comes with the claim of being the world’s first portable electrostatic speaker. The electrostatic reference means the speaker driver can emit sound both forwards and backwards, with the emphasis on the midand high-range frequencies.

Canon Maxify MB5350 A4 Inkjet Printer

The sunshine brings out an excellent printer deal from Canon

Regular readers of my reviews will probably know I’m not a huge fan of inkjet printers for business use. It’s the most expensive way to produce printed documents, even if the initial outlay is low.

However, recently I’ve seen a subtle shift, where the printer makers are going that extra mile to reduce per print cost and make these devices singularly more attractive.

G Drive ev ATC 1TB

Mark dishes out the kind of abuse that only the G Drive ev ATC can take

G-Technology is a division of HGST, the artist formerly known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, so that the fact it's making imaginative use of hard drives isn’t much of a revelation.

Netgear Arlo

Michael hands over the protection of his home while he is away to Arlo

While the name Arlo means 'Barberry free', the Arlo product offers to bring peace of mind in its role as a camera home security system. Developed by Netgear, the Arlo Smart Home Security Camera kit is available with different numbers of cameras plus other various items. This review is based on the two-camera package, which includes a base station, Ethernet cable, four magnetic mounts for attaching the cameras to walls and two sets of four lithium CR123 photo batteries. There's also claimed to be a quick start card but, in Netgear terminology, this turns out to be a URL from where you can download the relevant document.