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From: JawjB@aol.com
Message-ID: <3e.2d96f3ca.2bb1863d@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 05:15:25 EST
To: users@httpd.apache.org
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Subject: [users@httpd] Iraq war. Side effect on my logs.

Over the last week the number of hits to one page in my site increased 
dramatically. From about 10 a day to over 1000,

I only relate this story out of interest as the one thing you learn in this 
buisiness is that there is always another new problem or bug out there 
waiting to bite you on the bum.

On deciding to check my logs for some sort of DOS attack or malformed spider 
I couldn't find anything useful.

No IP visited over 30 times, no special spider. In fact the pattern appeared 
random with only a few having a REFER entry and only a few from search 
engines.

The only significant entry was fro a news organisation ntk.net with about 25%.

I then looked at the page in questio as this is a 'Holiday Home Exchange 
Site'  and not particlularly newsworthy.

And now a small glimmer of understanding dawned.

The page for the offer of a Home Swap, which has existed for 3 years, 
displayed the details of a house in Baghdad 
The home,town and area descriptions contain words like 'airport'', 'full 
security', ' guard', 'American'  all in an inauspicious context.

The only conclusion I can draw, as I don't think that anyone really wants to 
home swap to Baghdad at the moment, is that there is a lot of information 
stored 'out there somewhere' that we don't know much about and a lot of very 
busy agencies (800 different IP hits).

So what moral can I draw.
1. Whenever you go looking for the expected always be prepared for the 
unexpected.
2. Big brother (or Junior in this case) is watching over us.

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