Google attacked my website! – Google Cloud Services DoS attack

And it wasn’t the first time.

The second day in a row, michaeltyler.co.uk has been hit by a Denial of Service attack eminating from ‘Google Cloud Services‘.

Each time, in the early hours of the morning, I’m visited by the ‘Google Cloud Service‘ bot, which subsequently visits ever page on my site in quick succession.Google

It’s called an

Asymmetric attack

(In this this type of attack, Application Layer receives high-workload requests that consume server resources such as RAM.)

This places an unnaturally high demand on the servers CPU, slowing the server down, and if left, possibly blowing it up. To stop this happening, when the CPU gets warm, it automatically designates the source and shuts it down, putting the offending site on error.

Each time, I’ve been able to trace the source of the problem to Google Cloud Services.

Google Cloud Services caching sites for their owners, but it’s closing my site down, maliciously!

Tracking code

Usually when you sign on to some sort of BOT activity on your site, you’re asked to put a verification code on there, to confirm that it’s actually you requesting the traffic, not some rogue element wishing to take your website down.

You as the owner, actively sign-on to have your site crawled. Continue reading “Google attacked my website! – Google Cloud Services DoS attack”

Sitting with your legs crossed

Not all it’s cracked up to be. Uncross them NOW.

Here’s the evidence…

Sitting With Your Legs Crossed? 4 Reasons To Stop Right Now

Sitting with crossed legs has health implications. [REX] 

Sitting with crossed legs has health implications. [REX] 

You probably cross your legs at least once while you’re having dinner, working at your desk, or pretty much any time you sit down. Odds are, you don’t even realise you’re doing it — you just sit and cross one leg over the other, like you’ve done for years.

But experts say you might want to rethink that habit: Crossing your legs can actually have some negative health effects. Here’s what you need to know:

It Causes Back And Neck Pain

In a perfect world, you’d sit facing forward with both feet planted squarely on the floor. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. Most of us shift our weight around, lean to one side or the other, or, yup, cross our legs.

According to orthopedic physical therapist Vivian Eisenstadt, crossing your legs is just asking for back and neck pain. Sitting with your legs crossed puts your hips in a torqued position, which can lead to the rotation of one of your pelvic bones, she explains. Since your pelvis is the base of support for your spine, it puts unnecessary pressure on your neck and lower and middle back when it’s rotated and unstable. And the longer you sit with your legs crossed, the more pressure you put on your spine, which increases the odds you’ll develop an issue.

“Days and weeks of doing this are one of the main reasons we have back and neck pain, as well as herniated discs,” she tells Yahoo Health.
Continue reading “Sitting with your legs crossed”

How Much Money Can You Make Teaching in China?

Taken from New Life ESL. An article on teaching in China, and how much money you can make.

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Monica

How Much Money Can You Make Teaching in China?

Ah, the golden question. Money makes the world go ‘round, indeed. But we always try to guide our applicants with the advice that you should absolutely not be chasing salary or city in China — you should be chasing trustworthiness in a school. While some are not as easily convinced as others, the truth is, there really is no one-size-fits-all guide to how much you can make here.Being in the recruiting game for around two years and teaching English for three, I’ve had the benefit of meeting all kinds of aspiring English teachers. There’s the person that read somewhere online they should be making 15,000RMB ($2,435) monthly with everything from their flight to China to their meals being covered by the school, yet they have no experience or degree. There’s the person who has been screwed over by so many schools and recruiters, yet for some reason, they still keep looking for jobs and constantly have their guard up with no matter whom they speak to. There’s the person that read all the online forums saying all agents are monsters robbing you of your salary. Which can absolutely be true for some, but luckily not for us, being that you’ll never sign a contract with New Life, only directly with schools we’ve introduced you to.And then, sometimes, on a really, really gorgeous day, when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping, we get that one person that fully understands that salary = experience, qualifications, and city tier. When this person applies on our site, I often can’t control myself and end up putting on my guilty pleasure playlist (it includes INXS), dancing around just moments before our Skype meeting. I sincerely love this person.Unlike most countries that accept foreign English teachers, China is unique in that salaries are based off the tier of the city. They can’t have foreigners coming in and making 12,000RMB a month and working 25 hours weekly while the locals are working 40 hours weekly making 2,000RMB. It’s just not fair. So here, I provide to you a full break down of what salaries will look like throughout China based on experience, city tier, and qualifications.

Continue reading “How Much Money Can You Make Teaching in China?”