Arbor Networks: How Popular was Megaupload(2)?

   
Jose Nazario, Senior Manager of Security Research, Arbor Networks, helps us to analyze if what " Friends of mine from elsewhere in the world have been joking that the Internet seems to be running a bit smoother today. That may be, given how much bandwidth appears to have been freed up." it true, line Sandvine did 2 days ago (here).

 

"..  With enough global data, you can actually see the traffic drop when the shutdown occurs. Based strictly on the traffic rates it appears that the shutdown started just after 19:00 GMT on January 19, with traffic plummeting down over the next two hours. The graphic here shows three main client regions – Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the US. Over the past 24 hours, the top countries (in aggregate) using MegaUpload were the United States, France, Germany, Brazil, Great Britain, Turkey, Italy, and Spain, although dozens more countries are represented".

While the Sandvine chart seems to show an immediate drop to 0 bps at time of closure, Arbor shows a slowdown, and even some growth, in the hours following the disconnection. 

 

See "The MegaUpload Shutdown Effect" -here.