# Microsoft being smurfed???

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-being-smurfed/51595>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 24, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-being-smurfed/51595 "2001-01-24T19:13:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Phouchg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/41988e/32.png) [@Phouchg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phouchg)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-being-smurfed/51595/1 "2001-01-24T19:13:49Z")

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I have been trying to hit various Microsoft sites today (including Hotmail, MSNBC, MSN, Expedia etc.) and I am getting timed out - this is both at work and at home…I tried a traceroute through [http://www.samspade.org](http://www.samspade.org) and it is timing out also.

What gives?

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**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-being-smurfed/51595/2 "2001-01-24T19:29:09Z")

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No, Microsoft isn’t being “smurfed.” There is an old saying, never attribute to maliciousness what can be ascribed to mere incompetence.  
Microsoft’s entire netspace was taken offline due to errors in DNS, caused by an incompetent domain registrar. The problem was corrected, if you still can’t get DNS then your local ISP hasn’t gotten the corrected DNS tables yet. Contact your local ISP and tell them about this article with some details and further links:

> **[Microsoft brings web sites back into play](https://www.theregister.com/2001/01/24/microsoft_brings_web_sites_back/)**
>
> Cock-up not crackers behind web site outage, say MS

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**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-being-smurfed/51595/3 "2001-01-24T21:29:47Z")

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Maybe. [http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,41387,00.html?tw=wn20010124](http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,41387,00.html?tw=wn20010124)

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**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-being-smurfed/51595/4 "2001-01-24T22:29:53Z")

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I was trying to get through to Hotmail, and I was redirected to a porn site. I am not kidding! I don’t think I typed in the URL incorrectly. Other times it just times out. What gives?