July 27, 2004 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — In an event that severely hampered the performance of Google’s search engine, the Google (google.com) Web site was hit by the MyDoom virus on Monday, seriously disrupting service for several hours. Users who attempted searches during the disruption received a server error page.
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The problem began late on Monday morning and appeared to have been fixed by about 3:00 pm EST. Several countries were affected.
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According to Internet performance measurement and management service provider Keynote Systems (keynote.com), the latest version of the MyDoom virus combs search engines to find more recipients for its message, helping the virus spread. The virus coincided with a slowdown on the Internet and affected not only Google, but the Lycos, Yahoo and Alta Vista search engines, Keynote said. By about 7:00 pm EST, all four engines were reportedly operating normally.
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MessageLabs (messagelabs.com), a provider of managed email security services, also confirmed the spread of MyDoom, having intercepted 23,000 copies of W32.MyDoom.O.
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The trouble occurred the same day Google announced its plans to sell 24.6 million shares priced between $108 and $135 in its highly anticipated initial public offering.
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Google receives about 200 million search queries a day. Its Web index contains approximately 6 billion items.
