Astalavista.box.sk
The astalavista.box.sk web portal in 1999
Type of site
Search engine
Available inEnglish
Headquarters
Slovakia
URLwww.astalavista.box.sk
AdvertisingYes
RegistrationNo
Launched1994 (1994)
Current statusInactive

astalavista.box.sk was founded in 1994[1] as one of the first search engines for computer security information. In practice it turned out to be used as a search engine for security exploits, software for hacking, cracking and different keygenerators and software cracks.[2]

In the early 1990s and 2000s, the site was popular[3] among people interested in hacking or securing systems against hacking.[4] The site is known for referencing things such as spyware and viruses and because of this the website is known to possibly contain data, links, downloadable files, and information some users would consider spyware, adware, or other unwanted programs.[5] Besides possible links to viruses, the website used to display adult adverts.[6]

Previously, the website was part of a larger network of websites all using the box.sk domain. These websites all catered to different downloads, including MP3 music, DVD rips, and digital graphics[7] and other hacking websites, such as New Order.[8]

Astalavista.box.sk is hosted in Slovakia. Astalavista is a pun on the Spanish phrase "hasta la vista" (meaning "see you later"). It has been speculated that the name was a play on the 90's web search engine Altavista, however, that was launched a year later in 1995.

Astalavista.box.sk was not affiliated to astalavista.com, which was a separate hacking community, found in 1997.[9]

On April 7, 2021, an article was published on Medium.com by Dancho Danchev stating that the site is back up and running. Subsequent attempts to reach the site however lead to a 503 Service Unavailable error on the website.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "astalavista.box.sk". Le Monde.fr. 13 December 2000. Retrieved 9 April 2023 – via Le Monde.
  2. ↑ Cohen, Adam (2001-06-24). "Internet Insecurity". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  3. ↑ Крупник, Александр Борисович (2006). Поиск в Интернете (in Russian). Издательский дом "Питер". p. 117. ISBN 9785469011446.
  4. ↑ Hack Proofing Your Network. 2002. doi:10.1016/b978-1-928994-70-1.x5000-9. ISBN 9781928994701.
  5. ↑ "McAfee SiteAdvisor's analysis of Astalavista.box.sk". Siteadvisor.com. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  6. ↑ Peltier, Thomas R. (2017). Managing A Network Vulnerability Assessment (illustrated ed.). CRC Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780203503041.
  7. ↑ Marangoni, Roberto (2004). Motori di ricerca: come cercare e farsi trovare sul web (in Italian). Italy: HOEPLI EDITORE. p. 246. ISBN 9788820332617.
  8. ↑ Wang, Wallace (2006). Steal This Computer Book 4.0: What They Won't Tell You About the Internet (revised ed.). San Francisco, California: No Starch Press. p. 87. ISBN 9781593273439.
  9. ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20060106194427/http://packetstorm.linuxsecurity.net/groups/astalavista/issue_19_2005.pdf. Archived from the original on 2006-01-06. Retrieved 2023-09-25. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ↑ Danchev, Dancho (2021-04-07). "Astalavista.box.sk — We're Back! Introducing the World's first search engine for hackers!". Medium. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
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