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We are expecting this update to take about 9 hours but could run longer if a transfer fails and has to be restarted.

Start Time: Sunday, March 30, 2025 @ 1:00 am

Expected End Time: Monday, March 31, 2025 @ 10:00 am

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Polyfill.io supply‑chain incident: what happened

In the past few days a supply‑chain incident involving Polyfill.io disrupted a large number of websites. Polyfill.io, a service that delivers small JavaScript polyfills to add missing browser features, allegedly distributed suspicious code that injected into many sites. Some reports estimate the impact reached more than 100,000 domains. Operators and investigators took the Polyfill.io domain offline while they responded.

How Cloudflare responded

Cloudflare moved quickly to reduce exposure. The company replaced references to Polyfill.io with a secure mirror served through cdnjs and has said it never recommended Polyfill.io. Cloudflare’s action reduced the risk of further automatic propagation through CDNs and reverse proxies.

Polyfill.io’s response and ownership concerns

Polyfill.io has publicly disputed the allegations. At the same time, reporting shows the project was in the process of being acquired by a Chinese firm, which raised additional concern because of that buyer’s reported ties to the Chinese government. Polyfill.io’s public statement is here: https://twitter.com/Polyfill_Global/status/1805923380857897277.

Who this affects

We do not use Polyfill.io, so our systems were not directly dependent on it. However, sites that relied on CDNs, reverse proxies, or other intermediaries sometimes received Polyfill.io assets even if the site owner never included them directly. That’s why some organizations saw collateral impact despite not calling Polyfill.io in their own code.

What you should do now

Remove any references to Polyfill.io from your projects and replace them with a trusted alternative. Cloudflare’s cdnjs mirror offers a non‑breaking option that serves the same polyfill content. Also audit other third‑party front‑end dependencies, and prefer self‑hosting critical libraries or pinning and hosting copies you control when practical.

Offer of help and next steps

If you want assistance locating or replacing Polyfill.io references, or if you’d like a broader audit of third‑party scripts and CDNs, we can help. We will continue to monitor the situation and share verified updates as more information becomes available

The post Breaking News: Web Service Scandal Unfolds with Polyfill.io and Cloudflare appeared first on Tarheel Media Digital Marketing.

Betsy Ross was born in Elizabeth Griscom in 1752, was an upholsterer in Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary era. Although the story that she sewed the first U.S. flag is likely apocryphal, Ross did create flags for the Revolutionary War effort.  Legend has it that in the summer of 1776 (or possibly 1777), General George Washington visited Ross to discuss a design for the new nation’s flag.  According to the tale, Betsy finalized the design, arguing for stars with five points (instead of six) for practical cutting.

We have also set our pride logo for the dates of June 14 through July 14 to represent this occasion.  We feel this flag connects our company to America’s founding era, emphasizing our roots and commitment to American values.  The Betsy Ross design evokes nostalgia for simpler times and celebrates the enduring spirit of the nation.  Additionally, we feel associating with this iconic flag enhances our brand image and resonates with patriotic customers.

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The post Email Phishing Alert appeared first on Tarheel Media Digital Marketing.

As it turns out, this has now become a very big deal, even Linus and other popular YouTubers are sounding the alarms with the FBI issuing a new warning about this scam and a scam that uses the exact same tactics to appear as if someone is sending email from the FBI, itself.

How does this scam work?

This scam works by an attacker first compromising the email of a victim, usually a business owner or someone very high up in that business that other victims wouldn’t generally question.  They sit and watch how they conduct business and then will very closely mimic language and regiments of that business owner or business person.

Once they have enough information to construct a conversation that would appear to be exactly that person, they attack by sending out emails requesting money or private information (PII) which helps them collect money in fraudulent bank accounts from other victims.

What we have done

The attack on our customer only happened through Microsoft because it cannot happen on our servers.  We are using both SPF and DMARC DNS records for our email services which specifically lets other email providers know when there is something wrong – that is someone who sent out an email that did not physically come from the IP address listed in those records.   Unless the receiving provider doesn’t check these records, it is an impossibility for someone to get an email from one of our customers and not know something is amiss.

Otherwise, there isn’t much we can do further until other technologies develop.

The post FBI WARNING: Dangerous new email scam appeared first on Tarheel Media Digital Marketing.

How this attack works

These attacks do not require a server or network vulnerability. Attackers overwhelm resources with legitimate-looking requests to exhaust CPU, memory, connection slots, or packet-handling capacity. Imagine a PO box that receives so much bulk mail in one day the post office must start returning mail because there’s no room — that’s what a DDOS does to a server.

This is what tipped us off:

What we observed

Typical VLAN traffic averages about 35 kbps. During the attack we saw interfaces stuck at 4+ Mbps, which is alarming even though the network can carry more than 10 Gbps. The problem here is packets-per-second that strain routers, not raw bandwidth. If we weren’t using octa-core routers and modern edge filters, some services would have dropped.

All traffic used user-agents reporting Mac 11 and Chrome 87, which we believe are forged. The bulk of requests originated from IP ranges in China, with occasional sources in the U.S., EU, and Russia. Right now they appear to be targeting an American Christian church site for bandwidth exhaustion.

On other sites, such as an office furniture site, attackers retried repeatedly over several hours to force downtime:

Mitigation status

So far we have mitigated the attack and it has not grown in strength. We have seen short bursts since it began, but upstream filters and our edge rules have been effective.

We have collected more than 11,000 IPs making blanket requests. As upstream providers apply filters, the attackers’ effectiveness drops and the attack eases.

The attack pattern looks random across subnets and networks. It does not appear to target a specific site type beyond being U.S.-focused.

UPDATES

5:46 am: Our upstream providers report this may form part of a larger campaign meant to strain United States internet infrastructure. They see similar attacks across many customers.

5:52 am: We have almost entirely neutralized the initial DDOS surge.

11:00 am: Attackers shifted to Slowloris-style tactics, attempting to hold many slow connections and strain servers at the application layer. We adjusted timeouts and connection handling and again mitigated these attempts. The transition is visible below:

3:35 pm: Issue closed. Attacks have ceased and we do not expect further impact to our services at this time.

We will continue to monitor traffic and remain in constant contact with upstream providers. If anything changes, we will post updates here.

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CELEBRATING THE EMPTY TOMB!

We wish everyone a happy holiday season!

HE IS RISEN!

Matthew 28:6, Luke 24:6

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A NEW WAY TO EDIT

If you’re familiar with our old framework, this one screenshot alone will more than tickle most of our clients.  Gone are the days of opening a box and editing text on your website.  Now, you simply edit your website just like you would edit a document in a word processor like Microsoft Word.  Virtually everything from the header, and the footer, to the content of a page or blog post can be edited or added in the exact same context you just saw.

IT'S A SPEED DEMON!

But that’s not quite all.  The powerhouse that Cyno is isn’t just in its editor but in its modular design with you at the helm.  That means this new framework is truly scalable to your needs, a genuine one-size-fits-all framework for any website solution.   I imagine that sounds a bit odd, so allow me to explain.

Cyno works differently than other frameworks.  It has many modules you would need for a website – counters, meters, blog postcards, archives, projects, product pages, image CSS, and JS tricks (lazyload, etc),  the works!  However, these modules simply don’t load until you’re ready to use them. Then, and only then are they enqueued into the website’s javascript and back-end PHP meaning your website uses fewer resources by using only the resources it needs which means your website runs LEANER and FASTER both on the server and in the client’s web browser!  This optimization alone has improved our clients’ websites (and ours) by over 560% by simply not loading modules that aren’t necessary for your solution.

INBUILT SEO

Cyno comes with its own SEO solution using Generative AI to automatically flag content and tag it so search engines know how to better categorize your content.  And this all happens without you even knowing.

GETTING UPGRADED

The best thing is, the upgrade to Cyno is likely less expensive than you might think. Only costs us an average of 3 hours per upgrade, the biggest cost will be the per-domain license for other proprietary software we use in this framework which includes our cost in the inclusion and support of premium WordPress plugins such as FileBird which our framework depends on. For less than $400.00, your website will not only look awesome, but you can manage the content in a more meaningful way while preserving its original awesomeness.

For that price, you can expect significant visual improvements to your website as well as new features you can deploy yourself and with little to no design knowledge or web development skill whatsoever.

The post Cyno™: A revolutionary way to manage website content appeared first on Tarheel Media Digital Marketing.

In today’s digital landscape, a strong online presence is not just beneficial, but necessary for businesses across all sectors. One of the most effective strategies to achieve this is through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). But what makes SEO so crucial? Let’s explore this in more detail.

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a collection of strategies aimed at improving a website’s visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). It involves optimizing various aspects of your website, including its design, content, and structure, to make it more appealing to search engines. This is done through a variety of techniques, such as using relevant keywords, improving site speed, and creating high-quality content.

The Importance of SEO

1. Increased Visibility

The primary goal of SEO is to improve your website’s ranking on search engines. The higher your website ranks, the more visible it is to potential customers. This is crucial because the majority of online experiences begin with a search engine, and the higher a site appears in search results, the more traffic it’s likely to receive. In fact, studies show that websites on the first page of Google receive almost 95% of clicks, highlighting the importance of a high search engine ranking.

2. Improved User Experience

SEO isn’t just about pleasing search engines—it’s also about providing a better experience for your users. By optimizing your website’s design and content, you can make it easier for visitors to find the information they’re looking for, navigate your site, and engage with your content. This not only improves user satisfaction but also increases the likelihood of conversions, as users are more likely to take desired actions (like making a purchase or filling out a form) on a site that provides a positive user experience.

3. Cost-Effective Marketing

Compared to traditional marketing methods like print advertising or television commercials, SEO is incredibly cost-effective. This is because SEO targets users who are actively looking for your products or services online, resulting in more qualified leads. This means that the money you spend on SEO is more likely to result in a return on investment, making it a smart choice for businesses of all sizes.

4. Builds Trust and Credibility

A high-ranking website is often perceived as more trustworthy and credible by users. This is because users tend to trust search engines, and a high search ranking signals to users that your site is a reputable source of information. By optimizing your website for SEO, you can build your brand’s reputation, establish yourself as an authority in your industry, and foster trust with your audience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, SEO is a vital component of any successful digital marketing strategy. It can help increase your website’s visibility, improve user experience, save on marketing costs, and build trust with your audience. So, if you want your business to thrive in the digital world, investing in SEO is a must.

References

: Moz. (2021). The Beginner’s Guide to SEO. Retrieved from https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo : Chitika. (2013). The Value of Google Result Positioning. Retrieved from https://chitika.com/google-positioning-value : Google. (2020). Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide. Retrieved from https://developers.google.com/search/docs/beginner/seo-starter-guide : Forbes. (2017). Is SEO The Most Cost-Effective Way To Market A Business? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/06/19/is-seo-the-most-cost-effective-way-to-market-a-business/ : Search Engine Journal. (2021). 10 Reasons Why SEO Is Important for a Website. Retrieved from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/why-seo-is-important-for-business/248101/

Please note that the links provided are for citation purposes and may not be clickable.

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