What is Low Orbit Ion Cannon?
Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC) is an open-source network stress testing application that was created by Praetox Technologies. It allows users to flood a target server with TCP, UDP, or HTTP requests in an attempt to overwhelm and take down the target.
LOIC works by sending repeated requests to a target server from multiple computers under the control of the attacker. This is known as a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. By flooding the target with more requests than it can handle, LOIC attempts to overwhelm the server's resources and take it offline.
While LOIC was ostensibly created for stress testing and network troubleshooting, it has also gained notoriety for being used by activist groups such as Anonymous to take down websites and web services as an act of protest. However, the use of LOIC for these illegal denial-of-service attacks is controversial and unethical.
There are legitimate alternatives to LOIC for network stress testing, load testing, and DDoS simulation that are more ethical and legal. Some examples include services like Blitz.io, Loader.io, and Netsparker Load Test. These services allow security engineers and developers to test the limits of their web applications and infrastructure in a controlled, permissible way.
BlazeMeter, locust, Loader.io, Loadrunner, blitz.io, Fast DDoS Attack Cmd, CloudTest, Apica ProxySniffer, LoadUIWeb, PurpleStrike Real Time, SmartMeter.io, LoadStorm, AgileLoad, StormForger, Loadster, WCat, LoadFocus, Load Tester, Loadium, Cavisson NetStorm are some alternatives to Low Orbit Ion Cannon.