astalavista.box.sk was founded in 1994 as one of the first

search engine A search engine is a software system that provides hyperlinks to web pages, and other relevant information on World Wide Web, the Web in response to a user's web query, query. The user enters a query in a web browser or a mobile app, and the sea ...

s for

computer security Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and computer network, n ...

information. In practice it turned out to be used as a search engine for

security exploit An exploit is a method or piece of code that takes advantage of Vulnerability (computer security), vulnerabilities in software, Application software, applications, Computer network, networks, operating systems, or Computer hardware, hardware, typic ...

s, software for hacking,

cracking Cracking may refer to: * Cracking, the formation of a fracture or partial fracture in a solid material studied as fracture mechanics ** Performing a sternotomy * Fluid catalytic cracking, a catalytic process widely used in oil refineries for crac ...

and different

keygen A key generator (keygen) is a computer program that generates a product licensing key, such as a serial number, necessary to activate for use of a software application. Keygens may be legitimately distributed by software manufacturers for lic ...

erators and software cracks. In the early 1990s and 2000s, the site was popular among people interested in hacking or securing systems against hacking. The site is known for referencing things such as

spyware Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is any malware that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user by violating their privacy, endangering their device's securit ...

and

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

es and because of this the website is known to possibly contain data, links, downloadable files, and information some users would consider spyware,

adware Adware, often called advertising-supported software by its developers, is software that generates revenue by automatically displaying Online advertising, online advertisements in the user interface or on a screen presented during the installatio ...

, or other unwanted programs. Besides possible links to viruses, the website used to display adult adverts. 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 and other hacking websites, such as New Order. Astalavista.box.sk is hosted in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. Astalavista is a pun on the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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 AltaVista was a web search engine established in 1995. It became one of the most-used early search engines, but lost ground to Google and was purchased by Yahoo! in 2003, which retained the brand, but based all AltaVista searches on its own sear ...

, however, that was launched a year later in 1995. Astalavista.box.sk was not affiliated to astalavista.com, which was a separate hacking community, founded in 1997. 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.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://astalavista.box.sk/ Computing websites Internet search engines Computer security software