DDoS Protection Strategies, Products, and Services

Ultimately, DDoS, short for Distributed Denial of Service, is an attempt to shutdown one system, say a server. This sounds exactly like what a DoS attack does, but they are a bit different.

If you have been personally exposed to such an attack it can really be frustrating. If it occurs, you should just hope you updated your antivirus and antispyware software, as malware could be attached to the attack. The amount of such attacks is becoming more prolific and detrimental.

As you probably are already of, an online presence comes with its own set of obstacles risks, and threats. In this article, I will present a basic understanding of DoS and DDoS, including the types of attacks and prevention measures, which include software, hardware, and services.

DoS Attack Introduction

One such definition is, A denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users. ~Wikipedia. Basically, it is an attempt to overload a server with a ‘flood’ of TCP/UDP ‘packets’. This creates a blockage of the website entrance, thereby denying access to visitors.

Types of Denial of Service Attacks include ICMP flood, SYN flood, Teardrop attacks, Low-rate Denial-of-Service attacks, Peer-to-peer attacks, Permanent denial-of-service attacks, Application-level floods, Reflected attack, Degradation-of-service attacks. All of which can cost money in missed opportunity of sales and service contracts, and in eliminating the threat.

DDoS Attack Introduction

A DDoS Attack is a Distributed Denial of Service Attack. A distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) occurs when multiple systems flood the bandwidth or resources of a targeted system, usually one or more web servers. These systems are compromised by attackers using a variety of methods. ~Wikipedia. More commonly, this type of attack is referred to as a ‘botnet’, meaning, A large number of computers that have been infected, and effectively hijacked, can be grouped together to achieve a common purpose. ~Security-FAQ’s.

There really is not multiple ‘types’ of DDoS attacks, there are multiple methods of implementing a DoS attack. On the surface, they would appear to be the same, but as noted prior, a DDoS attack targets multiple remote systems in an effort to bring down one system, aka, server. This also presents a problem in discovering the culprit, as the attacker/hacker may utilize a group of computers from around the world on proxy server IP addresses. The result is devastating if proper protection is not in place, as there would be almost no chance of manually stopping such an attack.

DDoS Protection Service

Over the past several years, we have seen an array of products and services come to market to help fight this type of computer attack. But one of the more simplistic preventative steps is to make sure your websites are on dedicated servers. A dedicated server will at least, minimize the breadth of the attack. Also, have proper network security and authentication set up.

Protecting your business from distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks can be extremely stressful. ~Black Lotus Communications. I think that says it all when it comes to planning security for DDoS attacks.

Black Lotus has introduced a patent pending technology to the market called the Human Behavior Analysis Engine. They say, …effectively sorting legitimate and illegitimate requests, keeping your website online. ~Black Lotus Communications.

Types of DDoS protection include, traffic filtering functions such as ‘Clean pipes’, DDS based defense, Firewalls, IPS based prevention, specialized Routers and Switches, and front end hardware. Such protection types can be self-implemented, or you may want to choose a service provider, such as that from the aforementioned Black Lotus, or a number of other commercial-grade service providers.

Another one of those companies includes Corero. They recently introduced DDoS protection, called DDoS Defense System, distributed under SecureWatch PLUS. They state this service …is a comprehensive suite of configuration optimization, monitoring and response services for DDoS defense, customized to meet the security policy requirements and business goals of each Corero DDoS Defense System customer who selects this premium service.

Social Buzz on DDoS Protection

Should you require assistance in identifying and solving such a riddle, use our FREE tech support service.