By : We’ve all heard of a Direct Denial of Service attack, or as you usually hear them referred to as, a DDoS attack. These happen when a number of different computers “log onto” your site, and with the pings that they are directing to your website, they end up making your website slow down and even crash. It denies those who may want to use your services the ability to do so, and it can sometimes end up with a loss in data. How do you prevent this from happening? Here are 15 ways to prevent and fight off a DDoS attack.
- Don’t panic – this is a common issue. While it can cause a lot of issues if it isn’t dealt with properly, dealing with a DDoS should not be something that you get too worried about. It’s a better idea to go ahead and have plans in place and try not to panic – it will allow you to make better decisions and help you to work through what you need to fix.
- Know what a DDOS attack looks like. There are a lot of warning signs that can let you know what is going on – if you’re getting a lot of traffic from the same IP address or you’re getting pings from a certain country, then it’s likely that you’re being singled out for a DDoS attack. There are other signs as well – educate yourself and learn what you can so that you can figure out what may be going on in that regard.
- Have excess bandwidth or network devices to account for extra traffic. People tell you that it’s a good idea to have some wiggle room – yes, you’ll be paying a little bit more but, if you have enough bandwidth to deal with a small DDoS attack easily, you’ll save money. Look into what options that you have available and see if this could be a way for you to prevent issues.
- Work with a mitigation provider or get a protection plan. There are plenty of companies out there that will work with you to ensure that you have the protection that you need in order to fend off the issues related to DDoS’s. These are often affordable and can help you to keep everything intact, even if a DDoS attack occurs.
- Have a plan in place to deal with the issues associated with a DDoS attack. Having a plan of action ready and waiting for your situation isn’t only helpful, it can also ensure that you don’t end up getting caught with no assistance in sight. Having that plan ready can help you to save revenue and prevent some issues from getting that much worse in the long run.
- Dump visitor logs to prevent data loss. Sometimes, you will be forced to make a choice between visitor logs and the data that you have on your website. You don’t want to lose all of the data on your site so, you just want to have your tech person dump that information and see if that helps to slow the issues that come with this sort of problem.
- Don’t assume that you’re immune from them because you’re a small company. No matter how big or small that your company may be, chances are that you’ll have to deal with a DDoS at some point in time. It’s not 100% certain why some smaller websites get targeted from time to time, but it happens, so don’t think that you’re immune from it.
- Save your data to multiple locations ahead of time. You always want to have a backup. And you want to have a backup of your backup. And you want a backup of that. It may sound strange, but having multiple backups can go a really long way when it comes to dealing with the issues that can come up as a result of a DDoS. Have it all ready to go and you’ll find it’s much easier than anything else that you may try to do.
- Update to a cloud VPS system. A Cloud VPS has a wide array of options when it comes to security and it can prevent a lot of other issues from coming up. Many companies have plans in case a DDoS issue comes up. Does that sound what you need? Then go ahead and get a cloud vps here.
- Partner with companies that can assist with these issues easily. There are a lot of companies and government agencies that will work with you so that you can take care of DDoS issues. Find the ones that will help you to get a handle on what you may need and see what a huge difference that it could make for you to sort it out.
- Besure to set traffic thresholds. Having a traffic threshold is another layer of security that can help you to have better control when it comes to dealing with the problems that can come up in the process. This can help to throttle traffic, thus making a DDoS a little more difficult to try and pull off.
- Contact your ISP right away. Often, if your website is being attacked, it may be a DDoS on your entire ISP – so be sure that you get in touch with them right away so that you can tell them that they need to be on the defensive as well. They could end up making a big difference as you sort out what is going on with it.
- Always expect the worst – it’ll make it easier to deal with. While it’s usually a good idea to be positive, make sure that your plans and the actions that you take are based on the worst case scenario – that way, it will ensure that, no matter what happens, you have it all taken care of the right way as you’re dealing with it.
- Have an automated response to customers. If you’re dealing with a DDoS, you are likely trying to balance a lot of different issues at the same time. Instead of getting inundated with help desk requests, be sure that you have an automated response that can explain that a DDoS is occurring and that the issue will be resolved ASAP. You’ll still get requests, but the number will go down.
- Don’t rely on a firewall – they can come down quickly if a DDoS is effective. Firewalls can be helpful to a point, but you want a lot of different resources to help prevent this from becoming an even bigger issue. Having multiple layers of security and assistance can allow you to have a little more control over what it is that you may be trying to do and can prevent the site from going completely down during a DDoS.
