(Newswire.net — July 25, 2017) — A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is one of the most frightening scenarios a website can experience, and for this very reason it has become a common goal for companies to fight the cyber criminals who carry out these attacks. These attacks have become so sophisticated that it is difficult for businesses to combat them independently, so there are now countless professionals online, such as JavaPipe, who can dedicate their time and expertise to resolving complications arising from these attacks, or preventing them from happening in the first place.
DDoS attacks are carried out on the premise of flooding website servers with volumes of traffic that exceeds what they’re capable of handling, consequently causing the website to crash. Famous DDoS attacks in recent memory have been orchestrated on government and the church of Scientology websites, and since the botnets required to conduct these attacks are relatively cheap to acquire, the frequency of DDoS attacks is continuously increasing.
Below are some great tips to equip companies with the knowledge they need to fight these issues, either independently or in conjunction with professional help.
Use Virtual Private Networks
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) connects users to an offsite secure server, and reroutes website traffic to mask your online activity. Though VPNs are commonly associated with anonymous browsing and safety, they were originally designed as a tool for business security, and can be utilized by companies to protect against hackers on public networks. This type of hacker often operates using ‘sniffer’ programs which have the capability to intercept data such as financial information and login credentials. The encryption offered with a VPN is one way to protect yourself, allowing you to keep online activities to yourself without the fear of being tracked, alongside an additional layer of security added since your IP address is blocked.
Plugins
There are various plugins available which offer built in defense against DDoS attacks, while optimizing your website in ways to offer additional security. Examples of these plugins include WordFence and Bulletproof security, though there are countless options available online which are worth researching. You still need to be cautious when using plugins, so be certain to only use trusted applications and always do the research necessary to protect yourself.
Surveillance
Though there are professionals and multiple tools available at your expense, sometimes one of the best ways to protect yourself from harm is by using your own eyes and experience. You know more about your website than anyone else, and with this knowledge you can determine whether there are issues with your website before they escalate, for example if pages are taking slightly longer to load than normal. Regular overviews are highly recommended, with a level of investigation and vigilance required to prevent danger.
Buffer
When traffic to your website increases, it is important to have a buffer in place to absorb some of the stress involved. Be ready for the rapid growth you might experience, and upgrade your server if you feel as if there’s a chance it won’t be able to handle increasing volumes. This will make things more difficult for criminals, in accordance with seeking professional help from companies such as JavaPipe.
Don’t Look For Trouble
If hackers are tested, they are likely to rise to a good challenge, so be sure not to antagonize attackers unnecessarily. If you are witness to a threatening comment, be sure to ignore or delete it, and this way you can avoid hackers trying to make an example of you.
I hope you have found this article informative, and be sure to comment below if you have any additional advice to help safeguard against DDoS attacks.