Distributed denial of service attacks plague businesses and websites around the world. A DDoS attack occurs when a target server or website is overwhelmed with communication requests from a botnet or group of attackers. Once the server is no longer able to handle HTTP requests, it goes offline and prevents legitimate users from being able to access the website.
Botnets are typically used in conjunction with a DDoS attack. It takes a considerable amount of resources to take a website offline. In order to be effective, attackers must combine the resources of multiple computers. DDoS attacks typically do not cause damage to a website - they simply make the website inaccessible. There are more malicious uses of DDoS attacks. They are now being used as a way to deter security personnel and cover up fraud. In either case, if you own a website, you should be aware of how to recognize an attack.
How Do You Know If You Are Being HIt With A DDoS Attack?
The most important thing to do is not jump to conclusions. You want to check your router, internet connection, and any Stresser other variables that can be affecting your website performance. If you determine that it is not an internet connection problem, the first action you should take is contacting your web hosting provider. They will be able to tell you immediately whether you are being attacked or not.
The United States Computer Readiness Team, or US-CERT, gives a list of symptoms that serve as pointers that your computer resources may be under attack. Here is what they list as the potential signs of a DDoS attack:
Unusually slow network performance (opening files or accessing websites).
Unavailability of a particular website.
Inability to access any website.
Dramatic increase in the amount of spam you receive in your account.
DDOS attacks can also manifest as problems in the network branches adjacent to the computer system under attack and can serve as a great alert to network administrators. In cases where DDOS attacks are initiated on a very large scale, internet connections in entire geographical areas surrounding the target machines may be affected. To determine if computer resources are under DDOS attack, network administrators can go to the command prompt and attempt to ping outside their network, normally to a website like Google. com. By observing the time and the percentage of packets lost in the ping statistics, a correct diagnosis can be made concerning the state of the network.
The time it takes to transmit 32 bytes of data is normally about 40ms. At the initial stages of a DDoS attack, this may take 800ms. The computer system will eventually respond with a "Request Timed Out". Overall, identifying the initial stages of a DDoS attack early on, it's possible to prevent your computer and network resources from completely being taken offline.
If you are the do-it-yourself type, network administrators can make use of NETSTAT. This allows the administrator to see all the current TCP/IP connections. A large number of TCP/IP connections from the same IP address is usually a good indication of an attack. You can confirm that an attack is in progress when the state of these connections indicates SYN_RECEIVED.
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