Web host DOS attacks

[pagerbear]

I found out the problem with my web host's mail server. A DOS attack. Shouldn't a host be better protected against this sort of thing? (I'm not a techie, so I don't really know.)

[apnu]

1. There isn't much you can do against a DOS attack.

A DOS is "Denial of Service" that means flooding the server with so many requests that it crashes. A DOS can be a general attempt to crash the machine itself or a service on the machine. Say the web host.

Since a server has to be exposed to the world in order to do its job, there isn't much you can do to stop someone from launching a DOS.

What can be done: Once a DOS has been detected, and there's a firewall protecting the server, you can configure the firewall to ignore all requests from the IP (Internet Protocol) addresses that are involved.

That's really the only defense, put what ever systems that are in between the server and the Internet (firewall, proxy services and so on) into deterrent mode for the attack itself.

Since you can't every predict where such an attack will come from, you're only choice is to wait for it to happen and react accordingly. Sadly, if the server isn't beefy enough, it might crash or slow down to the point of being crippled before the IT staff has a chance to react and defend the server from attack.

There are some firewalls that have "over flow" protection already encoded in their systems. Meaning that if the IP address and port of a server is log-jammed with information, the firewall starts ignoring the source of the log jam. Most enterprise firewalls, like the PIX from Cisco have this feature, and many SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) devices have it too. My D-Link Air-Plus wireless router/firewall has this feature too.