Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) harasses and attacks users and organizations globally. A DDoS attack is very much like coming into a crowded room and everyone screaming, "John!" at the same time. Trying to figure out who said your name first is overwhelming. Your brain, like the servers targeted by a DDoS attack, can only process so much.

Hackers use this same method to overwhelm routers and firewalls with too many network connections. And just like you might feel after hearing your name called a thousand times in one second, the device receiving more connection requests than it’s built to handle quickly becomes overwhelmed and begins to shut down.

A DDoS attack can prevent any new connections from being processed, making the targeted website or network unavailable. But using a virtual private network (VPN) could help protect you against a DDoS attack by masking your IP address and encrypting your traffic. Here’s how.

Does a VPN prevent DDoS attacks?

Stopping a DDoS attack is near impossible. Hackers often target known websites and public IP addresses. Most DDoS attacks are automated botnet scripts that often run on random schedules. Hackers will stop attacks and restart just to get around any preventive controls.

The hackers will also attempt to load malware on hosts so they can become a launch platform for future attacks. This is also known as a zombie host. (No relation to The Walking Dead series of A&E.)

If a hacker has no idea what your actual IP addresses are, they have no target for their DDoS attack scripts. Once a hacker does obtain your real IP address, there are limited options available to help stop the attack.

Fortunately, VPNs can help by encrypting your online traffic and hiding your real IP address behind the VPN server's IP address.

What’s the best VPN service for DDoS protection?

Several VPN providers offer excellent DDoS protection capabilities, including NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and CyberGhost. Many also provide global VPN coverage and other built-in security that could be beneficial in the event of a DDoS attack:

• Blocking bad traffic: Along with blocking a DDoS attack, this could help improve your internet speed and reduce lag.
• Always-on protection: Meaning you don’t need to manually turn on your VPN protection. Instead, it’s activated any time an attack is detected.
• Kill switch: This feature cuts your internet connection if your connection to the VPN server drops or gets disabled. This ensures you won’t accidentally browse the web while your data is unencrypted and your IP address is revealed.
  

Best DDoS protection VPNs

What’s a DDoS attack?

A DDoS, or distributed denial-of-service, attack is a type of cyberattack used by hackers to force people offline. It involves multiple computers sending requests to a server at an overwhelming rate.

Cybercriminals use botnets to launch DDoS attacks. Botnets are usually composed of hundreds or thousands of computers or zombie hosts whose owners are not aware they are being used as an attack platform.

Are DDoS and DoS the same thing?

Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks are different from DDoS attacks in several ways. DoS attacks originate from a single attacking source. DDoS attacks tend to launch from several distributed sources.

DoS attacks fall into two major categories:

• Application attacks: Attacks against applications being hosted on a targeted platform.
• Network attacks: These attempt to overwhelm the network by sending several connections for the device to process. Ultimately, if the device reaches its connection processing limit, the system will be unavailable and network traffic will stop.

Both DoS and DDoS attacks may use malware. Often DDoS will start with a phishing email containing a malware payload. This malware will turn the unsuspecting host into a zombie. The host becomes part of the attack vector along with other zombie hosts.

DoS attacks will normally use malware to set up and disrupt the victim's network. After the malware is installed, the hacker will launch a script from a single source against an IP address attempting to overwhelm the TCP stack with too many connections to process.

DDoS attacks are far more complex and difficult to stop because the attack hosts are distributed globally. Many DDoS hacker groups will throttle their attacks to avoid detection.

But DoS attacks can still cause serious problems for any single website or a range of IP addresses. Compared to DDoS, a DoS attack can be stopped once the source attack IP has been discovered.

How do you know if you’ve been DDoSed?

There are several ways to determine whether you are under a DDoS attack, including

• Your website is down and visitors see an HTTP 503 error code
• Your connection speeds drop dramatically
• You’re unable to login into a banking or other financial system
• Your Wi-Fi connection drops out

Hackers tend to launch attacks during the busiest times of the day for maximum impact. If you realize you’re being DDoSed, you could try restarting your router to see whether you receive a new dynamic IP address the hacker isn’t targeting.

How to prevent future DDoS attacks

Here are some recommendations to help avoid a future DDoS attack

• Ensure the service provider you subscribe to issues a dynamic IP address, not static. With dynamic addresses, they will change every day. The hackers will have difficulty discovering your IP address if it changes frequently.
• Make sure that all your home devices are protected from viruses and malware.
• Enable a VPN connection on your device to protect your data and IP address.
• Use a Wi-Fi router to protect your internal network from a DDoS attack. Most routers have several security features to help protect your home network. You should also update your Wi-Fi network name and password.
• Use anti-DDoS software or apps, like Indusface AppTrana or SolarWinds Security Event Manager. (Heads up: These apps may be a pricier solution since they're geared toward businesses.)

FAQs

Bottom line

Although there is no 100% prevention against a DDoS attack, a VPN does provide capabilities, including IP address masking and encryption, to help provide critical layers of protection.

About 43% of people use a VPN for security reasons, according to an anonymous survey from Surfshark, a popular VPN provider. It makes sense because VPNs help reduce your exposure to DDoS attacks by hiding your IP address. If a hacker doesn’t know your IP address, that reduces the ability for them to launch an attack against you.

Protection against hackers is just one benefit of using a VPN, which can make it well worth the investment.

Author Details

John Gormally

About the Author

John Gormally is a seasoned global cybersecurity expert, freelance writer, and blogger. With a mix of 25 years in technology sales, marketing, and content creating, John enjoys sharing his experiences with the business community through his various writing projects.