How a DDoS Works

Written by Samuel Phineas Upham

 

 

If you have been paying attention to news lately, you’ll notice that the term “DDoS” continues to crop up. The most recent DDoS attacks have been focused on gaming websites, but YouTube and other major outlets have suffered them as well. It is not a hack, per say, but it is an attack.

DDoS Explained

A distributed denial of service attack, or DDoS, is an attempt at shutting a service out from using the Internet. Its goal is to interrupt access to something, and involve more than one person in almost every case. DDoS attacks have become more recent, especially in eCommerce and gaming.

How it Works

In a DDoS attack, the perpetrator runs a program that is designed to access multiple terminals. The attacker can then use those machines to access a website. When a website is accessed, it must broadcast its data over a set bandwidth. If too many machines attempt to access a site, or overload the server with requests to access a site, the site shuts down.

Who Carries Out DDoS Attacks

DDoS attacks have been called a form of “Internet street protest” by Richard Stallman, a man integral to the formation of the Web. These attacks are usually carried out by disgruntled customers or game competitors, but are also used to shut down a business in protest for its actions. A DDoS attack is considered a violation of the IAB’s proper use policy, and is also against the Terms of Use for almost every major ISP.


Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Samuel Phineas Upham on his Samuel Phineas Upham website

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