Key takeaways:
- Speed and preparation are critical to stopping DDoS attacks. Early detection, quick containment, and phased mitigation help keep systems online and limit damage.
- Prevention tools and strategies should match the user’s needs. Gamers, SMBs, and enterprises require different levels of protection, from basic VPNs and firewalls to enterprise-grade mitigation services.
- Post-attack recovery strengthens long-term defenses. Analyzing the incident, patching vulnerabilities, and improving infrastructure reduce the risk and impact of future attacks.
DDoS attacks are becoming more common in 2025 and they’re not just hitting big companies. Small businesses, online stores, gaming servers, and blogs are all targets too. One minute your site’s fine; the next, it’s crawling or completely offline.
If you’re dealing with weird slowdowns, unexplained traffic spikes, or flat-out outages, this guide will walk you through how to stop a DDoS attack in progress and how to protect your site from future ones. You’ll learn how to spot the early signs, act fast, and build a defense that holds up next time.
What is a DDoS attack?
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is when someone tries to overwhelm your website or server by flooding it with fake traffic. The goal is to make your site crash or at least slow down so much that it becomes unusable.
Instead of one device doing the damage, attackers use a botnet: a network of compromised computers, routers, or IoT devices that have been infected with malware. These devices act in unison, bombarding your systems with requests and making it almost impossible to keep up.
Want an article that fully explains what a DDoS attack is? Check out our What is a DDoS blog post.
How to detect a DDoS attack
The key to stopping a DDoS attack is catching it early. But that’s easier said than done, especially since the symptoms often look like regular traffic spikes or minor performance issues.
Here are some common red flags that could indicate you’re under a DDoS attack:
- Unusually slow load times across your website or app, even if you haven’t changed anything
- Frequent timeout errors or 503 “Service Unavailable” messages
- Sudden traffic spikes that don’t line up with your marketing activity or time of day
- Complaints from users who can’t log in, load pages, or complete actions
- Backend instability, like crashes, CPU spikes, or memory overload
If it feels like your site is under stress for no clear reason, it’s worth investigating.
How to tell bots from real users
DDoS traffic is designed to blend in with the real thing but there are ways to spot the difference if you know where to look:
- Check IP patterns. Thousands of requests from the same IP range or class is a red flag.
- Look at geolocation. A sudden wave of traffic from countries you don’t normally serve could indicate spoofed or bot traffic.
- Review user-agent strings. Bots often use outdated browsers or leave this field blank.
- Analyze behavior. Real users explore different parts of your site. Bots tend to repeat the same action (like hitting your login or search page nonstop).
The more consistent, repetitive, and unnatural the behavior looks, the more likely it’s automated traffic.
3 phases of stopping a DDoS attack
Once you’ve detected a DDoS attack, don’t panic but don’t wait around either. Speed matters. The best way to approach it is in three phases:
- Identify and contain
- Mitigate the attack
- Recover and harden
Phase 1. Identify and contain
The first step is confirming that you’re under attack and isolating the problem as quickly as possible.
- Check bandwidth and server logs to confirm unusual activity. Look for sudden traffic spikes, repeated requests to a single page, or high volumes from the same IP range or geographic location. This helps distinguish an attack from a legitimate traffic surge.
- Isolate affected systems if you can. For example, if one region or subdomain is being hit, reroute or disable it temporarily to protect the rest of your infrastructure.
- Communicate internally with your IT, support, and management teams. Let them know it’s a DDoS attack, not a regular outage. This ensures a coordinated response and prevents confusion.
- Alert your hosting provider or CDN immediately. They may already be seeing the attack on their end, and some can step in with mitigation tools such as traffic filtering, rate limiting, or rerouting through a scrubbing center.
The faster you confirm what’s happening and draw boundaries around it, the easier the next phase becomes.
Phase 2. Mitigate the attack
This is the active defense phase. Your goal is to block or absorb the bad traffic while keeping your site usable for real users.
- Turn on firewalls, rate limiting, and connection throttling. Block IPs that are sending abusive requests and limit how many times a user can hit your servers per second.
- Leverage cloud-based DDoS protection. Tools like Cloudflare, AWS Shield, and Akamai are built to absorb massive amounts of traffic, reroute it through scrubbing centers, and deliver only clean traffic to your site.
- Use IP blacklists and geo-blocking. If the traffic is coming from specific regions you don’t serve, cut them off temporarily. Restricting these sources can ease the load.
- Deploy bot detection challenges. Tools like CAPTCHA, JS challenges, or behavior analysis help separate real users from bots.
This phase might not eliminate 100% of the bad traffic, but the goal is to filter out enough of it so your core services stay online.
Phase 3: Recover and harden
Once the attack stops, don’t just flip everything back on and hope for the best. Use this recovery window to patch holes and get stronger.
- Analyze the attack. Where did it come from? Which endpoints were hit hardest? What failed?
- Patch vulnerabilities. Update outdated software, fix exposed APIs, and tighten firewall rules.
- Improve your infrastructure. Add redundancy, upgrade your hosting plan, or implement a CDN if you haven’t already.
- Document the incident. Create a brief post-mortem to guide future responses and make your team faster next time.
Think of recovery as part of your long-term defense strategy. Every attack is a chance to improve.
Tools to prevent and mitigate DDoS attacks
Stopping a DDoS attack is one thing but preventing the next one is just as important. There are plenty of tools, both free and paid, that can help you detect and block malicious traffic before it takes down your site.
| Tool / Service | Type | Key Features | Best For | Pricing |
| Cloudflare (Free & Pro) | CDN & Security | Basic DDoS filtering, traffic shaping, bot protection | Personal sites, small businesses | Free & paid plans |
| AWS Shield (Standard & Advanced) | Cloud Security | Always-on protection, AWS-native integration, auto mitigation | SaaS platforms, enterprise apps | Standard is free; Advanced is paid |
| Akamai Kona Site Defender | Enterprise CDN | High-capacity mitigation, analytics, custom rules | High-traffic commercial sites | Paid |
| Arbor Networks | On-Premise / ISP-Grade | Deep network analysis, ISP-level filtering | ISPs, data centers | Paid (Enterprise) |
| Sucuri Website Firewall | Web App Firewall | DDoS protection, CDN boost, brute-force blocking | WordPress, Shopify, SMBs | Paid plans |
| FastNetMon (Open-source) | Network Monitoring | Flow-based detection, customizable filtering | Developers, power users | Free and open-Source |
| Imperva DDoS Protection | Cloud Security Platform | Multi-layered protection, threat intelligence, WAF integration | SMBs, SaaS, enterprise sites | Paid plans |
Open-source vs. managed DDoS protection services
Not all DDoS protection tools are built the same and how they’re managed matters just as much as what they do. Before choosing a solution, it helps to know whether you’re better off with an open-source tool you manage yourself or a fully managed service that handles the heavy lifting for you.
Here’s how both options stack up:
Open-source solutions
These tools are typically free and offer maximum control. You’re in charge of setup, configuration, and monitoring.
| Pros | Cons |
| Free and customizable, ideal for developers or sysadmins who want full control | Requires technical skill, setup and maintenance can be complex |
| Transparent, you can inspect the code and tweak settings | Limited real-time support if something breaks during an attack |
| No vendor lock-in and you’re not tied to a single provider or pricing model | No guarantees, performance depends on your implementation |
Managed services
Managed services are plug-and-play tools backed by large-scale infrastructure and support. They’re built for reliability and ease of use, especially during high-pressure attacks.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to deploy and most services offer plug-and-play integration | Ongoing costs and paid plans can be expensive |
| 24/7 monitoring, global networks and teams mitigate large-scale attacks | Less flexibility and you may not have full visibility into provider actions |
| Automatic updates, benefit from the latest threat intelligence without manual work | Potential vendor lock-in and switching providers later can be tricky |
Which should you choose?
If you’re a solo developer or a tech-savvy small business, open-source tools might be enough when paired with basic firewalls or rate limiting. For businesses where uptime, customer trust, or compliance is critical, managed services are worth the investment.
DDoS protection by user type
DDoS protection is not a one-size-fits-all. Whether you’re a gamer hosting a private server or an enterprise running a customer platform, your risks and your solutions will look different.
Here’s how different types of users can defend against DDoS attacks effectively:
Gamers & individuals
Gamers, streamers, and anyone hosting personal content can be easy targets, especially when IP addresses are exposed through game servers, Discord, or peer-to-peer apps.
How to protect yourself:
- Use a VPN. Hides your IP address from potential attackers.
- Reset your router. Changes your public IP in many cases and cuts off the attacker’s access.
- Limit public exposure. Avoid sharing server or IP info in public chats or forums.
- Use free Cloudflare protection. If you’re hosting a website or game server, Cloudflare’s free plan adds basic DDoS mitigation.
This setup won’t stop a major campaign, but it protects you from the most common, low-effort attacks.
Small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs)
SMBs often run on limited infrastructure like shared hosting, WordPress, Shopify, or basic eCommerce platforms and may not realize how vulnerable they are until an attack hits.
What to do:
- Use a CDN-based security service. Tools like Cloudflare or Sucuri add a layer of protection between your site and the attacker.
- Update all software regularly. Keep your CMS, plugins, and themes patched to reduce vulnerabilities.
- Talk to your hosting provider. Many offer built-in DDoS protection or upgrades for it. Know what’s available before you need it.
- Enable basic firewall and rate limiting tools. Even lightweight protections can reduce exposure.
Think of it as locking your digital front door. Basic steps go a long way when you’re not a high-value target.
Web hosts and SaaS providers
For high-traffic platforms, uptime and customer trust are everything. A single DDoS attack can disrupt service for thousands of users, cause SLA violations, and erode brand reputation.
Best practices:
- Invest in scalable infrastructure. Load balancers, redundant servers, and auto-scaling help absorb traffic surges.
- Use enterprise-grade tools. Platforms like AWS Shield Advanced, Akamai, or Arbor offer deep mitigation and 24/7 monitoring.
- Deploy real-time threat detection. Know what’s hitting your systems the moment it happens.
- Have an incident response plan. Include clear escalation paths, external support contacts, and messaging templates.
At this level, a DDoS defense plan is part of doing business.
How to recover after a DDoS attack
Recovering from a DDoS attack starts with making sure everything’s working the way it should. That means checking for any damage, tightening up security, and getting your systems running smoothly again. A clear recovery plan helps you bounce back quickly and be better prepared next time.
Here are a few key steps to guide your recovery process:
- Restore systems and services
- Audit logs and backup your system
- Get help if needed
- Document and prepare for next time
1. Restore systems and services
Start by safely bringing everything back online:
- Revert emergency settings. If you rerouted traffic, disabled services, or paused parts of your infrastructure, restore them one step at a time.
- Test core functions. Manually check logins, checkout pages, dashboards, and account access or use QA tools.
- Restart or re-enable security tools. Make sure firewalls, bot filters, and DDoS protection services are back in place and fully functional.
Don’t assume everything is fine just because the homepage loads. Test everything that matters to your users.
2. Audit logs and backup your system
Now that things are running again, check for hidden damage or lingering threats:
- Review server and firewall logs. Look for anomalies like excessive CPU usage, failed login attempts, or sudden changes in traffic.
- Identify attack patterns. Which pages or endpoints were hit hardest? What kind of traffic was sent?
- Backup your system. Save a clean snapshot of your current setup, especially if you made changes during the attack.
If the DDoS was used as a distraction, this is when you’re most likely to spot signs of deeper intrusion.
3. Get help if needed
You don’t need to do it alone especially if the attack was large, persistent, or possibly criminal.
- Contact your hosting provider or ISP. They often have logs or mitigation insights you may not have access to.
- Bring in cybersecurity experts. If you’re unsure whether the attack left a backdoor or caused internal damage, a professional audit can give peace of mind.
- Report the attack. In many countries, DDoS attacks are illegal. If customer data was at risk or you suffered financial damage, consider notifying local authorities or cybercrime agencies.
4. Document and prepare for next time
Turn the experience into a roadmap for a better response next time:
- Write a short post-mortem. Include when the attack happened, how you handled it, what worked, and what didn’t.
- Update your incident response plan. Add new steps, contacts, tools, or protocols based on what you learned.
- Run simulations. Schedule stress tests or mock attack drills so your team can practice and refine your response under pressure.
The worst time to figure out how to respond is in the middle of an attack. Now that you’ve been through one, you’re already better prepared than before.
Get the best website security with Network Solutions
DDoS attacks are on the rise, and no site is too small to be a target. But with the right tools and a solid response plan, you can minimize the damage and bounce back stronger. From detecting suspicious traffic to recovering your systems, every step you take now makes a future attack easier to manage or avoid altogether.
If you’re serious about protecting your website, it’s worth investing in real defenses. Network Solutions offers a full suite of website security and SSL certificates to help keep your site secure, encrypted, and trusted—whether you’re running a business, a blog, or a storefront.
Frequently asked questions
Not always, but you can make them fail. Firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, and CDNs can filter out malicious internet traffic while letting legitimate traffic through, reducing the chances of a successful DDoS attack.
These attacks focus primarily on the functions of a site—like login pages, search, or shopping carts—by sending direct web traffic that looks real but is automated. They’re harder to detect than volumetric DDoS attacks because they mimic normal user behavior.
A volumetric DDoS attack overwhelms your network with incoming traffic until bandwidth is maxed out. Many organizations stop these by routing traffic through an internet service provider or cloud-based mitigation service that can absorb large surges.
To prevent DDoS attacks, combine firewalls, rate limiting, intrusion prevention systems, and a virtual private network (VPN) to mask your IP address. Partnering with your internet service provider for upstream filtering can block malicious traffic before it reaches you.
A successful DDoS attack can slow your site to a crawl or take it offline completely, blocking legitimate traffic and potentially giving attackers time to target other vulnerabilities.
DDoS attackers can target virtually anyone with an online presence, but they often focus on high-visibility or high-value targets. These include large businesses and eCommerce sites, financial institutions, government agencies, media outlets, gaming platforms, streaming services, competitors, and even individuals such as journalists, activists, or streamers.
Infrastructure layer attacks, or network layer attacks, target the backbone of your site—servers, routers, and switches—often using volumetric DDoS tactics to disrupt all incoming traffic.
