How do you prevent a DDOS attack?

[thegrandkaidbz]

Earlier today, a spammer decide to spam my site. I responded by telling him that I'm not interested and that his spelling sucked. He replied back by threatening to take down my site. He claims he can get rid of my site forever. Here is a small quote from his message:

"And you think i cant **** up your site well your wrong about that.. I could DDOS you for ****ing ever because your prolly poor and have a ***** *** server with no protection."

I am not going to post the entire message here. There was a lot of cussing and inappropriate content. For some reason, I decided to dare him to do it. I don't know if he is bluffing or if he really can do it. Is there any way I can prevent a DDOS attack? Also can someone serve time behind bars for a DDOS attack?

 

[The Elite]

You messed up so many times, it's not funny.

For one, do not ever discuss with a spammer and especially insult him. Second of all, never dare someone to take down your forum, that's completely your fault. Either you are lucky and called his bluff, or get ready to look for a new host, since no shared host will host a website that's frequently DDOSed.

 

[Luke]

I believe it is illegal? If it's in your terms..

 

[David]

I agree with The Elite. You've made so many mistakes to a point where your host can hold you accountable for this potential attack.

Anyway...

Is there any way I can prevent a DDOS attack? Also can someone serve time behind bars for a DDOS attack?

I think you should contact your host and tell them you may be under attack, but don't mention you dared the other person. DDOS attackers can serve jail time but in your case (theoretically), you are partly responsible for aggravating him when you shouldn't be.

 

[Mik.]

Create constant back ups. Ban the Ip, email, username. Thats all I got to help you.

Good luck!

 

[The Elite]

Don't even bother taking the DDOSer to court/legal action. The main reason why, instead of bettering your forum, you'll be spending weeks and months finding the person (if you can even find him). Second of all, if you're expecting DDOS attacks (which you should be, if you dare people...), it's time to upgrade to a virtual private server.

A tip to you: My forum has been hit by a 6gbit/s DDOS attack. Never retaliate, just keep going, they won't attack you anymore. I had 3 months of straight DDOS attacks and I kept them off.

 

[Luke]

Don't even bother taking the DDOSer to court/legal action. The main reason why, instead of bettering your forum, you'll be spending weeks and months finding the person (if you can even find him). Second of all, if you're expecting DDOS attacks (which you should be, if you dare people...), it's time to upgrade to a virtual private server.

A tip to you: My forum has been hit by a 6gbit/s DDOS attack. Never retaliate, just keep going, they won't attack you anymore. I had 3 months of straight DDOS attacks and I kept them off.

3 months! Wow >.<

 

[The Elite]

Don't even bother taking the DDOSer to court/legal action. The main reason why, instead of bettering your forum, you'll be spending weeks and months finding the person (if you can even find him). Second of all, if you're expecting DDOS attacks (which you should be, if you dare people...), it's time to upgrade to a virtual private server.

A tip to you: My forum has been hit by a 6gbit/s DDOS attack. Never retaliate, just keep going, they won't attack you anymore. I had 3 months of straight DDOS attacks and I kept them off.

3 months! Wow >.<

You can read my story here:

http://community.mybb.com/thread-87308.html

This was about 3 months ago.

 

[thegrandkaidbz]

@The Elite You're right. It was foolish of me to dare him. I think he is bluffing. He kept saying he was going to take down my forum and still hasn't done so. I'll look for a new host just in case.

@DavidL I already contacted my host. Unfortunately I mentioned that I dared him. I still haven't gotten a response from my host yet. I hope they're not mad at me.

 

[David]

@DavidL I already contacted my host. Unfortunately I mentioned that I dared him. I still haven't gotten a response from my host yet. I hope they're not mad at me.

Probably not wise of you. Can I ask which host are you with?

 

[Fergal]

thegrandkaidbz when someone threatens you like that, there really is nothing to be gained from communicating with them. The reason they make the threat in the first place is because they want to get your attention and they want to make you angry. From what you say above, it sounds as if you gave them exactly what they wanted. But that's in the past, no point in worrying about it now.

Just do what Gamrpro said, to limit their access to your forum in every way possible. Also change all your passwords (e.g. for your hosting account, cPanel access, ftp, your email, etc) to something really secure and ask all your staff to do the same.

Also, I'm not sure how your worded your "dare", I mean saying something like "If you DDOS me I will report you" is different to "Please go ahead and DDOS me"?

Once you've made your forum as secure as possible, forget about him and get on with running your forum. If he gets in touch again, repeat the process, without replying to him or communicating with him in any way.

Finally, keep records of his contact details and any messages he sends you, you might need them again in the future. Threats are generally a sign of weakness and the vast majority of threats come to nothing. The people you really need to worry about are the ones you don't see coming.

 

[thegrandkaidbz]

@DavidL I am using webs.com to host my site. I got a response and they told me it wasn't smart to dare him. They also asked me to give them his email address. I'm not sure what they're going to do.

@Fergal I should have never responded to him in the first place. I responded by telling him he couldn't take down my site even if he wanted to. I also called him a pussy. I told him if he could DDOS me, he should go ahead and try. It's been a day now, and nothing has happened to my site. Now I think he is bluffing. I'll make my forum as secure as possible just in case. Thanks.

 

[about lee]

Wow you dared him? You could be waiting weeks for this "attack" to happen maybe months who knows. And for telling your hosting you dared this person, if it happens your host can claim its your fault as it would effect everyone on the server your being hosted on if you have a shared hosting account.

My host has just gotten over a DDOS attack one was 5gb, and when they sorted it all out they got another one at 10gb.

I think all you can do is whats been said here.

 

[AnAccount]

Dude, I wouldn't even go as far as daring him to DDOS me. He might take your dare seriously and may actually try to do it. Also, avoid all communication with this idiot. All you're doing by responding to this guys emails is fueling his fire. Not a smart move at all.

 

[Fergal]

Don't worry about him thegrandkaidbz, forget about him learn from the experience and keep your site as secure as possible from now on.