what is ddos?

[bcnu]

DDOS uses multiple computers to create a DOS attack.

A DOS attack is typically a bombardment of excess traffic requests to a node that overloads it, preventing any useful work from being performed.

A ping attack is one type of DOS, especially where someone has carelessly configured a device to accept outside pings with oversized packets and forward them to the entire internal network. Another type of ping attack uses a stream of malformed packets to an open port that wastes time trying to parse them, or simply crashes.

There are dozens of possible DOS attack modes, depending upon the target and the attacker's resources.

You probably cannot "stop" a DOS, without finding the source(s), but many devices can at least detect some types of attack and ignore them fast enough to avoid degrading useful traffic. A VPN or a direct circuit to a site that has implemented detection can be a useful solution.

The USA and UK have specific federal laws that penalize those caught committing DOS attacks. Other countries, or individual states, may have laws that simply hold the attacker liable for damages, assuming they survive the visit from the guys in the black SUV, y'know, the one with the tinted windows parked outside ...