Just as we have been forced to face ... new ... attacks in the offline world that ... our very way of life, online and less ... dangers are an ... and ... threa
Just as we have been forced to face terrifying new terrorist attacks in the offline world that threatens our very way of life, online and less publicized dangers are an increasing and terrifying threat.
Few people realize that your choice of web host has a lot to do with just how secure your web site is going to be against attack. Even a simple assault from a lone hacker will tend to be easier with an unprepared web host with less resources and experience.
But the real terror emerges from Ddos attacks or Distributed Denial-of-service attacks. Deliberately designed to elude detection by today's most popular tools, these attacks tend to be swift and come without any warning, leaving behind huge losses that can never be recouped. Microsoft lost an estimated $500 million in just a few days from a Ddos attack on the site in January 2001. Of course the costs go way beyond simple monetary terms. Because site performance is compromised, the business ends up with frustrated customers.
The network infrastructure of the host you choose is very important if a web master is to ensure that their site is protected. And yet most of this protection does not come cheap. For example the most recent Cisco Ddos protection appliance costs about $200,000. Without this protection the host and his entire network are "sitting ducks" as any Ddos attack on any single site will affect the entire network and thus other web sites as well.
This is one of the reasons why it is becoming increasingly important for web masters to be aware of a lot of technical details behind the network structure and capabilities of the web host they choose to go with. It is just too risky to leave it all to chance or to base the entire reason for choice on a few simple factors like price and number of years in business.
