KnownHost DDoS Protection: How 3 Tbps Shields Your Website From Going Dark

You're running a business online, traffic is growing, and then suddenly your site goes offline. Not because of a server crash or a coding error, but because someone decided to flood your server with fake traffic until it buckled under the pressure. That's a DDoS attack, and it's more common than you'd think.

KnownHost includes free DDoS protection on all managed hosting products, with coverage up to 3 Tbps (that's 3000 Gbps) of bandwidth. This protection works through multiple layers of identification and filtering hardware that kick in before attacks can reach your server.

What KnownHost's DDoS Protection Actually Covers

The protection handles the most common network-level attacks that try to overwhelm your bandwidth:

UDP Floods - These spam your server with User Datagram Protocol packets, forcing it to check for applications that aren't there and send back error responses until resources are exhausted.

Syn Flood - Exploits the TCP handshake by sending connection requests but never completing them, tying up server resources waiting for responses that never come.

NTP Amplification - Uses publicly accessible Network Time Protocol servers to amplify attack traffic by up to 600 times the original request size.

Volume Based Attacks - Simply throws massive amounts of traffic at your server to consume all available bandwidth.

DNS Amplification - Similar to NTP attacks, but uses DNS servers to multiply small queries into large responses directed at your server.

Fragmented Packet Attacks - Breaks packets into fragments that your server has to reassemble, consuming CPU and memory until it can't handle legitimate traffic.

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What's Not Covered (And Why That Matters)

Here's the thing about DDoS protection: it's designed for network-level attacks, not application-level ones. KnownHost's protection doesn't handle Layer 7 attacks, which target the application itself rather than the network infrastructure. These include brute force login attempts, email floods, XMLRPC floods, and low-level HTTP traffic floods.

Why the distinction? Because these attacks operate differently. They don't necessarily overwhelm your bandwidth but instead exploit vulnerabilities in your application code or server configuration. The good news is that many of these can be handled at the server level through firewalls, mod_security, or tightening up your website code.

IPv6 attacks receive null route protection only, meaning traffic is simply blocked rather than filtered.

Your First Line of Defense Is in the Network

Before an attack ever reaches your server files, databases, or email, KnownHost's DDoS protection intervenes. It's built on high-end hardware and network appliances running secure operating systems and optimized software components. They've integrated tools like Imunify360 and provide SSL certificates to add extra security layers.

But infrastructure only goes so far. The hosting provider handles the network layer, but you need to secure the application layer.

What You Should Be Doing on Your End

Restrict Login Attempts - Use Config Server Firewall (CSF), the CSF/LFD daemon that comes with VPS and dedicated products, or similar tools to stop multiple failed login attempts in quick succession. Whether it's SSH, FTP, or admin panels, limiting retry attempts makes brute force attacks far less effective.

Ban Users After Failed Logins - Set up automatic bans through CSF, iptables, or other firewall methods. It doesn't matter which method you choose as long as you implement something. Leaving this unprotected is like leaving your front door unlocked.

Monitor Log Files - Check your access logs, error logs, and authentication logs regularly. Look for patterns like repeated requests from the same IP, unusual traffic spikes, or failed login attempts. Catching issues early often means the difference between a minor inconvenience and a major outage.

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Security Best Practices Worth Implementing

Use Public Keys Instead of Password Authentication - Public key authentication for SSH is significantly harder to compromise than password-based logins. If you haven't made this switch yet, it's worth the small effort.

Change Default Ports - Default SSH runs on port 22, which every hacker knows. Changing to a non-standard port won't stop a determined attacker, but it does filter out automated scanning tools that target default configurations.

Secure WordPress Sites - Change the default admin username, limit admin permissions, password protect wp-login.php, restrict wp-admin access by IP address, and deny no-referrer requests. Consider using blocklists and security plugins, but don't rely on just one solution.

Secure Magento Installations - Customize the Magento admin path, avoid using "admin" for administrative tasks, use strong passwords, protect the /download folder via .htaccess, enable HTTPS for the admin panel, and keep everything updated to patch known exploits.

The Cost Question

Building and maintaining DDoS protection infrastructure isn't cheap. But KnownHost provides it free with all managed hosting plans because they understand it's critical for business continuity. You're not paying extra fees or dealing with tiered protection levels. It's included.

For SSL certificates, premium options are available, but high-value shared and reseller hosting plans include a free SSL certificate to get you started.

Why This Matters for Your Business

Website downtime costs money. Every minute your site is offline, you're losing potential customers, damaging your reputation, and possibly losing SEO rankings. DDoS attacks are becoming more sophisticated and more common, targeting businesses of all sizes.

Having protection in place before you need it means your site stays online when competitors might go dark. It means customer transactions don't fail mid-checkout. It means your email keeps working and your team stays productive.

The network-level protection handles the heavy lifting, but security is a partnership. The hosting provider secures the infrastructure, you secure the application. Both need to be solid for comprehensive protection.