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9 Best Tools Against DDoS Attacks

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DDoS is an abbreviation for Distributed Denial of Service, which is a sort of cyber assault used by hackers to take users offline. DDoS attacks, unlike other types of cyberattacks, do not attempt to breach your security perimeter. Instead, a DDoS attack seeks to prevent authorized users from accessing your website and servers. DDoS is used to disable security devices and breach the target's security perimeter while serving as a smokescreen for other malicious operations.

A distributed denial of service attack that is effective will have a significant impact on the entire online user base. This makes it a preferred tool for extortionists, cyber vandals, hacktivists, and anybody else wanting to further an agenda or make a statement.

DDoS attacks occur in brief spurts or repeatedly, but regardless of how they occur, the effects on a website or company may linger for days, weeks, or even months as the latter struggles to recover. DDoS can be incredibly harmful to any online organization because of this. DDoS attacks, among other things, result in lost sales, destroy customer confidence, compel companies to spend a fortune on compensation, and harm a company's reputation over the long run.

However, employing DDOS attack tools is highly beneficial for securing your network or system. System administrators and pen testers must have access to these tools. A DDOS attack tool functions as a defender for the system, allowing faster attacks to determine the strength of the server's security framework.

These instruments outperform several manual methods in terms of efficiency, intensity, and time required. Additionally, a variety of DDoS attack tool types are accessible to protect your system.

Preventing well-known dangers can help keep your network secure. These tried-and-true DDOS tools help identify viruses and other hazards before an assault.

In this article, we will talk about the Top 9 Tools Against DDoS Attacks listed below:

  1. HULK

  2. Slowloris

  3. RUDY

  4. LOIC

  5. Xoic

  6. DDOSIM

  7. PyLoris

  8. SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)

  9. Tor's Hammer

Moreover, the following hot topics about DDOS attacks will be covered in this writing.

  • What is a DDoS Attack?

  • How do DDoS attack tools work?

  • Do firewalls protect against DDoS attacks?

  • Do VPNs protect you from DDoS attacks?

1. HULK​

HTTP Unbearable Load King is the acronym for HULK. A Denial of Service (DoS) tool called Hulk generates distinctive and obscured traffic volumes to attack web servers. The idea for the Hulk Web server came from Barry Shteiman.

Transfer protocols, the standard method for connecting computers to servers in this era, make it easy for assaults to overwhelm servers with a large number of these seemingly legitimate requests. HULK acts in just that way.

Features​

Some features of the HULK tool are listed below:

  • The traffic produced by HULK avoids caching systems and goes straight to the server's immediate resource pool.

  • It may produce unusual and enigmatic traffic.

  • The web server experiences a significant amount of traffic as a result.

  • It was produced with research in mind.

Advantages​

Some advantages of the HULK tool are as follows:

  • The tool works best for identifying viruses and guarding against attacks on your systems.

  • HULK is particularly effective at carrying out denial-of-service attacks because it can deliver disguised communications, which makes it more difficult to detect.

Disadvantages​

Some disadvantages of the HULK tool are given below:

  • This stress testing tool has the potential to seriously bring down a server or app with poor configuration. Use it with caution.

  • These tools can be used to create attacks that are often very challenging to identify. Of course, given that HTTP is used for execution, that is to be expected.

In contrast to many of the other tools available, the Hulk DDoS attack tool stands out. In order to put more strain on the servers and get over any intrusion detection and prevention systems(IDS/IPS), the Hulk Web server operates on the principle that a different pattern is generated for each and every request.

2. Slowloris​

An example of a denial of service attack tool is Slowloris, which uses little bandwidth and has adverse effects on unrelated services and ports to bring down the web server of another machine. Slowloris sends the server only approved HTTP traffic. As the attack proceeds slowly, traffic can be quickly identified as irregular and blocked. Due to the fact that it sends valid HTTP traffic, it differs from other solutions. It is employed to bring down the server.

Features​

The main features of Slowloris are given below:

  • It sends server-only approved HTTP traffic.

  • Other services and ports on the target network are unaffected.

  • This attack aims to maintain as many connections as possible with those who are already open.

  • It does it by submitting a portion of the request.

  • The connections are kept as long as feasible.

  • The slow lorises, a tribe of monkeys distinguished by their slow pace, were the inspiration for the program's name.

Advantages​

The primary advantages of Slowloris are listed below:

  • One of the greatest methods for conducting DDOS attacks is this tool. It is even referred to as the most efficient instrument accessible.

  • It works by sending valid, albeit wasteful, HTTP requests. Due to the limited bandwidth, the server becomes inundated with requests in this approach.

  • Using this program, attackers can connect to the victim server and maintain such connections for as long as necessary.

  • The server has little to no room to accommodate the users because it is left waiting for a number of unfulfilled HTTP requests.

  • The fact that the HTTP requests are genuine and not faked makes them very effective.

Disadvantages​

The main disadvantages of Slowloris are as follows:

  • As long as the server leaves the bogus connection active, the connection pool will be overloaded, which will prevent the true connections from receiving requests.

  • By using this tool to try every connection, hackers can bring down the victim's server.

As the attack proceeds slowly, traffic can be quickly identified as irregular and blocked.

3. RUDY​

The RUDY operates by taking advantage of long-form field HTTP POST submissions, which flood a network with coordinated streams of denial assaults instead of using HTTP headers.

The DoS tool known as RUDY, which stands for R-U-Dead-Yet, is used to carry out slow-rate assaults (like Slowloris), which are implemented through long-form field submissions. This tool launches an assault by utilizing the POST method to submit a lengthy form field.

The RUDY - R-U-Dead-Yet tool's guiding premise is long-form field contributions. RUDY accepts a URL as an input and finds every form there. Support for the SOCKet Secure (SOCKS) Internet protocol proxy and cookie-based session persistence are two additional features of RUDY. R-U-Dead-Yet is a very user-friendly program with a very interactive console menu from the user's point of view.

Features​

Some features of RUDY are as follows:

  • Interactive menu on a console.

  • With regard to the POST-based DDoS assault, you can choose the forms from the URL.

  • It indicates the form fields for entering data. then slowly injects the large content length data into this form.

  • It employs lengthy forms to attack servers with a sluggish, well-coordinated flood of denials.

  • RUDY is sometimes used in combination

  • First, servers with embedded web forms are contracted. The RUDY attack tool is used to issue HTTP requests with very long content once these servers have been identified and the forms have been documented.

Advantages​

The primary benefits of RUDY are explained below:

Layer 7 DDoS attacks, often known as "low and slow" attacks, produce little traffic and do so slowly. DDoS mitigation methods are challenging to find because they continuously send little HTTP packets to the victim server that seem valid, use the resources for a while, and then exhaust them.

Disadvantages​

The main disadvantage of RUDY is that it takes a long time since it operates so slowly. The sluggish rate makes it possible to identify it as anomalous and block it.

4. LOIC​

Low Orbit Ion Cannon is known as LOIC. LOIC is an open-source program that companies can employ to defend against DDoS attacks.

A DDoS attack tool called the Low-Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC) advertises one-click denial-of-service attacks. The hacktivist collective Anonymous made LOIC well-known. You can command remote LOIC systems by sending UDP, TCP, and HTTP queries to the HIVEMIND mode server.

LOIC started off with a lot of promise, but due to its flaws, it is now only seen as another tool in the wild. The Low-Orbit ion cannon could still be a potent weapon in the DDoS assault arsenal when paired with other features, though.

Features​

Some capabilities of LOIC are as follows:

  • LOIC produces TCP, HTTP, and UDP traffic for the victim server.

  • It is a user interface (UI) based tool, making it simple to use even for beginners. Simply input the IP address or URL, choose the attack type (HTTP, UDP, or TCP), and then click "IMMA CHARGIN MAH LAZER" to begin assaulting the target server.

  • Based on the URL or IP address of the server, it can launch the assault.

  • The website will go offline and stop responding to requests in a matter of seconds.

  • The hacker collective Anonymous used this tool to launch an IRC attack on a number of major corporations.

Advantages​

Some advantages of LOIC are as follows:

  • One of the most widely used DoS attack programs for Windows, Mac, and Linux is this one.

  • The HIVEMIND mode will let you manage distant LOIC systems. You can use this to command the other computers connected to the Zombie network.

  • It so happens to be particularly helpful in DDOS assaults that take advantage of large volumes.

Disadvantages​

Some drawbacks of LOIC are given below:

  • Simply put, it directs computer networks toward particular server architectures. Since no machine can typically send requests strong enough to overload server bandwidths, this causes computer networks to transmit unneeded packets to the preselected servers.

  • Although Low-Orbit Ion Cannon has the potential to bring down millions of websites, it has a significant flaw in that it does not mask the IP address of the attack launcher.

5. Xoic​

Another DOS attack tool with an IP address, user-chosen port, and user-chosen protocol is called XOIC. Using XOIC TCP, HTTP, UDP, or ICMP-based XOIC DoS attacks can be quickly identified and stopped.

Features​

Some features of the XOIC tool are listed below:

  • XOIC is a GUI-based application, making it simple for beginners to use.

  • There are three assault modes available.

  • Testing mode

  • Standard DoS attack mode

  • TCP, HTTP, UDP, or ICMP message DoS attack.

Advantages​

The primary benefits of the XOIC tool are given below:

  • TCP, HTTP, UDP, or ICMP-based XOIC DoS attack

  • According to the tool's creators, XOIC is more effective than LOIC.

  • Small websites can be attacked with the aid of this program.

6. DDOSIM​

The DDoS Simulator is referred to as DDOSIM which is used to carry out Linux and C++-based application layer-seven attacks. It mimics a DDoS attack against certain servers by establishing several fictitious hosts with various IP addresses. This program is used to simulate a DDoS assault. Both the network and the website are vulnerable to attack. Systems running Linux can use the DDoSIM utility. This free DDoS attack simulator generates attacks on your machine. It is capable of both legitimate and illegitimate attacks.

Features​

The main features of the DDOSIM tool are given below:

  • In order to assault the server, DDOSIM multiplies numerous zombie hosts.

  • It generates full TCP connections to the victim server while simulating a number of infected hosts (using spoof IP addresses).

  • It can launch a legitimate HTTP DDoS assault.

  • DDoS attacks employing erroneous requests are possible.

  • The application layer may be attacked.

  • It operates by having C++ code that can be used to attack your website or application.

  • When you execute the code, it mimics a layer 7 DDoS attack against your network.

Advantages​

Some advantages of the DDOSIM tool are as follows:

  • The fact that you are not restricted to a single type or a certain number of attacks is the nicest aspect.

  • It operates in such a way that it executes many attack techniques to demonstrate the variety of approaches and the breadth of a hacker's cognitive process.

  • It's a fantastic approach to checking your network for vulnerabilities and guarding against DDoS attacks in the future.

  • The best use for it is stress testing your website.

  • The attack can be altered to better serve your security objectives.

  • The code can be altered to launch DDoS assaults that are targeted at particular applications.

Disadvantages​

The primary disadvantage of the DDOSIM tool is that it is just a testing tool and cannot be used to defend against such assaults or to track them down and look into them.

7. PyLoris​

A server's susceptibility to connection exhaustion denial of service (DoS) attacks can be tested with PyLoris, a scriptable tool. This particular tool type is excellent for DDOS attacks that are carried out covertly. With the help of PyLoris, a free DDoS attack tool, you may test the reliability of your web server by launching several DDoS attacks. The most recent codebase is used to simulate a DDoS assault on your web server. Additionally, it's a fantastic tool to gauge the energy of your network.

Features​

Some capabilities of PyLoris are listed below:

  • Target protocols supported by PyLoris include HTTP, FTP, SMTP, IMAP, and Telnet. PyLoris may also make use of SOCKS proxies and SSL connections.

  • Tkinter GUI, Scripting API, Anonymity, TOR Proxying, and SOCKS Proxying are some of Pyloris' features.

  • It offers a user-friendly GUI.

  • It expresses an outright criticism of service.

  • When fighting off stealth DDOS attacks, this tool is quite helpful. DDoS tools can be used to identify or stop assaults. The tools, however, are employed for pen-testing by handling sneaky and slow attacks.

  • This DDoS tool supports Windows, Linux, and Mac OS and is written in the Python programming language.

  • It allows you to choose up to 50 threads for each process, with no more than that. Ten connections can be made on each thread.

Advantages​

The main advantages of PyLoris are as follows:

  • Protects against dangers

  • Several server security features

  • Makes quality traffic available

  • Ensures network security overall

  • Executing denial attacks directly against the network is a full approach. It makes use of several encryptions and anonymity-operating server communication frameworks.

  • The fact that PyLoris has an easy-to-use GUI sets it apart from other DDoS assault tools. Other tools typically lack even an interface.

  • PyLoris offers the same degree of customization as tools built using open-source code.

Disadvantages​

The primary disadvantage of PyLoris is that it depends on Python, and installing it can be challenging. It is capable of attacking a number of protocols.

8. SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)​

SolarWinds SEM ?nstrument is an efficient software for DDoS attack mitigation and prevention. These systems are directly involved in protection, as opposed to the other tools on the list that assist you in testing by launching assaults. SEM will serve as a single source of truth for post-breach investigations and DDoS mitigation thanks to the procedure it uses to maintain logs and events.

Features​

Some features of SolarWinds SEM are given below:

  • SEM contains capabilities that allow for automated alert sending, IP blocking, or account closure.

  • Using checkboxes, the tool will let you set the choices.

  • It stores the logs and events in an unchangeable, read-only format that is encrypted and compressed.

  • SEM will become a single source of truth for post-breach investigations and DDoS mitigation thanks to this strategy of log and event maintenance.

  • You can create custom filters in SEM based on particular timeframes, accounts/IPs, or combinations of criteria.

  • SEM will use community-sourced lists of well-known malicious actors to find interactions with probable command and control servers. It gathers, normalizes, and analyzes logs from various IDS/IPs, firewalls, servers, and other sources in order to accomplish this.

Advantages​

The main advantages of SolarWinds SEM are listed below:

  • Security Event Manager from SolarWinds is a powerful DDoS attack mitigation and prevention tool.

  • For the purpose of identifying and avoiding DDoS attacks, it may monitor the event logs from a variety of sources.

  • These systems are directly involved in protection, in contrast to all the other tools on the list that assist you in testing by launching assaults.

  • You could utilize this system to monitor traffic flow and counteract the aforementioned threats, rather than just relying on your local firewalls and traditional IP filters.

  • When it detects junk traffic, this system can shut off the requests, regulate traffic flow to servers, and provide emergency alarms.

9. Tor's Hammer​

A HTTP POST (Layer 7) DoS tool with a sluggish rate is called Tor's Hammer. The slow POST attack used by Tor's Hammer delivers HTML POST fields at slow rates inside the same session. This tool was developed for testing. It is for use after a slow attack.

As a program that continuously sends little HTTP packets to the victim server, which appears legitimate and uses the resources over time and exhausts it, this attack is similarly challenging to spot. An added benefit of using the tool over the Tor network is that it will conceal your identity. Tor's Hammer, free Layer 7 DDoS assault software, is a superb option for network defense software.

Features​

The main capabilities of Tor's Hammer tool are given below:

  • You won't be recognized if you run it via the Tor network.

  • Use 127.0.0.1:9050 to run it through Tor.

  • IIS and Apache servers can be attacked with this tool.

  • The tool may conduct assaults inside the Tor network, as its name implies.

  • By default, Tor's Hammer is attacking the entire TCP stack at level 7 of the OSI Model.

  • The process is straightforward. The utility opens numerous dead connections, which causes the application to hang because it is unable to return results.

  • It is made for covert attacks rather than crushing targets like the genuine Thor hammer. The tool is designed in a way that leverages anonymity to get through firewalls and security countermeasures.

Advantages​

Some benefits of Tor's Hammer tool are as follows:

  • Tor's Hammer can also spoof and create traffic from IP addresses of random sources. DDoS mitigation tools find it challenging to identify an assault as a result.

  • Pen testers also use it to execute mock attacks on security systems.

  • The code enables you to use Markdown to create rich text markup. Additionally, it has the ability to create interactive links from URLs without the use of a third-party software developer.

  • For up to 30,000 seconds, this utility can store an HTTP Post connection and requests. This lets you know how much data your server can handle before going offline.

  • Python was used to generate the sluggish post-DDoS attacks used in this testing tool. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can access it slowly using Tor.

  • This online tool can be used to target web apps and servers to display the server's capacity.

  • It operates by making browser-based queries to the intended application, which takes the server down.

Disadvantages​

The main disadvantages of Tor's Hammer tool are listed below:

  • Typically, Tor's main network moves at a fairly modest pace. The efficiency of these tools is naturally constrained by this speed constraint.

  • Beware, this gadget is quite potent. IIS and Apache servers that aren't protected can be taken out instantly.

What is a DDoS Attack?​

DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) assaults are a type of malicious cyber-attacks that are used by hackers or cybercriminals to block access to a host system, network resource, or online service, by its intended users. DDoS attacks overwhelm the target computer and its supporting resources by flooding it with hundreds of millions of unnecessary requests. Because DDoS attacks come from dispersed or numerous sources or IP addresses, they differ from traditional Denial of Service situations. DDoS assaults are successful because they use numerous compromised computer systems as sources of attack traffic. Computers and other networked assets like Internet of Things (IoT) devices can be exploited.

A DDoS assault is comparable from a distance to unforeseen traffic congestion that blocks the roadway and keeps ordinary traffic from reaching its destination.

DDoS assaults commonly target the following targets:

  • e-commerce websites

  • Internet casinos

  • Any company or organization that relies on offering internet services

How do DDoS Attack Tools Work?​

Distributed Denial attacks include numerous computers. These several machines launch a DDoS assault against the targeted server or website. This attack is known as a "distributed denial of service" attack because it uses a dispersed network to carry it out.

In plain English, more fictitious requests are made to the target by more machines. Such requests overload the target, making it impossible for valid requests or users to access the resources. Typically, the goal of a DDoS attack is to bring down the website.

The DDoS attack's duration is dependent on whether it targets the network layer or the application layer. A network layer attack can last up to 48 to 49 hours. A maximum of 60 to 70 days may pass between attacks at the application layer.

The Computer Misuse Act of 1990 makes DDoS attacks and other similar attacks unlawful. An attacker may receive incarceration as a punishment since it is unlawful.

DDoS attacks come in 3 different flavors:

  1. Attacks on the application layer

  2. Protocol

  3. Volume levels

The techniques for DDoS assaults are as follows:

  • UDP flood

  • ICMP (Ping) flood

  • SYN flood

  • Ping of Death

  • Slowloris

  • NTP Amplification

  • HTTP flood

Additionally, DDoS attack tools are divided into the following categories.

There are numerous DDoS attack tools accessible both legally and illegally. Stressors are the name for a few of them. They are actual tools that network engineers and security researchers can use to inspect and test networks within enterprises. Even if they are utilized for vulnerability assessment procedures, unscrupulous actors take advantage of them for malicious ends.

Finally, the following are typical groups of DDoS attack tools:

  • Low-speed Attack Tools: These DDoS attack tools require a small amount of data and operate slowly since they are designed to send small packets of data over numerous network connections. In order to use up more server resources, this keeps ports on a particular server open for a longer period of time. Until the server is unable to handle any more requests, the process continues.

  • Tools for Application Layer-7 Attacks: You must be familiar with the OSI model in order to comprehend this. The seven levels of Open Systems Interconnection, or OSI, models are what computer systems utilize to interact with one another via a network. In the 1980s, all significant computer and telecommunications businesses embraced and synchronized with the OSI model.

    Application layer-7 attack tools, therefore, aim at the seventh layer of the OSI model, which is where HTTP requests are produced. Bad actors flood servers with traffic that appears to be genuine user requests.

  • Attack Tools for the Protocol and Transport Layer: This group of DDoS attack tools overloads a server and causes it to malfunction by using UDP and high volumes of traffic. Videos and DNS lookups are examples of time-sensitive transfers that use the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Its duty is to hasten unofficial communications prior to data transmission.

Do Firewalls Protect Against DDoS Attack?​

No. Firewalls can't protect you from DDoS attacks. The idea that firewalls can shield you from DDoS attacks is untrue. Firewalls have significant weaknesses when it comes to DDoS and malicious server-focused attacks, despite the fact that they are intended to and still do defend networks from a number of security threats. Complex DDoS attacks cannot be defended against by firewalls, which essentially serve as DDoS entry points. Attacks easily bypass open firewall ports that are meant to provide authorized users access.

Surprisingly, in a recent poll of security experts, 30% of respondents said that their companies' DDoS defenses are made out of standard security infrastructure solutions like firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, and load balancers. Since it is commonly known that typical security infrastructure products are unable to combat DDoS attacks, these businesses are extremely susceptible to them.

From a different angle, people frequently equate the idea of a "firewall" with thorough security. However, the presence of a firewall does not actually ensure protection against DDoS because other settings and layers of filters are needed in addition to the traffic processing rules. Additionally, sporadic upgrades leave firewalls open to cyber attacks because hackers are always honing their techniques and creating new ways to cause harm.

Therefore, it is advised to use additional solutions for truly all-encompassing security.

At Layers 3, 4, and 7 of the OSI Model, traffic must be filtered in order to protect against DDoS attacks. The technology behind reverse proxies is most frequently used for web traffic processing and cleaning.

The system doesn't stop all traffic from the IP address when it suspects an attack; instead, it handles each incoming packet separately. Legitimate router users will have access to the secured resources in the event that a home router is compromised and used to launch an attack.

Do VPNs protect you from DDoS attacks?​

Yes. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) can thwart a DDoS attack. Because your IP address is concealed from websites and other online users by VPN service. Nobody can launch DDoS attacks on your network without knowing your IP address. If they do, they will simply DDoS the VPN in its place.

A DDoS assault starts by focusing on the target. Each entity on the Internet is given an IP address that serves as its unique identity. The victim can be the target of a DDoS attack once the attackers obtain the target's IP address. Your IP address can be hidden with a VPN, which makes it very challenging for threat actors to target you with DDoS attacks.

A VPN, however, is limited in several situations. The attacker might be able to determine your true IP address if they have access to your system through a backdoor or have infected it with a Remote Access Trojan (RAT). An attacker can defeat the IP-cloaking security that a VPN gives you once they learn your real IP address. This complicates matters much more if you utilize a static IP address, as threat actors can constantly target you unless you update it. Be aware that a DDoS assault that is already active cannot be stopped by a VPN.

Furthermore, even while utilizing a VPN, you can still be at risk if the VPN connection suddenly stops if attackers are continuously watching your connection.

If the VPN connection drops, the majority of systems are set up to failover to their default, insecure connection, allowing the attacker to access your real IP address.

By masking your IP address, VPNs can deter threat actors from choosing you as their target, even though they are not a foolproof defense against DDoS attacks.

Maintaining a constant VPN connection is one way to feel secure against DDoS attacks. It becomes more difficult for threat actors to link you to your real IP address the more time you spend behind your VPN's privacy shield.

Last but not least, refrain from visiting dubious websites, downloading anything from dubious sources to your computer, or opening strange email attachments. Your system could be backdoored by attackers, which would make your system vulnerable to DDoS attacks and render your VPN worthless in this circumstance.

Last updated on by Zenarmor