What Is An IP Reputation Attack?
Introduction:
IP Reputation attack is a kind of attack that uses bad IPs to blacklist good ones. It is carried out by the attackers who are not aware of their own IPs quality. The way it works is that an attacker will send small packets of data several times more than your bandwidth speed which you have subscribed to the internet service provider.
These packets normally consist of random data so as to reduce its size, but eventually increase more at each stage, generating DoS attacks on your IP address sometimes resulting in blacklisting it for some considerable days or weeks, even months pending resolution with your ISP service provider.
How Does An IP Reputation Attack Work:
The attacker first queries the target’s IP blacklisted status with his/her ISP and if the target’s IP is not found on any blacklist, it means that the ISP has not blocked or blacklisted it as yet. The attacker will then take over the target’s system resources making his/her internet connection run at a very slow rate as well as clogging the computers network bandwidth with junk packets all day long for one whole week which results in loss of productivity from work done by you. Most commonly this attack does not result in blacklisting your IP but rather a temporary blocking of access to all your web services until you stop sending these evil packets to other people on the internet.
The packet flooder program usually runs continuously for hours at a time while some high-end versions can run for months together executing DoS attacks on your IP address/computer, exhausting all its resources. Once the target’s bandwidth is exhausted it becomes impossible for him/her to send any information over the internet to other computers while he remains offline for a considerable amount of time up to two weeks or more depending upon ISP policies and procedures for resolving issues involving blacklisted IPs.
One way to defeat attacker:
This attack can be easily defeated by checking each email that was sent from your email box using an anti virus tool which scans its content before you download it into your computer system just in case there are some bad packets hidden in there. You could also try sending simple text messages rather than photos or videos by mobile phones if you are experiencing this type of attack since they use less bandwidth unlike when sending videos or photos which use a lot of bandwidth.
In general it is best to stay away from websites that you do not know the owners of, especially porn sites because they are mostly run by hackers who might be trying to track or monitor your activities on their website for marketing purposes. Protecting yourself from IP reputation attacks is very easy and this article will guide you through all the necessary steps in securing your online privacy and keeping safe while surfing the internet and sharing files with others.
How To Defend Your Computer And Yourself From An IP Reputation Attack:
First of all updating your antivirus programs with latest virus definitions, eliminating any possible exploit windows vulnerabilities left open in your computer system, then installing firewall software such as Norton Internet Security with the latest updates for better protection against intrusion by hackers, using internet at public hotspots which are less likely to be under attack compared to larger companies and institutions with big networks.
To protect yourself from IP reputation attacks it is highly recommended that you should follow these simple steps:
1. Change your password often so as to keep your computer system away from being hacked or infected by worms or Trojans etc..
2. Do not download files from websites unless you know the owners of such sites because most of them can contain malware which gives hackers access to all your online accounts including email, Facebook, Skype and Twitter without you even knowing about it.
3. Finally, do not open emails from people you don’t know or websites that are suspicious since they could contain viruses or malicious software that allows hackers to monitor your activities on the web.
Conclusion:
IP reputation is an issue with which most internet users have to contend with in one way or another especially small business owners who use their personal computers for work purposes and want to protect their privacy at all costs but this is not always possible if you do not follow some important security guidelines when sending emails, uploading files etc…
It’s also recommended that you should not connect more than two devices directly with your computer system, especially printers, because they might be set up by the owner of a nearby public hotspot to send phony marketing messages or sales offers through your email box which can lead to getting your IP blacklisted. Lastly never click on links within emails that you receive or visit websites that promise you to increase your page rank in Google, Yahoo and Bing by paying them money because they can get your IP address blacklisted for spamming which might result in bandwidth being exhausted if the people behind such scams try to send too many messages within a short period of time.
