WHAT IS DDOS?:
Distributed denial-of-service attack (DDOS attack) Is is an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users.
Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of the efforts of one or more people to
temporarily or indefinitely interrupt or suspend services of a host connected to the Internet.
SYMPTOMS of DDOS:
Unusually slow network performance (opening files or accessing web sites)
Unavailability of a particular web site
Inability to access any web site
Dramatic increase in the number of spam emails received—(this type of DoS attack is considered an e-mail bomb)
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM DDOS:
One of the best ways to protect yourself from a DDOS attack is to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network). A VPN will hide your IP and will assign
you a new IP when you are connected to it.
If you use a VPN people will not be able to get your IP and therfore will not be able to DDOS you.
Some free VPN downloads: Proxpn [Please login or register to view this link] Gpass [Please login or register to view this link] Cyberghost [Please login or register to view this link]
Another way to protect yourself from DDOS is to download a good firewall such as Comodo Firewall [Please login or register to view this link]
NOTE: To make Comodo have any effect against DDOS you need to open up the control panel than (Firewall->Firewall Behavior Settings->Advanced->Block Fragmented IP Datagrams) check the box and you should be good to go.
If the hacker has your IP please keep reading on how to change your IP.
HOW TO TELL IF YOU HAVE A STATIC IP OR A DYNAMIC IP:
Switching your router off for a while will eventually force the ISP to release your old IP. Unfortunately, you could be unlucky and your "new" IP may be exactly the same as your old one. This means that switching off your router for a while is not a 100% foolproof way of finding out if your IP is static or dynamic. It usually works, though.
HOW TO CHANGE YOUR IP:
Dynamic-
If you have a Dynamic IP all that you need to do is reset your router and you should have a new IP with no problems.
Static-
If you have a Static IP it will be a bit more difficult. To change your Static IP you will have to contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP)
and you may have to purchase a new IP.
After you have obtained a new IP from your ISP check out this guide on how to set it up [Please login or register to view this link]
MISC. PROTECTION
This one might sound like common sense, but if you avoid giving people a reason to DDoS you than you will stay safe. This means try to avoid getting in arguments with other people from the internet.
Credits: iFind this post on HF
