DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service refers to a kind of cyberattack that focuses on amassing enough requests to a target server so that it shuts down. They are one of the biggest threats that enterprises and SMBs face today. DDoS attacks are by far the most common form of cyberattack, almost tripling in frequency in the last three years.

Cyberattacks are no longer a threat that focuses on just the largest enterprises out there. Instead, small and medium businesses are often targeted, as they’re likely to have fewer layers of protection set up.

Today, we’ll be going over the best tools for DDoS attack prevention; these automated tools make defending against DDoS attacks much more accessible and will do wonders to dissuade them from happening in the first place.

Here is our list of the best DDoS protection tools on the market:

1. ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus – FREE TRIAL A simple yet powerful attack-prevention platform for growing and enterprise networks. Start a 30-day free trial.
2. ManageEngine Log360 – FREE TRIAL A unified SIEM and SOAR tool that can protect your organization from DDoS attacks. Its real-time alerts and user-friendly dashboards support mitigation. Start a 30-day free trial.
3. SolarWinds Security Event Manager A reliable DDoS protection tool from SolarWinds, with event logging, presets, and automation features.
4. Indusface AppTrana A tool that boasts a great UI and is relatively easy to start with. It references the OWASP top 10 threats list and SANS 25 Vulnerability list to find threats.
5. Link11 Αn entirely cloud-based tool that sits as the most popular tool for DDoS attack prevention.
6. Sucuri Website Firewall A cheap, scalable tool that provides geo-blocking features.
7. AWS Shield A technically-intensive tool specialized for Cloud AWS usages that offers a variety of advanced features.
8. Cloudflare A tried-and-tested tool that has shown itself capable of dealing with some of the most significant DDoS attacks.
9. Akamai Prolexic Routed An advanced DDoS prevention tool with various features like hybrid cloud protection, specialized for enterprises.

What To Look For In A DDoS Prevention Tool

DDoS prevention tools are made to stop malicious traffic from getting to your network. Each tool is different in approaching these attacks because there are various kinds of DDoS attacks out there.

The main criteria we used for evaluating the best DDoS prevention tools are:

• Its ability to stop a variety of different attack vectors
• Having a cloud-based dashboard
• Letting you “stack” its protection with regular means of defense, like load balancers
• Having a good alert system that lets your technicians focus on other matters until the tool finds an issue
• The option for a free assessment period
• Reasonable pricing that will suit the size of your business, or bundle multiple tools together

The Βest DDoS Protection Tools

1. ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus – FREE TRIAL

ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus is a software solution that helps businesses and organizations identify and fix security vulnerabilities in their networks and systems. It provides tools for identifying vulnerabilities, assessing the risks they pose, and creating plans to fix them. By using Vulnerability Manager Plus, businesses can improve their security posture and reduce the risk of cyber attacks.

Key Features

• Holistic vulnerability discovery, management, and remediation
• Offers vulnerability classification and prioritization
• Integrates well into enterprise networks and existing cybersecurity teams

Why do we recommend it?

We recommend ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus for its comprehensive vulnerability discovery and management capabilities. It offers businesses an effective solution to identify, assess, and remediate security vulnerabilities, ultimately strengthening their network and system security.

For example, a company could use Vulnerability Manager Plus to scan its network for vulnerabilities on a regular basis. If the scan finds any vulnerabilities, the software can generate a report or alert and prioritize them based on the level of risk they pose. The company can then create a plan to fix the vulnerabilities, improving the overall security of its network and systems.

Who is it recommended for?

ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus is recommended for businesses and organizations looking to enhance their security posture by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in their networks and systems. It’s suitable for both small and large enterprises seeking a robust solution for vulnerability management.

ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus comes with a 30-day free trial.

Download the 30-day FREE Trial

https://www.manageengine.com/vulnerability-management/

ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus Start a 30-day FREE Trial

2. ManageEngine Log360 – FREE TRIAL

ManageEngine Log360 is a comprehensive monitoring tool that continuously collects logs from different sources in your network for detailed analysis. The findings are presented on dashboards to make it easy for you to understand the root cause and fix it. In the case of severe issues, it sends real-time alerts to capture your attention.

Main Features:

• Comes with 2000+ correlation rules to identify DDoS attacks before they impact your organization.
• Detects recurring connection requests from the same IP address.
• Provides real-time alerts about DoS and DDoS attacks.
• Generates detailed reports that can be used for auditing and forensic analysis.
• Tracks web server activities to detect excessive traffic coming from specified IP addresses.
• Gathers data from a wide range of network devices and applications to increase the chances of detecting DDoS attacks.

Why do we recommend it?

We recommend this tool because of its multipronged approach to detecting DDoS attacks. It gathers and analyzes data from different sources to get detailed insights about the current state of network traffic. It further dissects this data to check if there are multiple requests from the same range of IP addresses, as this can indicate a potential attack.

Another highlight of this tool is its detailed reports that contain information about unauthorized accesses, web server activity, user logons, and other relevant data that can help in identifying the root cause of the problem. These reports can be particularly useful for forensic analysis and legal proceedings.

Who is it recommended for?

It is recommended for IT administrators, network engineers, security teams, penetration tests, vulnerability assessment teams, compliance offices, MSSPs, and anyone who is responsible for protecting the security of the network and preventing attacks like DDoS.

Download a 30-day free trial to test these features.

ManageEngine Log360 Start a 30-day FREE Trial

3. SolarWinds Security Event Manager

The SolarWinds Security Event Manager is a DDoS protection software that features event log monitoring capabilities. When it comes to detecting DDoS attacks or other malicious activities, having an event log can come in as a handy feature.

Main Features

• Log management capabilities
• The tool can act as a SIEM service
• Excellent for reporting compliance with a variety of standards
• A holistic tool for monitoring a variety of attack vectors, including DDoS attacks
• SolarWinds has integration capabilities that work with many data collectors and the rest of the SolarWinds cybersecurity suite
• A variety of pre-set configurations and monitors make starting easier
• Very intuitive and user-friendly UI
• Multiple automated features to make your technicians’ lives easier

Why do we recommend it?

SolarWinds Security Event Manager is recommended for DDoS prevention due to its robust event log monitoring, automatic blocking of known malicious IPs, and user-friendly interface, making it a comprehensive and efficient solution for cybersecurity.

The tool has a list of known malicious actors, which helps the tool automatically block out available malicious IPs from accessing your network. In addition, the list is updated very often, being community-sourced, which means that you’ll stay protected even from very recent threats.

It features an excellent alert system you can customize to your liking so that you’re notified whenever a malicious agent might be meddling with your traffic. This lets you point your technician’s efforts away from constantly monitoring dashboards.

The logs kept by the tool are excellent for mitigating the impact a DDoS attack has on your network, as well as for performing retrospective analysis when an attack has already occurred. The logs are presented in a very intuitive manner, and you can sort through them by a variety of factors, such as time, IP, account, etc.

Who is it recommended for?

We recommend SolarWinds Security Event Manager for all businesses seeking a reliable DDoS prevention solution. Its flexibility and features make it suitable for small and large enterprises looking to enhance their cybersecurity against DDoS attacks.

With that being said, SolarWinds is quite a complex tool and is mainly designed for more extensive networks, meaning it might take some time to get to grips with some of its features.

Pricing: The Solarwinds SEM has a starting price of $4,655 and comes with a 30-day free trial.

4. Indusface AppTrana

Indusface AppTrana is a WAF, DDoS, and Bot mitigation software. Its edge service bundle comes together with a patching service, Web Application Firewall, and vulnerability scanners.

Main Features

• WAF and botnet blocking features
• A vulnerability scanner and patch manager come with the solution
• The Premium version couples DDoS protection with penetration testing and risk management features
• Extremely simple to get to grips with
• Finds and stops various DDoS attacks, including UDP flood, SYN, ICMP, etc.

Why do we recommend it?

Indusface AppTrana stands out for its advanced features, including a Web Application Firewall, vulnerability scanning, and the ability to effectively mitigate various DDoS attacks, providing comprehensive protection against online threats. Its prowess in threat detection and mitigation makes it a valuable choice for safeguarding web applications.

The AppTrana is also excellent at absorbing volumetric attacks, with one of its main standout features being just how good it is at separating DDoS traffic and regular user traffic.

This tool utilizes its extensive database to set up rules and alert conditions for each website. It performs constant monitoring and detects botnets automatically, blocking their IPs to prevent the botnet from meddling with your websites. There’s also a built-in AWS to help you deal with layer three attacks.

AppTrana’s vulnerability scanner works by referencing OWASP’s top 10 threats, as well as the SANS 25 Vulnerability list. If it finds any vulnerabilities that fall into one of these two, it will automatically issue a patch to help with it. Furthermore, the tool has an SSL offloader and a content delivery network to help you accelerate your site’s performance.

Who is it recommended for?

Indusface AppTrana is recommended for businesses and organizations of varying sizes looking for a robust cybersecurity solution to protect their web applications from DDoS attacks, vulnerabilities, and other online threats. Its user-friendly features make it suitable for both security professionals and those seeking effective web application protection.

Pricing: The AppTrana comes in two different editions, with the above being contained in the Advanced version, priced at $99 per protected application each month. Its Premium version is a managed website security tool and has a variety of other peripheral services, such as assistance from security analysts and attack mitigation planning. This plan is priced at $399 for a protected application each month. There is a 14-day free trial, so you can assess the tool.

5. Link11

Link11 is a cloud-based DDoS protection software capable of detecting and mitigating DDoS attacks in layers 3-7 on a real-time basis. In addition, it features an innovative, AI-based approach to attack detection.

Main Features

• DDoS attack absorption
• Entirely cloud-based, ensuring simple setup
• Has an innovative, AI-based approach to attack detection
• Excellent report creation features
• The most popular tool on this list

Why do we recommend it?

Link11 is recommended for its innovative cloud-based approach to DDoS protection. Its AI-based detection, real-time monitoring, and ability to mitigate attacks in layers 3-7 make it an excellent choice for businesses looking for reliable protection against DDoS threats.

The Tool’s AI looks at the sequences of well-known attack patterns and compares those sequences to your live traffic. If there’s a connection to your website acting similarly, the tool will immediately alert you via SMS when it detects a threat.

As a cloud-based tool, Link11 has straightforward deployment. You can have it up and running in a matter of minutes. In addition, its dashboard lets you look at an overall presentation of your traffic and application performance. For how powerful the tool is, it’s straightforward to use.

Link11 features reporting capabilities to create reports on security events to share with your team. You can generate these reports automatically or create them manually when you need them.

Who is it recommended for?

Link11 is primarily recommended for medium to large businesses, especially those that need quick and effective DDoS protection in real-time. Its approach and adaptability make it suitable for a wide range of industries. The tool is ill-suited for smaller businesses, as it’s relatively complex, and the AI can get a bit confused with the ebbs and flows of a smaller company.

6. Sucuri Website Firewall

The Sucuri Website Firewall has DDoS attacks and zero-day exploit prevention features. This tool looks at all of your HTTP and HTTPS traffic to stop malicious agents from getting to your site.

Main Features

• Geo-blocking capabilities
• Simple rules and templates help it mitigate DDoS attacks just as they begin
• Suitable for both SMBs and enterprises
• Relatively cheap and intuitive to use

Why do we recommend it?

Sucuri Website Firewall is recommended for its cost-effective yet robust protection against DDoS attacks and zero-day exploits. It offers comprehensive HTTP and HTTPS traffic monitoring, geo-blocking, and flexible pricing options.

The tool uses geo-blocking to help you block out DDoS traffic. This feature lets you completely stop traffic from the three countries with the most DDoS attacks. You can also whitelist specific IPs to help you communicate with your team or genuine visitors without blocking them.

Who is it recommended for?

Sucuri Website Firewall suits a broad range of businesses, from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs) to larger corporations, as it offers scalable DDoS protection and website security solutions. Its flexible pricing and effective protection make it accessible to businesses of varying sizes looking to safeguard their online assets from cyber threats.

Pricing: As a website firewall, Sucuri is relatively cheap compared to most dedicated tools on this list. Its Basic version starts at just $9.99 a month, with the Pro version coming with SSL certificate support and starting at $19.98. Finally, its business edition comes with additional features and costs $69.93.

7. AWS Shield

The AWS Shield is a managed DDoS protection software using flow monitoring to analyze the traffic coming into your websites. The tool finds suspicious traffic in real-time by looking at the flow data. Furthermore, it has features like packet filtering and traffic prioritization to help you control the incoming traffic.

Main Features

• The tool is specialized for AWS cloud environments
• Packet filtering and traffic prioritization
• AWS Shield can be accessed from within other AWS products
• Data flow analysis
• The Standard version is entirely free

Why do we recommend it?

We recommend AWS Shield for organizations that rely on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud environments and are in need of a specialized and robust DDoS protection solution.  AWS Shield benefits users by offering real-time traffic analysis, packet filtering, and the ability to set up custom rules for AWS Web Application Firewall.

The tool was made for AWS cloud environments, giving it a limited but specialized scope. It lets you write rules for the AWS WAF to help you defend yourself from application-layer DDoS attacks. There’s also an Advanced version of the tool that offers additional features. In case you’re stuck with a more complicated attack, there’s a dedicated response team that’s willing to help you.

Who is it recommended for?

AWS Shield is recommended for organizations that utilize Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud environments and require an advanced DDoS protection solution tailored to their cloud infrastructure. It’s particularly suitable for businesses with complex cloud setups and a need for customizable rules for AWS Web Application Firewall to safeguard against application-layer DDoS attacks effectively.

Pricing: The AWS Shield Standard is entirely free, with the Advanced version costing a variable amount; you can request a quote on their website.

8. Cloudflare

Cloudflare is a DDoS protection software with a high network capacity of 30Tbps, significantly higher than even the most significant DDoS attacks. The tool mainly relies on its extensive IP reputation database, which lets it block out malicious IPs from over 20 million locations.

Main Features

• Excellent historical performance, Cloudflare has mitigated some of the most significant DDoS attacks ever
• A variety of edge locations ensures that your content stays available
• A variety of packages
• The base version is free

Why do we recommend it?

We recommend Cloudflare for its advanced DDoS protection features, including high network capacity (30Tbps) and a comprehensive IP reputation database to block malicious IPs. It effectively combats high request rates with rate limiting and uses a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for network availability. Cloudflare offers four different editions, allowing users to choose the level of protection that suits their needs.

Cloudflare was designed with various DDoS and data breach attacks in mind. High request rates are combated with rate limiting, while the tool uses CDN(Content Delivery Network) to ensure the network stays available.

Who is it recommended for?

Cloudflare is recommended for a wide range of users, from individuals and small businesses (with its Free and Pro versions) to professional websites and blogs (Pro version), and even larger enterprises looking for customized Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules and 100% uptime Service Level Agreement (Business version). With that being said, Cloudflare lacks some of the more complex features of other tools and has quite a complicated setup process.

Pricing: Cloudflare has four different editions. Their Free version has the essentials for individuals or smaller businesses. Its Pro version costs $20 and has a WAP made for professional sites, blogs, and portfolios. Their Business version has $200 a month, lets you set up customized WAF rules, and ensures a 100% uptime SLA. Finally, its Enterprise version is priced on a per-business basis and has a named solution engineer included with the product.

9. Akamai Prolexic Routed

Akamai Prolexic Routed is another managed DDoS security tool. The tool features zero-second mitigation, which can help deal with threats from the moment they’re spotted. They also feature an excellent, 24/7 Security Operations Center you can contact to provide you with more detailed support in case of an attack.

Main Features

• DDoS absorption capabilities
• Blocks out a variety of different kinds of DDoS attacks
• Gives you highly advanced insights when an attack happens to help you improve your security for the future
• Automatically makes attack surfaces smaller when an attack is about to happen
• Hybrid cloud protection

Why do we recommend it?

Akamai Prolexic Routed is known for its advanced DDoS absorption capabilities, the ability to block various types of DDoS attacks, and its provision of highly advanced insights during an attack, which aids in enhancing security for the future. The tool also offers automatic adjustments to reduce the attack surface just before an attack, making it an excellent choice for robust DDoS protection.

The tool also provides network traffic monitoring, which can be a great help in finding attacks early. You can look through all of your traffic data in real-time. It also features an 8 Tbps bandwidth, coupled with 19 different scrubbing centers set up worldwide.

Who is it recommended for?

Akamai Prolexic Routed is recommended for medium to large enterprises that require advanced DDoS protection capabilities. Its extensive features and 24/7 Security Operations Center support are particularly valuable for organizations dealing with complex and high-impact DDoS threats.

Closing Words

As always, the best DDoS attack prevention tool will depend on your needs. Our number 3 pick might be your number 1; however, we’ve focused on looking at the tools in a white-room situation, focusing on versatility. There’s essentially no way to go wrong with picking any of the top picks, as they’re set up to be excellent no matter your situation.

With that being said, constantly evaluate what you need and what funds you have available before committing to a purchase. All of the picks on this list have a free trial available, so take advantage of it. That will let you know the ins and outs of a tool before you commit to purchasing it.

What is your favorite DDoS attack prevention tool?

What feature do you wish more tools had?

Let us know in the comments below!