Have you noticed an unusually high server load on your online store? You might have been a victim of bot visits, which act similarly to DDoS attacks. These bots, including Facebook's link crawler (e.g., facebookexternalhit/1.1), can cause a significant increase in requests to your website, which can lead to overload and a significant drop in response speed.
DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service) are a type of cyber attack where the attacker attempts to disable the target website or service by generating a massive number of requests to the server. The main characteristic of DDoS attacks is distribution, meaning the attacker uses multiple computers or devices to simultaneously send requests to the target website. This causes server overload, as its capacity is limited and cannot effectively process such a large number of requests. Consequently, the website becomes inaccessible to legitimate users, which can lead to business loss and negatively impact the company's reputation.
How can you recognize these issues?
Simply check the number of processes in cPanel or review the visit log files, where you might notice an unusually high number of processes. This can lead to the depletion of your server's resources and consequently to poor performance or even inaccessibility of the online store.
The video shows the amount of traffic and how frequently bots accessed (a huge number of requests every minute). By blocking bots through the htaccess file, the number of concurrent processes was reduced from 300 to 6, and the online store became responsive again.
How can you tackle these challenges?
We recommend using security measures such as blocking specific bots through the .htaccess file or using access-limiting tools. With these simple steps, you can protect your online store from overload and maintain operational stability.
Example of blocking in the htaccess file:
RewriteEngine on
# Block the facebookexternalhit/1.1 user agent
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^facebookexternalhit/1\.1 [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
For protection against DDoS attacks, it is crucial to use advanced security solutions, such as intrusion detection and prevention systems and the use of CDN (Content Delivery Network) services, which can absorb large amounts of traffic and allow normal operation even during attacks.
If you are facing similar challenges or need additional help protecting your online store, contact our technical support or your hosting provider. We will be happy to help you implement effective solutions to protect and maintain the smooth operation of your online store.
