DoS Attacks
A DoS attack is designed to deny user access to computers or networks. These attacks usually
target specific services and attempt to overwhelm them by making numerous requests
concurrently. If a system is not protected and cannot react to a DoS attack, that system may
be very easy to overwhelm by running scripts that generate multiple requests.
It is possible to greatly increase a DoS attack’s magnitude by launching it from multiple
systems against a single target. This practice is called a distributed denial of service (DDoS)
attack. A common practice by hackers is to use a Trojan horse to take control of other
systems and enlist them in a DDoS attack.