Glossary
DDoS attack
A flooding attack that knocks a service offline by overwhelming it with requests from many sources at once.
A DDoS attack (Distributed Denial of Service) overwhelms a service (website, API, game server) with massive request floods from thousands of infected devices simultaneously. Goal: the service becomes slow or fails entirely.
Private users are rarely direct targets, but can unwillingly become part of a botnet executing DDoS attacks.
Why this matters in 2026
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How to protect yourself
A current operating system, an up-to-date antivirus suite, strong unique passwords (use a password manager) and two-factor authentication on all important accounts already cover the vast majority of real-world risk. Detailed guides: see our How-To section.