Bandwith disappearing fast on my web site

My goal is to block some of the top users to my web site. I did it once before with the help of my web host, but this time they refuse to help me. I have a few users using a huge amount of bandwith trying to make my site go down. Im only getting several hundred hits a day and my bandwith is mostly used up for the month. Normally I'll receive up to 3000-5000 hits a day during my busy season that will start in only a few days. How do I access ip address's of my top users and block them.

Thanks, fishguy:)

I guess a lot depends on what you can and cannot do with your site? What management software do you have control over?

As you had to use your web host last time, why would it be any different this time?

For example, do you have access to detailed logs of your visitors?

Maybe you should look for another host?

Do you have access to your web logs? If so, you can use something like awstats or another utility that your web host should be able to provide to give you usage data. You can use a third party such as google analytics if you want. http://www.google.com/analytics/

Do they give you control over who can access what? If so, you can block them by ip, netblock. Who is your web host and what kind of interface do they give you to manage your site?

If they refuse to help you or don't give you the tools to do it on your own, then get a new host.

Exactly my thinking! If your provider isn't prepared to help protect you or help you to protect your site from what is really no different from a DoS attack, stealing bandwidth, or a click fraud, then they are not really worth doing business with.

You might also like to check your local laws regarding the matter? Possibly raise the issue with your local enforcement agency................ if they start sniffing around your provider's attitude might change? ;)

Consider analysing large files etc that are using most of your bandwidth. Assuming you have direct access to the log files, you can see which files are responsible for most of the bandwidth and consider reducing them.

DO some or all of:

- Better optimise large images
- Have fewer images
- Optimise your HTML better (especially if you have large pages)
- Install compression to reduce HTML bandwidth usage (warning: this can increase cpu usage)

Etc, as required by your log files.

If there are any third party sites which are linking your images which generates traffic, contact the authors of those sites and ask them to copy the images (unless they are prohibited from using them, in which case ask them to stop). Threaten to replace the images with something unsavoury with no notice :)

Mark

Mark, please read the original post more carefully. What we have is a deliberate attempt to consume the bandwidth allocation for a small and specialist business. They may well be using bots for the purpose, they will certainly persist.

This is almost certainly a State if not a Federal offence. Given the nature of the business it would not be too difficult to find out those responsible;)

Criminal offences are best dealt with by law enforcement agencies in the first instance.

Of course fishguy, you could always slap them round the head with a wet "walleye"? :cool:

I work for a company that offers a network-level protection against those kinds of attacks, if you would like you can pm me and I will give you details of what we provide.

Hi, nvzsc

I appreciate your discretion in that you have a somewhat conflicting interest in that you work for a provider.

Please PM me the details of your company's website, so I can have a look. I am sure you guys, and all your competitors :D could do the job...........

The question would seem to be how far downstream fishguy is? (pun intentional)

:)