What Is An IP Fragmentation Attack & How To Prevent It?

If you are unable to access a website on your device or the internet service stops working, it might be infiltered by a malicious element. The hackers have been using this to hinder your connection. It is one of the forms of the Denial of Service attacks. It can disrupt your internet connection and can affect the connection speed. The more significant the issue of IP fragmentation attack is, the more it can harm your operating system. This type of DoS attack can cause constant system crashes.

So, before we get into details, let’s start by understanding what is IP Fragmentation and how it attacks.

What is IP Fragmentation?

IP fragmentation is the process of breaking the packets into fragments. It is done to transmit data at a faster speed by dividing the data into smaller pieces & passing them through the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit). MTU is the limit set for the packets allowed in the transmission.

Fragmentation is a necessary process that lets the broken packets pass through a network to reassemble at the other end. If the packet is too big for transmission and has a ‘don’t fragment’ flag attached to it, then it is dropped. In that case, the recipient device gets a message that the ICMP datagram is bigger than the limit.

What happens in an IP fragmentation attack?

There are different types of IP fragmentation attacks, one of them is the teardrop attack, and another is ICMP attacks. All kinds of IP fragmentation attacks tend to overbear the datagram in any way which will affect the transmission. They will send faulty packets in the place of the regular packets that corrupts the process.

What is an ICMP fragmentation attack?

ICMP fragmentation attack or UDP fragmentation attack are the most common form of IP fragmentation attacks. In this type, the malicious elements are put together in as false packets after learning about the network’s MTU. This causes the inability for the packets to reassemble and thus causing server errors.

What is a teardrop attack?

Teardrop attack or a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a form of IP fragmentation where the device stops working or crashes. This is due to the reason the small packets form in a way that is nearly impossible to be put together. The hackers design it in such a manner that during the fragmentation even if they try to assemble, they overlap. This will cause the system to crash unexpectedly, and it can be harmful to both your device and data. Therefore, a layer of security to guard yourself against it is always required, and make sure you use it.

How do you prevent IP fragmentation attacks?

To prevent IP fragmentation attacks, one must follow a few things this will decrease the chances of such happenings. We have listed out a few things below-

• Keep your device updated with the latest operating system. This will keep your device updated on the latest security patches and updates.
• Use a secure connection with a Proxy server or use a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

Here we would recommend using the Systweak VPN for Windows PC. It is a great tool to mask your IP address and stay clear of the unwanted trackers. Moreover, it helps browse anonymously, hides your IP address, lets you enjoy the geo-restricted online content. It even saves you from the DNS leak and thus protects you from such IP fragmentation attacks. It is available for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, and 7.

Get it now for your PC from the download button given below –

Apart from these features, it also helps avoid issues such as ISP throttling that hampers your internet connection, download, and upload speed. It comes with a Kill switch option where it instantly kills the connection in case the internet connection drops.

Systweak VPN masks your IP address, thereby stopping attackers from initializing IP fragmentation on your network. It will always be that device that is connected to a secure server.

Verdict-

IP fragmentation attacks can affect your internet speed quickly. So keep a check on any suspicious reason for the slow internet connection. Make sure you have an alternate way of browsing the internet, which is using a security layer. Using Systweak VPN, you can surf the internet without the worry of unwanted tracking. People who target the IP address will be avoided as it helps in masking the original IP address.

We hope the article lets you know about IP fragmentation attacks and how to be safe browsing online using VPN. We would like to know your views on this post to make it more useful. Your suggestions and comments are welcome in the comment section below. Share the information with your friends and others by sharing the article on social media.

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