Best VPN for DDoS Protection in 2024: Secure Online Gaming

By Arthur Sabayi

Last update: May 21, 2024

Quick Summary: Best VPNs for DDoS Attack Protection

Quick Summary: Best VPNs for DDoS Attack Protection

A VPN effectively counters DDoS attacks, and ExpressVPN is the best VPN for DDoS attack protection because of its reliable encryption and “network lock” kill switch. Try it with a 30-day money-back guarantee today.

1. ExpressVPN — Best overall DDoS protection VPN
2. NordVPN — Fastest VPN with low latencies
3. Proton VPN — Best free VPN for DDoS protection

Overall Rating 9.5 / 10

Get 49% Off ExpressVPN

Have you ever experienced sudden speed slowdowns when gaming despite having high-speed internet? It could be a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that floods your IP address with tons of traffic, slowing you down or forcing you offline. Using the best VPN for DDoS protection is an effective counter, especially if it’s also one of the best VPNs for gaming.

Through encrypted servers, a VPN masks your IP address, making it hard for anyone to get a hold of your real IP address — which they need to launch a DDoS attack. Any DDoS attack is instead directed to the VPN servers, which usually have anti-DDoS safety precautions in place, leaving you unscathed.

Are you looking for the best VPNs to keep you safe the next time you have a good winning streak on Fortnite? Then read this article to the end.

1. 

   Overall Rating 9.5 / 10

   Get 49% Off ExpressVPN
   Money-Back Guarantee

   30 Days

   Worldwide Server Amount

   Over 3,000 servers in 105 countries
2. 

   Overall Rating 9.2 / 10

   Visit NordVPN
   Money-Back Guarantee

   30 Days

   Worldwide Server Amount

   Over 5,400+ servers in 59 countries
3. 

   Overall Rating 8.8 / 10

   Visit Proton VPN
   Money-Back Guarantee

   30 Days

   Worldwide Server Amount

   1500 Servers in 61 Countries

What Is a DDoS Attack?

A distributed denial-of-service attack occurs when hackers flood a server, network or service with fake requests until it becomes unusable for real users. Think of it like a bottleneck on a busy road during peak traffic hours where everyone tries to squeeze through, disrupting the entire flow of cars.

DDoS attacks can last for over 24 hours, and they are difficult to trace as hackers create a network of devices (commonly known as “zombies”) and turn them into bots (known as “botnets”). They remotely direct these bots to request a specific IP address simultaneously. Your device could even be a zombie without you realizing it.

If you are the target, a DDoS attack can deplete your computing resources, or make the affected website or online game you’re trying to play extremely slow. This is common in gaming, where some sore losers resort to underhanded methods to win against better players.

Common examples of DDoS attacks include the following:

• Ping of death: The attacker uses misconfigured network devices to send a barrage of spoof packets to your device, causing it to crash. Small ping packets are sent in bits to the targeted computer, which tries to reassemble them and ends up with an abnormally huge IP packet, causing it to crash.
• UDP flood: The attacker sends a swarm of spoof UDP packets, normally called “carrier pigeons,” with messages to recipients that don’t exist. This causes the target device to consume its resources trying to sort out this flood of data.
• Ping flood: Your device is quickly attacked by a stream of internet control message protocol (ICMP) packets, leaving it with no room to respond and eventually causing a crash. Unlike the ping of death, a ping flood overwhelms the target’s bandwidth with a massive torrent of technically normal packets.
• SYN flood: In this attack, synchronized (SYN) requests are sent to your device, forcing it to respond with a SYN-ACK (synchronize and acknowledge) request. But when there’s no ACK response, the target device crashes as the SYN messages pile up.
• Slowloris: The attacker uses a hacking tool called slowloris to send incomplete HTTP requests to your device with no intention of completing them. This forces your device to keep connections open, denying any legitimate incoming connection attempts.

Reasons to Use a VPN With DDoS Protection

You can use tools like Azure DDoS Protection or Radware to counter DDoS attacks, but they may be complicated for most users. A VPN is a cost-effective alternative that can work on almost any device, but that’s not the only reason it’s a good option.

When you connect to a VPN server, your IP address is masked, and your entire internet connection is routed through another server. This server is what the hacker will see, and since a DDoS attack requires an IP address as a target, anything they send will affect the VPN instead of you.

However, a VPN isn’t foolproof. If a hacker already knows your computer’s IP address, a VPN won’t help you in any way. Additionally, if your VPN service doesn’t have proper DDoS attack counters — which I’ll cover in the next section — you will be affected even with the VPN active.

How Does a VPN Prevent DDoS Attacks?

A VPN prevents DDoS attacks by hiding your IP address so the hacker can’t target your device. Any DDoS attack launched against the virtual address that they see won’t reach you.

However, as I mentioned earlier, VPNs themselves can take a hard hit with a DDoS attack if they use outdated VPN protocols like PPTP, L2TP or SSTP. For example, PPTP is vulnerable to password extraction and can be cracked in less than 24 hours with brute force attacks.

Always use a VPN with modern protocols (OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2, Lightway or NordLynx) wherever you go online, especially if you are an avid online gamer. Sore losers pose dangers other than DDoS attacks, including potentially lethal swatting attacks.

How I Tested and Chose the Best VPN for DDoS Protection

Choosing the right VPN provider for DDoS protection can be overwhelming, considering that most VPNs can deliver the security you need. Here are the key factors I used to narrow my list to the best three.

• Standard security: To stop DDoS attacks, a VPN needs standard security features like AES-256 encryption, which is almost impossible for hackers to get past, and a kill switch for IP and DNS leak protection. Advanced security features like obfuscated servers can also help you in tight spots.
• Multi-hop: The only thing better than a single layer of encryption is two layers. A VPN that routes your gaming traffic through two servers gives you better protection against DDoS attacks, adding redundancy in case one server fails.
• Speed: Some VPNs can slow down your speeds due to encryption or overloaded, poorly maintained servers. The ideal VPN for DDoS protection should have speed-optimized servers that offer full security without high latencies that will affect your gaming experience. 
• Device compatibility: Games run on consoles, PCs, smartphones, tablets and many more devices. A good DDoS protection VPN should be compatible with as many devices as possible to increase the protection range and offer you the flexibility to switch between devices.
• Cost: It shouldn’t cost you a fortune just to get comprehensive protection against DDoS attacks. The ideal VPN should be affordable or have a reliable free version.

The Best VPNs to Prevent DDoS Attacks Compared

I narrowed my list to the best three VPNs for DDoS attacks. The table below compares them side by side based on key security features.

Before we start, you should note that each of these VPNs limits the number of connections per subscription. If you’re looking for unlimited simultaneous connections, check out our Surfshark review.

1.  ExpressVPN — Best Overall DDoS Protection VPN

Stats:

• Best price: $6.67/month for 12 months
• Money-back guarantee: 30 days
• Website: ExpressVPN.com

When it comes to gaming, ExpressVPN is one of the most reliable VPNs, as this ExpressVPN review explains. It can help keep latencies low and minimize lags. ExpressVPN is also effective at bypassing speed throttling by your internet service provider (ISP).

This leak-proof VPN masks your IP address and blocks any DDoS attempts. If your VPN connection drops, the “network lock” kill switch immediately kicks into action by disabling the internet connection on your device. While this interrupts your gaming session, it also prevents your IP address from leaking until your VPN connection is restored.

My Experience With ExpressVPN: Hands-On Performance

One of the most reliable things about ExpressVPN is that every VPN server is optimized for speeds. It didn’t matter what server location I was using; I still got the speeds I needed to play Fortnite on my Windows PC. This allowed me to reduce the chances of being hit with a DDoS attack without experiencing significant speed drops, even when switching between servers.

I found ExpressVPN’s apps to be user-friendly no matter what device I used. The experience was just as smooth when I tried playing PUBG Mobile on my Android device. I activated the kill switch, connected to a U.S. server and played for hours without experiencing lags.

The “split tunneling” feature was also handy, allowing me to encrypt my gaming traffic only. With less traffic to encrypt, the overall performance was better than when everything was routed through the encrypted tunnel. I highly recommend using the Lightway UDP protocol for the best speeds.

ExpressVPN Test Results

I did DNS and IP leak tests with ExpressVPN to see if it delivered on its promises. I connected to a New Jersey server, and the screenshot below illustrates my results.

The only IP addresses displayed in the DNS leak test were the virtual ones that ExpressVPN provided. Anyone trying to hit me with a DDoS attack would see them instead of my IP address in Kenya. ExpressVPN passed this test.

ExpressVPN Pricing and Value

Compared to the other two alternatives, ExpressVPN costs more. You’ll get the best value from the 12-month option for $6.67 per month with an extra three months free. The next best option is the six-month plan, which costs $9.99 monthly. Lastly, the monthly plan will cost you $12.95. A 30-day money-back guarantee covers all three plans so you can try it without risk.

1. $6.67 per month
   

   Overall Rating 9.5 / 10

   Get 49% Off ExpressVPN

2. NordVPN — Fastest VPN With Low Latencies

Stats:

• Best price: $3.09/month for 24 months
• Money-back guarantee: 30 days
• Website: NordVPN.com

NordVPN’s connection speeds are every gamer’s dream, and it achieves this while still providing reliable security and privacy. It comes equipped with a speedy protocol called NordLynx, which ensures that lags and latencies are a thing of the past — more on this in our NordVPN review.

All NordVPN servers are well protected against DDoS attacks, so your service won’t be interrupted no matter what hackers throw at you or which servers you use. If the VPN connection drops, a kill switch disconnects your internet until the VPN is back online. Any hackers that are lurking around won’t get a chance to see your IP address.

My Experience With NordVPN: Hands-On Performance

My favorite NordVPN functionality is the servers that cater to my different needs. While all the regular servers are fast on their own, I usually switch to the P2P servers to take advantage of their amazing download speeds and play games without screen freezes.

If you’re worried about security — especially if you play with tech-savvy strangers who might not take losses well — you can switch to the double VPN to encrypt your traffic twice. However, your speeds may suffer a little.

NordVPN also comes with split tunneling across multiple devices. I recommend it for heavy online games that consume more bandwidth and RAM. Rather than burdening your device by encrypting the apps you’re not using, only routing your online game will give you better speeds while sufficiently protecting you from DDoS attacks.

NordVPN Test Results

I ran a DNS leak test with a U.S. server to see what details were exposed and what was hidden. Below is a screenshot showing my results.

Judging by the data in the screenshot above, the NordVPN DNS leak test was successful. As you can see, only the U.S. server’s IP addresses are shown. This is proof that NordVPN doesn’t leak anything.

NordVPN Pricing and Value

A Basic NordVPN subscription offers full VPN service with three price plans. The most affordable one is the two-year subscription, which costs $3.09 per month and comes with three months free.

This is followed by the one-year subscription for $4.59 per month, and then there’s a monthly plan that will set you back $12.99. A 30-day money-back guarantee covers all the plans, which is great if you want to give this VPN a try.

1. $3.09 per month
   

   Overall Rating 9.2 / 10

   Visit NordVPN

3. Proton VPN — Best Free VPN for DDoS Protection

Stats:

• Best price: $4.49/month for 24 months
• Money-back guarantee: 30 days
• Website: ProtonVPN.com

Proton VPN is your best bet if you’re on a budget but still need to protect yourself from DDoS attacks when playing online games. Its free version is more generous than most of its counterparts, as it comes with unlimited data and five free (but secure) locations. We go deeper into that in our Proton VPN review.

The premium version isn’t that costly either. It lets you access over 4,000 servers in 91 countries, including special Secure Core servers that route your traffic through privacy-friendly locations like Switzerland. Anyone planning to target you with a DDoS attack will have difficulty pinpointing your IP address.

My Experience With Proton VPN: Hands-On Performance

All Proton VPN apps are easy to navigate, even for first-time users. I could choose between regular servers and Secure Core servers with a single tap on any device. The server distribution was also well-balanced, with varied options across different continents to unblock region-locked game libraries.

On the security front, ChaCha20 encryption masks your IP address to prevent it from being targeted by DDoS attacks. Slow speeds weren’t an issue either, as Proton VPN gave me a lag-free gaming experience, which was boosted by the parallel-processing VPN accelerator.

Proton VPN Test Results

Like with the other alternatives, I conducted DNS leak tests. You can see the results below.

While connected to a French server, all I could see was the virtual IP address — there was nothing related to my actual IP address or the name of my ISP. This is exactly what anyone trying to snoop around will see, proving that Proton VPN prevents IP leaks.

Proton VPN Pricing and Value

The premium version of Proton VPN has three price plans. The two-year plan offers the best value for money at $4.49 per month, followed by the one-year option at $4.99. Then there’s the monthly option, which costs $9.99. If you want to try Proton, you can take advantage of the 30-day money-back guarantee that covers all plans.

1. $4.49 per month
   

   Overall Rating 8.8 / 10

   Visit Proton VPN

Conclusion

Providing DDoS protection is expected of the best virtual private networks, and the three options I have discussed in this article live up to the billing. ExpressVPN is the best overall, with state-of-the-art encryption and reliable speeds. NordVPN’s gaming-friendly speeds are a gamer’s dream, while Proton VPN is ideal for anyone on a tight budget.

Have you ever been a victim of a DDoS attack? Which of these three VPNs do you feel is better placed to offer you the best protection? Feel free to share your comments below. Thank you for keeping it real with our blog.

FAQ: Best DDoS-Protected VPNs

• What VPN Has the Best DDoS Protection?

  ExpressVPN has the best DDoS protection through AES-256 encryption, which prevents dangerous hackers from seeing your IP address.

• Can a VPN Prevent DDoS Attacks?

  A VPN can prevent DDoS attacks through encryption. Passing your entire traffic through the encrypted tunnel means no one outside can see anything related to your location or the sites you open.

• Does NordVPN Block DDoS?

  NordVPN blocks DDoS by hiding your IP address, which is the only thing that hackers require to launch a DDoS attack.

• What Is the Best Defense Against a DDoS Attack?

  The best defense against a DDoS attack is using a secure VPN with other online security tools like web application firewalls. But most importantly, don’t ever expose your IP address to anyone.