I have been using DDoS Deflate, which is a simple script that will automatically help you against DoS attacks on your server. Basically it works by killing any HTTPD processes/banning IPs that reach more than set number of TCP connections.
It’s a great script since it’s free, simple, and works well against DoS attacks. Yes, forget paying that extra hundred dollars to your server company, who’s going to probably install this script anyways.
The real gem of the DDoS Deflate script lies in configuration. De