Haltdos

Haltdos is a web application firewall and API security platform for teams that need to deploy on-premise, in the cloud, or across both. It is strongest for organizations that want WAF, bot, and API controls together; the free tier is better treated as a one-site starting point than a full-scale security package.

Overview

Haltdos brings web application and API security together with DDoS protection and bot management. The most extensive protections are in Enterprise WAF, which covers OWASP Top 10 attacks, known vulnerabilities, and zero-day vulnerabilities, with DDoS protection from Layer 3 through Layer 7. That breadth can suit teams consolidating application defenses, but buyers should distinguish Enterprise capabilities from the Community tier's sharply limited scope.

Key features

WAF, API, and bot controls

Enterprise WAF includes more than 4,000 signatures, machine-learning-based zero-day protection, and antivirus scanning and sandboxing for file uploads. Its API gateway adds authentication, rate limiting, transformation, and observability; Haltdos also identifies API discovery, runtime protection, posture management, sensitive data detection, and specification governance. Together, these controls address both application traffic and API lifecycle concerns, although they are not a reason to assume the free tier offers equivalent protection.

Bot detection and mitigation uses device fingerprinting, mobile SDK protection, JavaScript and CAPTCHA challenges, and deception technology. Incident logging, analytics and dashboards, SIEM integration, and PCI compliance reporting support monitoring and compliance workflows. Teams needing those capabilities should consider the Enterprise tier; its support includes 24x7 email and toll-free phone.

Deployment and integrations

Deployment options include SaaS, virtual, hardware, or MSSP, with on-premise and public or private cloud environments supported. Community WAF can run on a VM, Docker, or hardware, but requires at least 2 GB RAM, 60 GB disk space, and 2 vCPU cores. Its documented operating systems include Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, and 22.04; Debian 11; Rocky Linux 8.9 and 9.3; CentOS Stream 8 and 9; Fedora 38 and 39; and RHEL 8 and 9. Integrations include SIEM, syslog, SNMP, SMTP email, SMS gateways, Active Directory/SAML, and antivirus or sandboxing through ICAP. This flexibility is useful for mixed infrastructure, while the Community deployment still has a concrete minimum resource footprint.

Pricing

Community WAF costs nothing and covers one website and one security profile. It is a sensible way to start with a single site, but the cap makes it unsuitable for organizations protecting multiple properties or separating security policies. Community support is email with no ETA.

Professional WAF costs $30 a month on a monthly subscription, billed at the end of each monthly billing period based on requests processed. The first 100K requests are free, and websites are unlimited. This tier is a better fit for teams that need broader site coverage, but the request-based billing basis matters as traffic grows. Professional support is 8x5 email within 7 days. Enterprise has custom pricing, unlimited websites, and 24x7 email and toll-free phone support; it is the fit for buyers requiring the broader protection and support set.

Platforms

Haltdos supports API, Linux, self-hosted, and web platforms. The deployment choices make it relevant to teams that need cloud-hosted and locally managed options rather than a single delivery model.

Who it's for

Haltdos is best suited to organizations securing web applications and APIs across varied infrastructure, especially those that value integrated bot defenses, DDoS protection, and API gateway controls. A single-site user can begin with Community WAF, while multi-site or high-assurance needs point toward Professional or Enterprise. It is less compelling for a buyer who only needs a narrow, low-cost network DDoS service.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Enterprise WAF combines signature-based and machine-learning-based defenses with file-upload scanning, API gateway functions, and bot mitigation.
• Pros: SaaS, virtual, hardware, MSSP, on-premise, and cloud deployment options accommodate different infrastructure arrangements.
• Cons: Community WAF is restricted to one website and one security profile, with email support that has no ETA.
• Cons: Professional's $30 a month is billed based on processed requests after the first 100K free, so the monthly price alone does not indicate the eventual bill.

Alternatives

For a dedicated DDoS option, compare DDoS Protection Software. Teams focused specifically on API controls can browse API Security Software, while buyers prioritizing WAF products can compare Web Application Firewall Software.

Choose AWS Shield if AWS customers need automatically configured common network and transport layer DDoS protection through its free Standard plan. Cloudflare DDoS Protection is an alternative for those seeking a free plan with unmetered DDoS protection and WAF. Project Shield may fit eligible organizations seeking free, unlimited DDoS protection.

Gcore DDoS Protection is another freemium DDoS alternative, while FastNetMon is a freemium option with Linux and self-hosted platforms. For API gateway needs, consider Tencent Cloud API Gateway. Fastly Image Optimizer and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Secret Management are also alternatives.

Verdict

Choose Haltdos if you need WAF and API security with deployment flexibility and can match the tier to your protection and support requirements. Its strongest case is the breadth of Enterprise controls across application, API, bot, and DDoS threats; look elsewhere if you need only a narrow DDoS service or need more than one protected site without moving beyond Community.