Sometimes, when trying to connect to a selected site, a 502 or 511 error message appears, accompanied by a distinctive cloud-shaped logo. This is when quite a few people first ask themselves: what is Cloudflare? In this text, we will tell you about the possibilities of this service and give you a brief overview of the key issues related to its operation.
Cloudflare - what is worth knowing about this service?
In many ways, Cloudflare can be likened to a proxy server. When we are not using it, it is very easy to find out the IP address of our server. In most cases, this does not carry too much risk (unless we are hosting important files from a dedicated server), but we expose ourselves to, among other things, a DDoS attack, which can completely paralyse traffic to the site and make our visitors unable to connect to it.
Cloudflare VPN helps to hide the hosting IP, making it much more challenging to attack our service. It is worth noting that the real IP to which our domains are assigned will not be known by other Internet users or search engine robots such as Google or Bing. So, how does Cloudflare work? The service creates its own network that filters traffic, thus reducing the real consumption of resources on the server side.
There are hundreds of bots operating on the internet whose sole purpose is to gather computing potential to launch a DDoS attack. Some of them are well known to the services that secure our sites.
There is, for example, a Cloudflare blacklist (anti-spam list) that will not allow traffic to our service from IP addresses that have been classified as ones that could pose a real threat to the user, hosting or data security. 
How does Cloudflare work in practice?
Setting up the service is trivial. It is also worth noting that the basic version is free. This is great news for people who want to effectively protect their website and hosting, but do not have a large budget to devote to investment.
How do I install Cloudflare? WordPress users are in the best position. All they need to do is create an account with the service, then download the free plugin from the repository and enter their username and password.
Once the tool has been configured, we still only need to deal with the domain. We need to change the default DNS settings (1 and 2). The new access point will, of course, support secure connections - both HTTPS and TLS.
The company has already developed its expertise to such an extent that it has even released an app: 1.1.1.1, which acts as a VPN. If you want to browse the internet (almost) anonymously, you can purchase access to bypass regional blockades, for example.
On the plus side, Cloudflare DNS also reduces the time required to transmit data packets between the client and the server. This in turn translates into faster page loading. This can be quickly checked using PageSpeed from Google or the traceroute command, among others.
Reduced data caching time and lightweight CSS code are also considerable advantages if you are serious about positioning your website in Google. It is well known that these are among the factors that the algorithm takes into account.
What key features does Cloudflare offer?
The three fundamental solutions around which the company has built an engaged, loyal user community are:
- Cloudflare DNS,
- Cloudflare SSL,
- Cloudflare email.
The first offers access to enterprise-grade DNS, a standard that offers the shortest response time and proprietary, advanced security that keeps the service protected from DNSSEC, among other things.
The latter tool is used to encrypt our web traffic. According to the Data Protection Regulation, any service that stores information that can lead to user identification must be secured in the best possible way. SSL is the standard to start with. Especially since the tool Cloudflare gives us access to is available for free, as is, for example, the Secure Socket Layer from Let's Encrypt.
The last solution presented is developed in the Cloudflare Apps service suite. The service model is very simple. If our target email address that we use on a daily basis is, for example, nazwisko@twojadomena.com, but we also have a second 'business' domain purchased, then with the help of Cloudflare email, we will redirect correspondence to one main address. 
A similar solution is also available, among others, in the Workspace service from Google, which, however, in most cases, is paid for. Applications such as Cloudflare email therefore help to reduce expenses in the company.
Advantages and disadvantages of using Cloudflare - what is worth knowing?
Is it worth investing in Cloudflare? In the vast majority of cases, yes. However, it is difficult not to see a few problematic issues. One could point out, for example, the collection and filtering of data that is stored in the country where the server rooms are located and is therefore also subject to the legislation there.
As of today, the servers are located in the United States, in California, which means that the information is not covered by the GDPR Regulation (RODO), which only operates within the European Economic Area.
The company has also recorded several slip-ups in its career. One famous one was a data leak that occurred in 2017. For several days, the logins, passwords, private keys and correspondence of many people who trusted the service provider ended up online.
It took some time for the crisis to be resolved. Although Cloudflare declared that it had introduced new security procedures, does this give us a 100% guarantee that such a situation will never happen again?
There is no doubt that the owners of online e-shops and websites whose operating model relies on the creation of a user account, which is secured by a password, biometric pattern verification or in the form of a scan of an identity document, should connect to Cloudflare most quickly. The tool's simple configuration and IP hiding will be crucial in the event that our site is threatened by a DDoS attack.
A domain secured in this way is bound to be a much more difficult target for hackers. Keep in mind, however, that Cloudflare miraculously will not solve all online security issues for us.
The most important thing is to manage security levels appropriately. Even the best service will not protect our site if the default login is admin and the password is, for example, the digits "11111". You therefore need to think about protecting your online data in a comprehensive way.
Who is Cloudflare for?
The service can be used by anyone - a blogger, an e-shop owner or someone who is building their online portfolio. The fact that the implementation of this tool in a company is worth considering is also evidenced by the fact that the service is used by, among others, such giants as:
- Canva,
- Etsy,
- Walmart,
- BBC Shop,
- Dell,
- Nike.
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