Abuse and Fraud Prevention

​

Overview

TypeAuth currently provides two primary methods for abuse and fraud prevention:

1. Rate Limiting
2. Disposable Email Check

These features help protect your application from potential misuse and ensure a more secure environment for your users.

​

Rate Limiting

Rate limiting is a technique used to control the rate of requests or actions taken by a user or an application. This helps prevent abuse by limiting the number of operations that can be performed within a specific time frame.

​

Configuration

In TypeAuth, rate limiting is configured at the application level. Here’s how it works:

1. Enable/Disable: Within your application settings, you can choose whether to enable or disable rate limiting.

2. Request Limit: If enabled, you define the total number of requests allowed within a specified time window.

3. Time Window: You set the time frame for which the request limit applies.

4. Token-based Tracking: TypeAuth uses the authentication token to track and count requests for each user.

​

How it works

Once configured, TypeAuth will:

1. Track the number of requests made using each authentication token.
2. Compare this number against the defined limit for the specified time window.
3. Allow or deny requests based on whether the limit has been exceeded.

​

Example Configuration

{ 
    "limit": 10,
    "timeWindow": 60 
}

In this example, each authenticated user (identified by their token) would be allowed to make up to 10 requests per minute. the Time Window is defined in seconds.

​

Best Practices

• Set rate limits that balance security with user experience.
• Consider different rate limits for different types of operations or user roles.
• Monitor rate limit hits to identify potential abuse or performance issues.

​

Disposable Email Check

TypeAuth includes a feature to check if the email provided in a request belongs to a known list of disposable email services. This helps prevent fraud and abuse by identifying potentially suspicious sign-ups.

​

How it works

1. TypeAuth checks the email against a security feed of known disposable email providers.

2. You can specify where TypeAuth should look for the email:

   • Header
   • Body
   • Query string

3. You can also specify the exact path where TypeAuth should look for the email within the chosen location.

​

Configuration

To set up the disposable email check, you need to specify:

1. The location of the email (header, body, or query string)
2. The path where the email can be found within that location

(Note: Add specific configuration instructions or code examples here.)

​

Best Practices

• Regularly update your security settings to adapt to new threats.
• Monitor logs and analytics to identify potential abuse patterns.
• Combine both rate limiting and disposable email checks for maximum protection.
• Adjust rate limits based on your application’s typical usage patterns.
• Educate your users about these security measures to set appropriate expectations.

​

Conclusion

By utilizing TypeAuth’s Abuse and Fraud Prevention features, you can significantly enhance the security of your application. The combination of configurable rate limiting and disposable email checks provides a robust defense against potential misuse.

Remember to regularly review and update your settings to maintain optimal protection against evolving threats.

For more information or assistance, please contact our support team.