--- title: Blog — page 6 of 7 description: Practical guides on monitoring, reliability, and performance — plus product news and lessons from the WatchFor team. canonical: https://watchfor.io/blog/page/6 --- # What we watch for — page 6 Practical guides on monitoring, reliability, and performance — plus product news and lessons from keeping our own systems online. [All](/blog)[Monitoring](/blog/category/monitoring)[Networking](/blog/category/networking)[Performance](/blog/category/performance)[Security](/blog/category/security)[Reliability](/blog/category/reliability)[Email](/blog/category/email)[DevOps](/blog/category/devops)[Engineering](/blog/category/engineering) [All articles](/blog/all) 136 article s · page 6 of 7 [PerformanceJan 13, 2026 ## Web Font Performance: fast text without the flash Custom fonts make a site look great — and can quietly slow it down or make text vanish during load. Here's how to keep your typography both beautiful and fast.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/web-font-performance)[NetworkingJan 11, 2026 ## What is Latency? (and how to reduce it) Latency is the delay between asking for something and getting it — and it shapes how fast everything online feels. Here's what it is, what causes it, and the practical ways to cut it.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/what-is-latency)[NetworkingJan 09, 2026 ## Bandwidth vs Latency: what's the difference? “I have fast internet, so why is this slow?” Because speed has two dimensions — bandwidth and latency — and they're not the same thing. Here's the difference, with a simple analogy.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/bandwidth-vs-latency)[NetworkingJan 07, 2026 ## What is Packet Loss? (causes, effects and fixes) When data packets vanish in transit, calls stutter, games rubber-band and pages crawl — even on a 'fast' connection. Here's what packet loss is, what causes it, and how to track it down.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/what-is-packet-loss)[NetworkingJan 05, 2026 ## Anycast Explained: one IP, served from everywhere Anycast is the clever routing trick behind fast CDNs and resilient DNS: one IP address answered by the nearest of many servers. Here's how it works and why it matters.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/anycast-explained)[NetworkingJan 03, 2026 ## What is BGP? (and why it can break the whole internet) BGP is the protocol that decides how traffic travels between the world's networks — the internet's routing map. When it goes wrong, large chunks of the internet go dark. Here's how it works.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/what-is-bgp)[NetworkingJan 01, 2026 ## What is a Reverse Proxy? A reverse proxy is the front door to your servers — handling traffic before it ever reaches your app. Here's what it does, why nearly every serious site uses one, and how it differs from a forward proxy.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/reverse-proxy-explained)[NetworkingDec 30, 2025 ## Load Balancing Explained A load balancer spreads traffic across many servers so no single one gets overwhelmed — and quietly routes around the ones that fail. Here's how it works and why it's the backbone of scalable, reliable sites.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/load-balancing-explained)[SecurityDec 28, 2025 ## What is a Firewall? A firewall is the gatekeeper that decides which network traffic gets through and which gets blocked. Here's what firewalls do, the main types, and the gotcha they create for monitoring.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/what-is-a-firewall)[NetworkingDec 26, 2025 ## What is an IP Address? An IP address is how one machine on the internet finds another — the postal address of the digital world. Here's what it is, the difference between public and private, and the two versions in use.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/what-is-an-ip-address)[NetworkingDec 24, 2025 ## What is NAT? (Network Address Translation, explained) NAT is the quiet trick that lets all your home and office devices share a single public IP address. Here's how it works, why it exists, and the headaches it sometimes causes.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/nat-explained)[SecurityDec 22, 2025 ## TLS 1.2 vs 1.3: what changed (and why it matters) TLS 1.3 made HTTPS both faster and more secure than 1.2 — by doing less, not more. Here's what changed in the handshake, why it matters, and what to make sure your servers support.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/tls-1-2-vs-1-3)[SecurityDec 20, 2025 ## HSTS Explained: forcing browsers to always use HTTPS You redirect HTTP to HTTPS — but that first insecure request is still a risk. HSTS closes that gap by telling browsers to never even try HTTP. Here's how it works and how to deploy it safely.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/hsts-explained)[SecurityDec 18, 2025 ## What is a DDoS Attack? (and how to defend against one) A DDoS attack drowns your service in traffic from thousands of sources until it buckles. Here's how these attacks work, the main types, and the practical layers of defence.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/what-is-a-ddos-attack)[SecurityDec 16, 2025 ## What is a WAF (Web Application Firewall)? A regular firewall guards the network; a WAF guards your application — inspecting web requests and blocking attacks like injection and bots. Here's how it works and what it does (and doesn't) cover.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/waf-explained)[SecurityDec 14, 2025 ## Zero Trust Explained The old security model trusted anyone inside the network. Zero Trust throws that out: trust nothing, verify everything, every time. Here's what it means in practice.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/zero-trust-explained)[SecurityDec 12, 2025 ## What is a CVE? Vulnerability basics When a security flaw is found in software, it gets a CVE — a global ID so everyone can track and fix it. Here's what CVEs are, how severity is scored, and how to stay on top of them.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/what-is-a-cve)[SecurityDec 10, 2025 ## Secrets Management Explained API keys, passwords and tokens are the keys to your kingdom — and they end up hard-coded, committed to git, and shared in chat far too often. Here's how to handle secrets properly.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/secrets-management)[SecurityDec 08, 2025 ## What is mTLS (Mutual TLS)? Normal HTTPS proves the server's identity to you. mTLS goes both ways — the client proves itself too. Here's what mutual TLS is, where it's used, and why it's a Zero Trust building block.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/mtls-explained)[SecurityDec 06, 2025 ## Domain Spoofing and How to Prevent It Scammers can send email that looks exactly like it's from your domain — phishing your customers and torching your reputation. Here's how domain spoofing works and how to lock it down.WatchFor Team3 min read](/blog/domain-spoofing) --- Canonical page: https://watchfor.io/blog/page/6 · Site guide: https://watchfor.io/llms.txt