Itnetic TechnologiesFor Minecraft servers
A Cloudflare alternative for Minecraft servers
Minecraft does not speak HTTP, so an ordinary web proxy cannot protect it — and a plain TCP tunnel does not stop the attack that actually kills servers: thousands of connections that look exactly like players joining. Itnetic runs a protocol-aware Minecraft proxy on the same network, on every plan.
The first thing to be clear about is that this is not the same product category as protecting a website. A Minecraft server speaks its own TCP protocol on port 25565, holds long-lived connections, and spends real CPU on every join attempt — world load, entity spawn, authentication round trip. An HTTP proxy sees none of that, which is why an orange cloud in front of your DNS does nothing for your server at all.
The generic answer is a TCP proxy: Cloudflare offers Minecraft support through Spectrum, plan-dependent per their published documentation. That moves the packets, and against a raw volumetric flood it works. It does not answer the attack that actually takes servers down, because a bot join is a valid connection speaking valid protocol — it is indistinguishable from a player at the packet layer, and you only find it by reading the handshake.
Itnetic runs a Minecraft-aware proxy: it parses the handshake, screens every connection before it costs your server a slot, and lets real players straight through on an unmodified client. Every plan includes it — the free one covers one server and five concurrent players.
Game server protection
Protecting a Minecraft server: what each side covers
Availability from each vendor’s public documentation. Where a row says "not documented", it is a statement about published capability, not about what may exist under contract.
| Minecraft requirement | Itnetic | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
| Protects TCP game traffic at all (not just HTTP) | Every plan | Plan-dependent (Spectrum) |
| Parses the Minecraft handshake | Every plan — protocol-aware proxy | Minecraft protocol support documented for Spectrum |
| Stops bot join floods (valid connections, fake players) | Every plan — per-connection screening | Not documented as a Spectrum capability |
| In-game CAPTCHA, drawn inside Minecraft | Every plan — no browser, no third-party verifier | Not documented as a Spectrum capability |
| Server-list ping flood absorbed at the edge | Every plan — answered from a recent snapshot | Not documented as a Spectrum capability |
| Player queue at the slot limit, with position | Every plan | Not documented as a Spectrum capability |
| Bans enforced before the connection reaches your server | Every plan | Not documented as a Spectrum capability |
| Anticheat on the same connection (fly, reach, X-ray) | Every plan — 12 check classes, no plugin | Not documented as a Spectrum capability |
| Cross-server attacker reputation | Every plan — challenge-only, never an outright ban | Not documented as a Spectrum capability |
| VPN and hosting traffic handled without blanket bans | Every plan — challenged, not banned | Not documented as a Spectrum capability |
| Server keeps online mode and its own authentication | Yes — we never authenticate on your behalf | Yes — transparent proxying |
| Join-attempt log with the reason for every refusal | Every plan | Plan-dependent logging |
| Anything to install on the server or for players | Nothing — no plugin, no mod, no client | Nothing |
| Website and game server on one account and one bill | Yes — same dashboard | Yes — same account |
| Free plan | 1 server, 5 concurrent players, every feature | Spectrum is plan-dependent |
About this comparison
Compiled from Cloudflare’s own public documentation and plan pages on 10 September 2026, and describing feature availability by plan at that date. Plan contents change — check Cloudflare’s current pages before making a decision. Cloudflare is a trademark of Cloudflare, Inc.; Itnetic Technologies is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Cloudflare, Inc. Prices named on this page are Itnetic’s own; this page makes no claim about any other provider’s pricing, performance, capacity or availability.
Why a web proxy does nothing for a Minecraft server
Web protection works on HTTP requests: it reads a path, headers and cookies, and can hand a browser a challenge. Minecraft on 25565 has none of those. Putting your web hostname behind any HTTP edge — Cloudflare’s or ours — leaves the game port exactly as exposed as it was, and the only thing it changes is that your web A record no longer leaks the machine’s address. That last part matters, but it is hiding, not protection.
The attack that actually kills servers is a join flood
Rented botnets aimed at Minecraft servers rarely bother with raw bandwidth. They open thousands of real connections that speak real protocol and attempt real logins. Every one costs your server an authentication round trip, a slot and a world load, so the server dies from work rather than from traffic — and to anything that only moves packets, all of it looks legitimate. The only place to catch it is inside the handshake.
- Uncertain connections are asked to prove they hold a real account — seconds for a human, ruinous at scale.
- When more proof is needed, the challenge is drawn inside Minecraft itself. No browser tab, no third-party verifier on your login path.
- Thresholds are learned from your server’s own normal, because a fixed number is a disaster for one server and a quiet evening for another.
Ping floods, and why your listing goes dark
A server-list ping costs the sender almost nothing and costs you a response, which is why it has always been the cheapest way to hammer a server doing nothing wrong. The visible symptom is that your listing goes grey exactly when people are trying to find you. Itnetic answers pings at the edge from a recent snapshot, so a flood of them costs your server zero and your listing keeps showing the right player count and MOTD throughout.
Anticheat on the same connection
A player who holds a real account and cleared every check at the door can still fly, hit through a wall or see ore through stone. Because every packet already passes through the proxy, cheat detection runs there too — twelve check classes covering movement, combat and world interaction, measured against what the game itself permits rather than against a list of known cheat clients. A first offence is corrected quietly by putting the player back where they actually were; only a sustained pattern ends the session. Nothing to install on your server, and nothing for players.
A queue instead of a closed door
At the player limit, the next arrivals wait in an ordered line with their position and a rough wait, rather than getting a connection error and going somewhere else. It is the same idea as a website waiting room, applied where it matters more: a full server that turns people away loses them permanently, and an attack that fills your slots with bots is exactly what the queue is there to survive.
What it costs
Game protection is included in every Itnetic plan alongside the web side, on one bill and one dashboard. Free covers one server and five concurrent players; €5/month covers three servers and twenty players; €29 covers ten servers and fifty; €99 covers twenty-five servers and five hundred. There is no separate game SKU and no feature that only unlocks higher up.
FAQ
Cloudflare alternatives: common questions
Does Cloudflare protect Minecraft servers?
Not through the standard web proxy — that only handles HTTP, and your game port stays exposed. Cloudflare documents Minecraft support through Spectrum, their TCP proxying product, on a plan-dependent basis. Check their current plan pages, since this page is a snapshot of 10 September 2026.
Why is a TCP proxy not enough for Minecraft?
Because the attack that kills Minecraft servers is not raw bandwidth — it is thousands of valid connections attempting valid logins. At the packet layer a bot join is identical to a player, so anything that only forwards TCP forwards the whole attack faithfully. You have to read the handshake to tell them apart.
Do my players need to install anything?
No. Real players connect with an unmodified client to the same address they always used, and never see anything. There is no plugin on your server and no mod on theirs.
Does my server stay in online mode?
Yes. Your server keeps authenticating every player itself — we never authenticate on your behalf. That also closes the hole where a leaked server address lets anyone connect under any username.
Will the proxy add lag?
Every proxy adds a hop, so the honest answer is that it depends on where your server and your players are relative to the edge. What it removes is far larger: an attack never becomes tick lag, because the connections that would have caused it never reach your machine.
Does it work with cracked or offline-mode servers?
Screening, the in-game CAPTCHA, ping-flood absorption and the queue all work regardless of mode. Account-based verification obviously needs a real account, so an offline-mode server leans on the CAPTCHA and behavioural checks rather than on account proof.
Is Minecraft protection included in the free plan?
Yes — one server and five concurrent players, with every feature: bot screening, in-game CAPTCHA, queue, ping-flood absorption, anticheat and the join log.
Can I protect my website and my Minecraft server together?
Yes, on one account, one bill and one dashboard. Web plans and game limits move together with the plan.
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Same provider, different question — each page compares what matters to one specific use case.
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