Most people are hoping that the In Amenas siege was a one-off attack - "collateral damage" from the conflict in northern Mali, following the French intervention - and not a signal that the Algerian side of the desert could become engulfed in conflict.
But at some point it has to do something incriminating to kick off an attack.
FORBES: Why Most Companies Are Fighting The Wrong Security Battle
For some patients, taking a puff or two from an inhaler before exercise can ward off an attack.
An Australian man has fended off an attack by a 10ft (3m) crocodile.
When the helicopters arrived, the pirates broke off the attack, the ministry said.
President Mikheil Saakashvili's website had to be moved to an American server better able to fight off the attack.
ECONOMIST: Are the mouse and keyboard the new weapons of conflict?
Trading on the MTGox exchange, which handles most trades in Bitcoins, was sluggish yesterday as the site fought off an attack.
Cyberbunker is thought to have kicked off the attack in late March after Spamhaus blocked some servers hosted by the Dutch firm.
Sarkozy's shuttle diplomacy was preceded earlier Tuesday by a statement from Medvedev on national television that the Russian military was being called off the attack.
Charles Schumer--aided, perhaps, by the star power of their proposed puppet Caroline Kennedy--these worthies will fight off any attack against the bonus babies.
Somkiat said soldiers who fended off the attack suffered no casualties.
Mr Abbott kicked off his attack in the Hunter Valley, a coal-mining region of New South Wales, where he branded the tax a threat to coal's future.
ECONOMIST: The prime minister stakes her future on a divisive scheme
"If they are attacking the house of the nation, I have to fight them, " said Lalai Hamidzai, one of the two lawmakers who fought off the attack.
The rules of engagement forbid shooting a man for crawling forward to take a closer look or for talking on a hand-held radio, but such actions usually tip off an attack.
The United States has attempted to reduce those numbers by changing approaches to attacking targets, not bombing suspect cars as they approach crowded areas or waiving off an attack on a house if there are innocent civilians inside, according to U.S. military officials.
CNN: Documents give insight into increased violence in Afghanistan
In 2009, an Italian cruise ship with 1, 500 people aboard fended off a pirate attack in the Indian Ocean far off the coast of Somalia.
The Bush Administration had one major success: it succeeded in staving off another terrorist attack in America.
Zidane was sent off for the attack and later claimed he was provoked after Materazzi had insulted his mother.
BBC: SPORT | Football | Internationals | Materazzi breaks Zidane silence
So Iraq's invitation seemed a transparent attempt to stave off such an attack.
Shackleton was aiming to circumnavigate the Antarctic continent when he died of a heart attack off South Georgia in 1922.
BBC: Stone returned to Ernest Shackleton's grave after 75 years
An Australian man has been seriously wounded in a shark attack off the country's west coast, in the third such incident this month.
It uses humor to take the edge off the competitive attack: Apple did this successfully in its jab at PCs a few years ago.
FORBES: 3 Reasons Samsung's Latest Advertising Poking Apple Is So Smart
But his military career was ended abruptly when his left leg was blown off in an attack by Argentinian fighter planes on the landing ship, Sir Galahad.
The PlayStation's software advantage--it has by far the largest number of games for any system--has helped it fend off a concerted attack by Nintendo and its N64 system.
The game was not over though and Bath were forced to endure a nervy last few minutes when O'Hare finished off a counter attack and Jackson crossed after intercepting a speculative Nick Abendanon pass.
But Gloucester sparked into action late in the first half with Foster finishing off a fine attack, started by Iain Balshaw and Satala before the ball was sprayed across the back division to the left corner.
Jones converted the second score to make it 32-3 and although Shandre Frolick finished off a sweeping attack to give the hosts a rapturously-received try, there was still time for Roberts to grab his second try of the half.
Dutch midfielder Van der Vaart got Spurs off to a flying start when he finished off a stunning counter-attack before his team were reduced to 10 when Defoe was sent off for the use of a leading arm when jumping with Collins.
BBC: Harry Redknapp hails battling Tottenham after Villa win
And it looked like they would pay for that when Fortune scored to round off a counter-attack for the visitors.
Ollie Barkley's penalty was the only score until just before half-time when Abendanon set up an attack rounded off when David Paice stretched to score.
应用推荐