Web Scraping: Are you at risk?
Web scraping and web crawling differ in their objectives. Search engines employ web crawlers to index web pages and present search results to users who access the source via a link. Data scraping, on the other hand, involves extracting information from the page and utilizing it elsewhere. To draw a comparison: Crawling compiles a list of library books for you to peruse, while scraping duplicates the books for you to take home.
What to do about it?
It is unfeasible to completely block all scraping attempts. Instead, the objective should be to increase the difficulty for scrapers trying to access your protected data. Here are 4 different methods to achieve this:
1. Robots.txt
This file serves as a directive to web robots, indicating which pages on your website are restricted from being crawled. Robots.txt is used to restrict access to sensitive data, like login or checkout pages, and can also regulate the frequency of bot visits, for instance, allowing search engines to crawl only once a day to prevent performance issues.
Nevertheless, some bots may disregard these instructions, and others may find ways to bypass them. As a result, businesses should implement additional protective measures.
2. Web Application Firewall
Web Application Firewall or WAFs act as the initial line of defense against malicious bots by providing a crucial layer of security that filters and obstructs problematic traffic before it reaches your site. The firewall examines HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) traffic to identify patterns associated with cyberattacks and can be configured to block traffic originating from specific IP ranges, countries, or data centers known to harbor bots.
While WAFs can effectively block numerous bots, more advanced and sophisticated bots might still manage to evade these defenses.
3. CAPTCHA
The Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart, commonly referred to as CAPTCHA, is a familiar concept. This challenge-response authentication presents a test that only humans can solve, like selecting all the squares containing a motorcycle. CAPTCHA serves to deter automated bots from gaining access to your site.
However, it is essential to enhance the user experience, as recent research has shown that bots can sometimes solve these tests more quickly than humans. Therefore, businesses should not rely solely on CAPTCHA.
4. Device Intelligence
Leveraging device intelligence aids businesses in distinguishing between bots and genuine website users. Device intelligence encompasses browser and device fingerprinting, utilizing various signals and device attributes such as IP address, location, VPN (Virtual Private Network), and operating system to identify unique devices. This information can help identify traffic originating from countries frequently associated with bot activity, visitors exhibiting bot-like behavior patterns, and other potentially suspicious devices.