Modern web security isn’t just about blocking obvious spam and attacks. Many threats today come from servers and automated tools hosted on commercial hosting providers, cloud services, or data centers – rather than from ordinary end-user devices. BotBlocker includes a system for detecting when visitors are coming from known hosting providers, and this data is […]
What Is HTTP? HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. It’s the foundation of all communication on the web, defining how browsers and servers exchange information. Every time you open a website, your browser sends HTTP requests to the server, which responds with the requested data (like HTML, CSS, images, scripts). Main Versions of HTTP HTTP/1.0 […]
An IP address is the backbone of how devices find and communicate with each other across the internet or any network. It’s a unique identifier assigned to every device that connects to the web, whether it’s a computer, smartphone, smart TV, or server. What Is an IP Address? IP stands for Internet Protocol. An IP […]
The Referer (often misspelled as “Referrer”) HTTP header tells a server which page the visitor came from. For example, if someone clicks a link to your site from another site, their browser typically includes that site’s URL as the Referer. Why the Referer Header Matters The Referer header is an important signal in web analytics, […]
BotBlocker includes an optional feature to block visitors whose PTR (reverse DNS) records are simply a literal copy of their IP address. This is a sign of non-configured or default server setups, often seen in suspicious or low-trust traffic. What Does “PTR Equals IP” Mean? A PTR record that just repeats the IP address (e.g. […]
One of the most effective ways to distinguish between real search engine crawlers and imposters is by checking PTR (reverse DNS) records. Many bots try to disguise themselves by using legitimate User-Agent strings like Googlebot or Bingbot. However, they almost never have the correct PTR records that true search engine bots maintain. What Is a […]
Some bots try to mimic real users by faking browser language or country. To counter this, BotBlocker includes an optional GeoIP Language Mismatch filter, designed to catch visitors whose declared browser language doesn’t match their country of origin. How GeoIP Language Mismatch Detection Works When this option is enabled, BotBlocker checks two things for every […]
BotBlocker’s core free functionality uses Accept-Language header analysis as a lightweight, fast, and reliable way to weed out automated bots. This check runs automatically – no extra settings or geo-language mapping required. How Accept-Language Checking Works Most browsers send a standard Accept-Language header (like en-US, ru, de-DE). Bots and scripts often skip this step or […]
Real browsers almost always support JavaScript while many bots don’t.Cloud BotBlocker leverages this fact through a clever JavaScript support check – catching lightweight bots without harming the user experience. Why JavaScript Matters in Bot Detection Human users interact with websites via JavaScript-driven elements – animations, AJAX, interactive forms. Legitimate browsers process this code seamlessly. Conversely, […]
Every visitor accessing your website provides information through an HTTP header called the User-Agent. This small piece of data can reveal valuable insights about who (or what) is visiting your site. Understanding User-Agent strings and how they can be analyzed helps effectively distinguish real visitors from automated bots. What is a User-Agent? A User-Agent string […]
