What is an Anti-Bot? Overview of anti-bot systems and technology

Anti-bots, as the name suggests, are a set of technologies deployed to stop bad bots. They are programmed software codes, methods, processes and applications intended to identify, alter and block malicious robots.

It helps to understand what a bot is in this case – a bot is software coded to perform repetitive tasks of all kinds on software platforms. Bots can be launched via email, social media, or individual websites.

They can target servers, individual website users, or even personal computers. They can be used to steal data or initiate malicious activities on these platforms. Bots are automated and modern ones use machine learning algorithms to identify attack opportunities and launch attacks.

For this reason, not all bots have malicious or evil intent. There are many types of bots that you would want to have on your website – for example, those used by search engines to crawl websites for SEO ranking. Others are used by website owners to chat and assist users, help transfer and exchange data with e-commerce platforms, and instruct users.

However, anti-bots are carefully designed to stop bad bot attacks. Bad bots are those launched on websites to steal data, swamp website traffic, submit spam forms and comments, and illegally increase or block traffic to prevent your human users from accessing the services of the website.

How do anti-bots work?

Antibots work by first identifying malicious bots. They use machine learning algorithms that allow them to do this. The algorithm is updated regularly to identify the most recent cases of bots and threats. An anti-bot will identify cases of bot infection by analyzing network, website traffic or even individual machines and servers. The analysis is performed by comparing suspected threats to pre-identified threats. This is called a classification technique because all an anti-bot has to do is classify bots based on the threats identified.

However, anti-bots should not rely solely on databases of pre-identified threats. Modern ones can flag suspected threats based on the nature of the activities a bot is undertaking. Modern bots perform scans and identify threats automatically and in real time. They can be customized according to the user's needs regarding activities to report and stop.

Once an anti-bot identifies a threat, it reports and/or blocks the bot linked to the threat. Therefore, they will protect user information from theft on the website. You may already understand that a bot can be launched on a website to collect user information and other user data. Bot owners, who could control a botnet remotely, aim to use this information maliciously. They can collect login details from website and try to login to financial platforms using the set of logins. Thus, anti-bots protect the financial interests of your website users.

Since some bots work by infecting users' browsers with malicious code and then copying website content, anti-bots prevent copying of the owner's website. This protects the website owner's investments. The website owner could lose revenue if their internet users are tricked into connecting to a malicious website copied from the original website.

Botnets can also infect websites and plugins with infectious code and gain access to servers where they can cause further damage. They could delete data, plugins and modify information. Botnets can therefore deprive users of important services. They may temporarily or permanently cause the failure of websites and services.

Anti-bot use case

1. Protect websites from bad SEO rankings – When bots submit spam comments that contain promotional URLs or links, the website owner risks having their website ranked poorly by search engines. When search engines crawl and find spammy comments posted by spambots, they treat the website as spam and lose its ranking. Anti-bots prevent this by identifying and blocking unwanted comments.
2. Protection against brute force attacks – Brute force attacks on websites are launched by first compromising devices and creating zombies or a network of compromised devices. Attacks are launched using applications and scripts as tools. Basically, these tools will try many password combinations to bypass authentication. They can also search for the right session IDs to attack websites. The attack can be as simple as trying to log in by guessing passwords or as complicated as trying password variations and using a pre-computed table to reverse cryptographic hash functions.

These attacks target access to sensitive data stored on websites. The intention is to steal information, disrupt the service or infect it with malware. Anti-bots protect users against these attacks by blocking the bots involved.

3. Bot in IoT applications – Unsecured interconnected IoT devices make it easy to spread malware and bots. The malware and bot can simply be launched on one device and it will spread to others. So it becomes easier for attackers to steal user information across multiple devices. Anti-bots prevent bots from exploiting vulnerabilities on one device and also prevent bots from spreading to others.
4. Darkweb Apps – Attackers sometimes steal user information from websites and then trade it on the dark web for many other purposes. For example, companies are targeting the purchase of such information even in legal data marketplaces to personalize their marketing campaigns. This is the case when this information contains consumer purchasing preferences, for example.

Darkweb users also exchange personal information with other attackers to steal money using the same information. Thus, anti-bots financially hinder users by preventing their financial information from being stolen.

Where to find antibots

Anti-bots can be purchased off-the-shelf or coded from scratch. It can come in the form of plugins, extensions, or programs, or simply be included as part of anti-malware or other applications.

In conclusion, anti-bots identify and block bots before they can initiate or stop further damage. Protecting a website with anti-bot techniques is very useful. Anti-bots block your website and your users' financial information. They will also protect the user's device from malware damage. As such, they can improve the reliability of your website by making it more secure for users. They will prevent users from wasting their time and bandwidth while browsing your website.