How to Detect Harmful Bot Traffic Patterns

The number of enterprise VPN detection and scoring on the web is increasing at an alarming rate, and bad bots pose significant threats to online businesses. Bad bots can impersonate humans, steal data, defraud advertisers, or even shut down websites with Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks (DDoS). This is why it’s important for website owners to detect harmful bot traffic patterns and take steps to eliminate them.

Detecting Bots
The good news is, there are easy ways to spot bot activity. Many bots hide their identity by cloaking or masking, but they leave behind clues that can be detected with the right technology. For example, a sudden spike in traffic without a corresponding increase in user or site engagement is often a sign of high levels of bots. Also, a pattern of repeated clicks or rapid page navigation reveals automation. Consistent user agent strings, outdated browser configurations, or identical device fingerprints are other indicators of bot behavior.

Why Businesses Need a Comprehensive Proxy Detection Feed

A robust bot detection solution can uncover these signals, as well as the bot’s purpose and location, and take action to stop them. For instance, a solution that utilizes device fingerprinting can scan the unique characteristics of the visitor’s device – including its operating system, screen resolution, installed plugins, and more – to create a profile of the device as distinct as a human fingerprint. This profile is compared to profiles of known good and bad bots to identify and block repeat requests from the suspicious device. Additionally, a solution that uses a reputation scoring method can blacklist IP addresses based on their history and behavior.