Company
Date Published
Author
Keshia Rose
Word count
4147
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Bots, which are automated programs that mimic human behavior online, account for a significant portion of web traffic, with many being "bad bots" designed for malicious activities like spam distribution and fraud. To protect websites, user data, and online assets, distinguishing bot traffic from human traffic is crucial. This tutorial focuses on client-side bot detection, exploring techniques such as analyzing browser characteristics, user behavior, and device information to identify bots. By building a basic bot detection script using JavaScript, users can learn to recognize automated interactions by examining anomalies in web interactions and browser settings. Advanced solutions like the open-source BotD library and Fingerprint Pro offer enhanced detection capabilities, crucial for businesses facing significant bot traffic or requiring high security. These tools provide more comprehensive defenses by differentiating between good and bad bots and adapting to evolving web and bot technologies, ensuring robust protection against automated threats.