Cloudways Bot Protection
Last Updated on 23rd September 2023 by Ajmer Singh
Cloudways added a new feature in the year 2021 – Bot Protection. This feature is available for free to every Cloudways user.
Cloudways is the host that I use on my websites and I am amazed by the performance and speed that I achieve after switching to the Cloudways server.
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An Overview of Cloudways Bot Protection
Bot traffic affects your website performance in various ways,
- Search engine ranking
- Extra server usage
- Steal your data
- Spammy comments
- Brute force attacks
- Slow down your website
- Risk of hacking
How Cloudways Bot Protection helps you:
- Block bad bots traffic
- Block login attempts
- Protects from DDoS attacks
- Reduces server usage
- Show you all login attempts
- Show you all Bot traffic sources
These are the results of my site for the last 7 days:
However, you don’t need to worry about good bot traffic like Google bots. Bot protection only blocks bad bot traffic and allows good bots.
Cloudways partnered with Malcare Security. If you are using the free Malcare plugin then it is not available.
You have to get their premium to use this feature. However, if you are a Cloudways user then you will get this feature for free.
If you are not using Cloudways host (which is my recommended host) then use code AJMER20 and get 20% off immediately.
You can also try their host for free without adding any credit details.
If you are a Cloudways user, you can easily enable it by logging into Cloudways – Application – Bot Protection – Active.
Importance of Bot Protection
Bot protection is a critical aspect of website security, especially in today’s market where bots have become increasingly sophisticated and capable of causing significant harm.
Bots are automated programs designed to perform various tasks, and while some bots serve legitimate purposes like search engine crawlers, others can be malicious and harmful to websites.
Here are some key reasons why understanding the importance of bot protection is crucial:
Preventing DDoS Attacks: Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks involve overwhelming a website’s servers with a massive influx of traffic from botnets.
These attacks can cripple a website, making it inaccessible to genuine users.
Bot protection systems can detect and mitigate such attacks, ensuring the website remains accessible even under heavy traffic.
Safeguarding Sensitive Data: Bots may attempt to scrape sensitive information from websites, such as personal data, login credentials, or financial details.
With effective bot protection, such attempts can be thwarted, preventing data breaches and safeguarding user privacy.
Protecting Content and Intellectual Property: Content scraping bots can steal original content from websites, affecting SEO rankings and devaluing the efforts put into creating that content.
Bot protection helps maintain the integrity of content and preserves intellectual property rights.
Preventing Account Takeovers: Bots are often employed to carry out brute-force attacks on login forms, trying various combinations of usernames and passwords until they gain unauthorized access.
Bot protection mechanisms can detect and block these malicious login attempts, preventing account takeovers and enhancing security.
Improving Website Performance: Malicious bots consuming server resources can degrade website performance, leading to slow loading times and a poor user experience.
By blocking such bots, website performance can be significantly enhanced.
How Cloudways Bot Protection Works?
Cloudways offers bot protection to safeguard websites hosted on its platform.
The bot protection system is designed to identify and mitigate various types of malicious bots effectively. Here’s how it works:
Traffic Analysis: Cloudways bot protection starts by analyzing incoming website traffic.
It evaluates various attributes of incoming requests, such as the frequency of requests, their origin, and the type of user agent used.
Behaviour Analysis: The system employs behaviour analysis to distinguish between human users and bots.
Bots often follow distinct patterns, and the protection system looks for anomalies in user behaviour to identify potential bot activity.
Challenge-Response Mechanism: When the bot protection system suspects bot activity, it deploys a challenge-response mechanism.
For instance, it may present a CAPTCHA or a JavaScript challenge that bots typically struggle to solve, while legitimate users can easily complete it.
IP Reputation and Redlisting: Cloudways maintains a database of known malicious IPs and uses it to redlist suspicious IP addresses.
This approach prevents traffic from these redlisted IPs from accessing the website.
Machine Learning: Cloudways leverages machine learning algorithms to continuously improve its bot protection capabilities.
Over time, the system becomes more adept at identifying new and evolving bot threats.
Identifying Common Bot Threats
Several types of bots pose threats to websites. Cloudways bot protection is designed to detect and mitigate these common bot threats, including:
Web Scrapers: Web scraping bots are used to extract data from websites for various purposes, such as content theft, price scraping, or data mining.
Cloudways bot protection can identify and block such bots to protect website content.
DDoS Bots: Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) bots flood websites with an overwhelming amount of traffic to cause server overload and disrupt website operations.
Cloudways can detect unusual traffic patterns indicative of DDoS attacks and block the offending bots.
Brute-Force Bots: Brute-force bots attempt to guess login credentials by trying various combinations rapidly.
Cloudways bot protection can recognize and block these bots to prevent unauthorized access.
Scalper Bots: Scalper bots are used in e-commerce to snatch up limited-quantity products, causing inventory shortages and frustrating genuine customers.
Cloudways can identify and restrict the activity of such bots.
Spam Bots: Spam bots flood websites with irrelevant and often malicious content, degrading user experience and damaging SEO.
Cloudways bot protection can thwart spam bots and keep your website clean.
Wrapping Up – Cloudways Bot Protection
| Aspect | Cloudways Bot Protection | No Bot Protection |
|---|---|---|
| Bot Detection | Utilizes advanced algorithms and machine learning to accurately identify and block various bot threats | Lacks bot-specific detection, leaving the website vulnerable to automated attacks |
| DDoS Attack Protection | Offers protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks by identifying and mitigating abnormal traffic patterns | Exposes the website to potential DDoS attacks, leading to server overload and website downtime |
| Account Security | Safeguards user accounts from brute-force attacks by implementing rate limits and challenge-response mechanisms | Vulnerable to brute-force attacks, potentially leading to unauthorized access and compromised accounts |
| Web Scraping Prevention | Protects website content and intellectual property by blocking malicious web scraping bots | Prone to content theft and SEO ranking devaluation due to unauthorized data scraping |
| Real-time Analytics | Provides detailed real-time analytics and reporting on bot activities for proactive security measures | Lacks insights into bot threats, making it challenging to understand and address potential vulnerabilities |
| Performance Optimization | Improves website performance by blocking resource-consuming bots, ensuring a smoother user experience | Website performance may suffer due to excessive bot traffic and resource consumption |
| User Experience | Enhances user experience by blocking spam bots and reducing unwanted distractions | Users may encounter spam content and disruptive bots, leading to a poor browsing experience |
| Customization Options | Allows users to customize bot protection settings, including challenge-response mechanisms, IP blacklisting/whitelisting, and user agent filtering | Lacks flexibility in tailoring protection to specific website needs |
| Security Time and Cost Savings | Automated bot protection reduces the need for manual intervention, saving time and resources | Requires dedicated efforts and resources to manually manage and respond to bot threats |
Cloudways offers a robust and customizable bot protection system that effectively identifies and mitigates various bot threats.
With real-time analytics and user-friendly configurations, Cloudways empowers website owners to stay one step ahead of malicious bots and embrace a bot-free future.
Investing in reliable bot protection is not only a prudent decision but also a proactive measure to protect your website, your users, and your online reputation.
With Cloudways, you can fortify your website’s defences and focus on what truly matters – providing a seamless and secure online experience for your visitors.
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