Most website traffic comes from bots, and some of them even engage in fraudulent activities. In 2022, bad bots traffic made up about 30.2% of web visits.
As a result, more and more website owners are taking an active stance against processes involving bots, like data scraping.
Find out how to prevent data scraping on your website in 4 simple ways. Read on.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- Data scraping involves using bots to gather website information, which can harm site performance, security, and revenue.
- Common issues with scraping include slower loading times, security risks, and potential data theft.
- Preventive measures are essential, even if complete prevention is difficult.
- Use CAPTCHAs to distinguish between humans and bots effectively.
- Regularly monitor website traffic and utilize analytics tools to detect suspicious activities and enhance website performance.
Data Scraping: What It Is and How It Works
Data scraping is the process of gathering information using bots or automated tools. These bots mimic human activities on the target website to access and copy data into a particular format. The scraped and exported data are then compiled for analysis and research.
Website owners and major organizations implemented precautions to stop data scraping. They see the process as a problem. It slows down the website’s performance, reduces revenue, and risks user data.
Common Problems with Scraping Websites
Below are some of the common issues caused by data scraping:
- Website Performance
Data scraping means multiple requests and visitors flooding the site server at the same time. The overwhelming and simultaneous requests lead to slower loading times for the website.
- Security Threat
Scraping data from websites is considered legal as long as you are handling public data. However, the process can pose security risks if bots collect confidential or sensitive information without permission.
| 📝 Note Public data is any information that can be shared and used without restrictions. It is present in finance, social media, travel, and more. One should note that due to public data’s accessibility, it is often raw and disorganized. Scraping public data may require parsing to get valuable and readable information. |
- Loss of Revenue
The slow website performance caused by scraping may reduce visitors and traffic. This means a decrease in the site’s revenue. Also, scrapers can steal website content or hack user accounts for financial gain.
4 Ways to Prevent Data Scraping on Websites
It is unlikely to stop data scraping on a website. Even legitimate companies scrape other websites to study data and for market research.
While it seems impossible to block data scraping entirely, you can still enforce safety measures to make it less of a problem for your website.
Here are four ways to minimize data scraping on your website:
1. Use CAPTCHAs
CAPTCHAs are puzzles to determine whether the user is a human or a robot. Humans can easily solve these puzzles, but bots struggle with them.
| 💡 Did You Know? Over 13 million active websites use CAPTCHA as their primary protection against internet bots. This goes to show how more websites are proactive in taking a step against scraping and bots. |
There are so many CAPTCHA services available on the web. Use a reliable service and ensure that it is easy for real users. One example is reCAPTCHA.
Here is a simple way to add reCAPTCHAs to your website:
Step 1: Sign Up for an API Key
Go to the reCAPTCHA website. Sign up for an API key using your website’s domain name.
Step 2: Get the Keys
After you sign up, you will be given two keys: a site key and a secret key.
Step 3: Add Code to Your Website
Add the reCAPTCHA API code to your website by copying and pasting the code into the HTML part of your website like this:
<head>
<title> Example Website </title>
<script src = “https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js” </script>
</head>Step 4: Add the CAPTCHA to Forms
Modify the form on your website by adding the reCAPTCHA field using the code in the previous step. You can check what the user inputs in the reCAPTCHA field and verify if they are a human with the help of the Google reCAPTCHA API.
The form submission will be accepted if the user’s response is valid. If not, it will be rejected, and the user will be asked to try again.
Here’s an example of what the complete code looks like:
<head>
<title> Example Website </title>
<script src = “https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js” </script>
</head>
<body>
<form action=”submit.php” method=”post”>
<div class= “g-recaptcha” data-sitekey=”your-site-key”></div>
<button type= “submit”> Submit </button>
</form>
</body>| 📝 Note Adding reCAPTCHA to your websites requires some coding knowledge. You must add codes to your website’s HTML to add the reCAPTCHA field to your web forms. |
2. Limit Access To Sensitive Data
Restrict access to sensitive data or use security measures like user authentications. Use access controls and limit public API access to confidential data.
There are several measures you can implement to limit access to sensitive data on your website, like:
 | Use strong passwords for accounts that handle sensitive user data. Avoid predictable passwords like password1234. |
 | Use encryption to protect data while it’s being transmitted or stored on your servers. |
 | Enable 2FA or other types of multi-factor authentication to your website to add another layer of protection. |
 | Implement access controls to specify users with permission to access specific data. |
 | Limit the sensitive data you collect and keep on your website. |
 | Regularly monitor your website for any signs of security breaches. |
 | Update your software regularly and use a web application firewall (WAF) to protect your site from common attacks. |
3. Block IP Addresses
Block access to your website by stopping IP addresses associated with scrapers. Ensure that you do not obstruct legitimate users from accessing the website.
Below are simple steps to block IP addresses from your website:
1. Identify the IP address you want to block. You can use tools like Google Analytics to find them.
2. Log in to your website’s hosting account. Use secure methods like SFTP.
3. Go to the root directory of your website and locate the “.htaccess” file.
4. Open the “.htaccess” with your text editor.
5. If you want to block a single IP address, add this code to the “.htaccess.”
Deny from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
6. For blocking multiple IP addresses, you can add multiple lines like this:
Deny from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx Deny from yyy.yyy.yyy.yyy
Replace “xxx” and “yyy” with the IP addresses.
7. Save and close the file.
| 📝Note IP blocking can be bypassed by several tricks, including IP rotation. By rotating IPs, requests seem to come from different users—making it difficult to pinpoint the source’s address. |
4. Monitor and Study Traffic
Observe how traffic works on your website. Be on the lookout for any unusual or suspicious activities. For example, if numerous requests come from the same location in a short period, that could be suspicious.
There are different online monitoring tools that you can use to keep an eye on your website. Some examples are:
- Google Analytics
- Kissmetrics
- Semrush
- StatCounter
Here is a general guide to monitoring and studying data on your website:
| 1. Set your website goals and what data you need to measure them. 2. Look for web analytics tools that can track your metrics. 3. Create a dashboard to view this data in real-time. Tools like Google Data Studio can do this. 4. Study the data regularly to detect trends and areas where you can improve your website. 5. Experiment by adding changes to your website to find ways to improve its performance. |
Conclusion
Data is a valuable resource, so protecting your websites from scraping is very important. Understanding the implications and implementing preventive measures can help keep your website safe, fast, and authentic.
Completely preventing data scraping is challenging, but taking active steps can make a big difference.
FAQs
How do web scrapers differ from analytics software?
Web scrapers extract data from websites without permission. On the other hand, analytics software helps website owners understand how people use their sites.
How does Amazon prevent scraping?
Amazon uses different methods to stop scraping. It uses CAPTCHAs, limits frequent bot visits, and blocks IP addresses that belong to scraping tools.
Are there legal restrictions on web scraping?
There are rules about web scraping. Some websites allow it, but scraping without permission can break copyright and privacy laws.
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Muninder Adavelli is a core team member and Digital Growth Strategist at Techjury. With a strong background in marketing and a deep understanding of technology's role in digital marketing, he brings immense value to the TechJury team.