Block Unwanted Bots on Apache & Nginx (Constantly Updated)

CCarter

CCarter

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Last update: Jul 2, 2019 @ 12:35 PM EST

Instead of people going to my MoneyOverEthics.com site for the latest robots, I decided to just create a running/updating version here. I recommend using these browser add-ons to check that you are indeed blocking the bots you want to block: Browser User-Agent Changer Add-ons.

SideNote: Don't just blindly add these files without going through them and double checking to make sure you aren't blocking bots you want crawling your site; for example these files block 'curl', 'python', 'perl', and even 'SEMRush' - if you utilize bots or services which these files block then you will not only be blocking your competition from using those services to query your domains but also yourself. I block EVERYTHING!​

--

Robots.txt version
First is the top level robots.txt, the "good" bots "should" respect these:

Code: 
User-agent: AhrefsBot
User-agent: AhrefsSiteAudit
User-agent: adbeat_bot
User-agent: Alexibot
User-agent: AppEngine
User-agent: Aqua_Products
User-agent: archive.org_bot
User-agent: archive
User-agent: asterias
User-agent: b2w/0.1
User-agent: BackDoorBot/1.0
User-agent: BecomeBot
User-agent: BlekkoBot
User-agent: Blexbot
User-agent: BlowFish/1.0
User-agent: Bookmark search tool
User-agent: BotALot
User-agent: BuiltBotTough
User-agent: Bullseye/1.0
User-agent: BunnySlippers
User-agent: CCBot
User-agent: CheeseBot
User-agent: CherryPicker
User-agent: CherryPickerElite/1.0
User-agent: CherryPickerSE/1.0
User-agent: chroot
User-agent: Copernic
User-agent: CopyRightCheck
User-agent: cosmos
User-agent: Crescent
User-agent: Crescent Internet ToolPak HTTP OLE Control v.1.0
User-agent: DittoSpyder
User-agent: dotbot
User-agent: dumbot
User-agent: EmailCollector
User-agent: EmailSiphon
User-agent: EmailWolf
User-agent: Enterprise_Search
User-agent: Enterprise_Search/1.0
User-agent: EroCrawler
User-agent: es
User-agent: exabot
User-agent: ExtractorPro
User-agent: FairAd Client
User-agent: Flaming AttackBot
User-agent: Foobot
User-agent: Gaisbot
User-agent: GetRight/4.2
User-agent: gigabot
User-agent: grub
User-agent: grub-client
User-agent: Go-http-client
User-agent: Harvest/1.5
User-agent: Hatena Antenna
User-agent: hloader
User-agent: http://www.SearchEngineWorld.com bot
User-agent: http://www.WebmasterWorld.com bot
User-agent: httplib
User-agent: humanlinks
User-agent: ia_archiver
User-agent: ia_archiver/1.6
User-agent: InfoNaviRobot
User-agent: Iron33/1.0.2
User-agent: JamesBOT
User-agent: JennyBot
User-agent: Jetbot
User-agent: Jetbot/1.0
User-agent: Jorgee
User-agent: Kenjin Spider
User-agent: Keyword Density/0.9
User-agent: larbin
User-agent: LexiBot
User-agent: libWeb/clsHTTP
User-agent: LinkextractorPro
User-agent: LinkpadBot
User-agent: LinkScan/8.1a Unix
User-agent: LinkWalker
User-agent: LNSpiderguy
User-agent: looksmart
User-agent: lwp-trivial
User-agent: lwp-trivial/1.34
User-agent: Mata Hari
User-agent: Megalodon
User-agent: Microsoft URL Control
User-agent: Microsoft URL Control - 5.01.4511
User-agent: Microsoft URL Control - 6.00.8169
User-agent: MIIxpc
User-agent: MIIxpc/4.2
User-agent: Mister PiX
User-agent: MJ12bot
User-agent: moget
User-agent: moget/2.1
User-agent: mozilla
User-agent: Mozilla
User-agent: mozilla/3
User-agent: mozilla/4
User-agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; BullsEye; Windows 95)
User-agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.0; Windows 2000)
User-agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.0; Windows 95)
User-agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.0; Windows 98)
User-agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.0; Windows NT)
User-agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.0; Windows XP)
User-agent: mozilla/5
User-agent: MSIECrawler
User-agent: naver
User-agent: NerdyBot
User-agent: NetAnts
User-agent: NetMechanic
User-agent: NICErsPRO
User-agent: Nutch
User-agent: Offline Explorer
User-agent: Openbot
User-agent: Openfind
User-agent: Openfind data gathere
User-agent: Oracle Ultra Search
User-agent: PerMan
User-agent: ProPowerBot/2.14
User-agent: ProWebWalker
User-agent: psbot
User-agent: Python-urllib
User-agent: QueryN Metasearch
User-agent: Radiation Retriever 1.1
User-agent: RepoMonkey
User-agent: RepoMonkey Bait & Tackle/v1.01
User-agent: RMA
User-agent: rogerbot
User-agent: scooter
User-agent: Screaming Frog SEO Spider
User-agent: searchpreview
User-agent: SEMrushBot
User-agent: SemrushBot
User-agent: SemrushBot-SA
User-agent: SEOkicks-Robot
User-agent: SiteSnagger
User-agent: sootle
User-agent: SpankBot
User-agent: spanner
User-agent: spbot
User-agent: Stanford
User-agent: Stanford Comp Sci
User-agent: Stanford CompClub
User-agent: Stanford CompSciClub
User-agent: Stanford Spiderboys
User-agent: SurveyBot
User-agent: SurveyBot_IgnoreIP
User-agent: suzuran
User-agent: Szukacz/1.4
User-agent: Szukacz/1.4
User-agent: Teleport
User-agent: TeleportPro
User-agent: Telesoft
User-agent: Teoma
User-agent: The Intraformant
User-agent: TheNomad
User-agent: toCrawl/UrlDispatcher
User-agent: True_Robot
User-agent: True_Robot/1.0
User-agent: turingos
User-agent: Typhoeus
User-agent: URL Control
User-agent: URL_Spider_Pro
User-agent: URLy Warning
User-agent: VCI
User-agent: VCI WebViewer VCI WebViewer Win32
User-agent: Web Image Collector
User-agent: WebAuto
User-agent: WebBandit
User-agent: WebBandit/3.50
User-agent: WebCopier
User-agent: WebEnhancer
User-agent: WebmasterWorld Extractor
User-agent: WebmasterWorldForumBot
User-agent: WebSauger
User-agent: Website Quester
User-agent: Webster Pro
User-agent: WebStripper
User-agent: WebVac
User-agent: WebZip
User-agent: WebZip/4.0
User-agent: Wget
User-agent: Wget/1.5.3
User-agent: Wget/1.6
User-agent: WWW-Collector-E
User-agent: Xenu's
User-agent: Xenu's Link Sleuth 1.1c
User-agent: Zeus
User-agent: Zeus 32297 Webster Pro V2.9 Win32
User-agent: Zeus Link Scout
Disallow: /

Note: Some people have a notion that this will create footprints, for who I'm still unaware, and I can never seem to get a straight answer on who is checking and comparing these robots.txt files across billions of domains and till this date I haven't found any software that bothers to do this so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ .

I'd be more worried about Google being able to read your gmail when you email back and forth your PBN providers or some customer of your PBN provider uses gmail and now Google can connect dots, Don't believe me? How are they able to have their A.I. email bots understand this reddit user's parents died several years ago while he was scrolling through old photos? [Sauce: Google's AI offered this man sympathy for his parent's death . If you can't put 1 and 1 together ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

--

.htaccess version (Apache)
Classic Apache version:

Code: 
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !/robots.txt$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*EventMachine.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*NerdyBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Typhoeus.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*archive.org_bot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*archive.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*adbeat_bot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*github.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*chroot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Jorgee.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Go\ 1.1\ package.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Go-http-client.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Copyscape.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*semrushbot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*semrushbot-sa.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*JamesBOT.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SEOkicks-Robot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*LinkpadBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*getty.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*picscout.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*AppEngine.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Zend_Http_Client.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*BlackWidow.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*openlink.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*spbot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Nutch.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Jetbot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebVac.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Stanford.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*scooter.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*naver.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*dumbot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Hatena\ Antenna.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*grub.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*looksmart.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebZip.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*larbin.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*b2w/0.1.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Copernic.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*psbot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Python-urllib.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*NetMechanic.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*URL_Spider_Pro.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*CherryPicker.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*ExtractorPro.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*CopyRightCheck.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Crescent.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*CCBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SiteSnagger.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*ProWebWalker.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*CheeseBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*LNSpiderguy.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*EmailCollector.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*EmailSiphon.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebBandit.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*EmailWolf.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*ia_archiver.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Alexibot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Teleport.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*MIIxpc.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Telesoft.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Website\ Quester.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*moget.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebStripper.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebSauger.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebCopier.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*NetAnts.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Mister\ PiX.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebAuto.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*TheNomad.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WWW-Collector-E.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*RMA.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*libWeb/clsHTTP.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*asterias.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*httplib.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*turingos.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*spanner.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Harvest.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*InfoNaviRobot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Bullseye.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebBandit.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*NICErsPRO.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Microsoft\ URL\ Control.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*DittoSpyder.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Foobot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebmasterWorldForumBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SpankBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*BotALot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*lwp-trivial.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebmasterWorld.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*BunnySlippers.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*URLy\ Warning.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*LinkWalker.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*cosmos.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*hloader.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*humanlinks.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*LinkextractorPro.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Offline\ Explorer.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Mata\ Hari.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*LexiBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Web\ Image\ Collector.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*woobot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*The\ Intraformant.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*True_Robot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*BlowFish.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SearchEngineWorld.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*JennyBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*MIIxpc.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*BuiltBotTough.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*ProPowerBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*BackDoorBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*toCrawl/UrlDispatcher.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebEnhancer.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*suzuran.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebViewer.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*VCI.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Szukacz.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*QueryN.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Openfind.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Openbot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Webster.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*EroCrawler.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*LinkScan.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Keyword.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Kenjin.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Iron33.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Bookmark\ search\ tool.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*GetRight.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*FairAd\ Client.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Gaisbot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Aqua_Products.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Radiation\ Retriever\ 1.1.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Flaming\ AttackBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Oracle\ Ultra\ Search.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*MSIECrawler.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*PerMan.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*searchpreview.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*sootle.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Enterprise_Search.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Bot\ mailto:craftbot@yahoo.com.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*ChinaClaw.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Custo.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*DISCo.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Download\ Demon.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*eCatch.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*EirGrabber.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*EmailSiphon.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*EmailWolf.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Express\ WebPictures.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*ExtractorPro.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*EyeNetIE.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*FlashGet.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*GetRight.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*GetWeb!.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Go!Zilla.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Go-Ahead-Got-It.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*GrabNet.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Grafula.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*HMView.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*HTTrack.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Image\ Stripper.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Image\ Sucker.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Indy\ Library.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*InterGET.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Internet\ Ninja.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*JetCar.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*JOC\ Web\ Spider.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*larbin.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*LeechFTP.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Mass\ Downloader.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*MIDown\ tool.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Mister\ PiX.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Navroad.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*NearSite.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*NetAnts.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*NetSpider.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Net\ Vampire.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*NetZIP.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Octopus.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Offline\ Explorer.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Offline\ Navigator.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*PageGrabber.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Papa\ Foto.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*pavuk.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*pcBrowser.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*RealDownload.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*ReGet.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SiteSnagger.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SmartDownload.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SuperBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SuperHTTP.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Surfbot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*tAkeOut.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Teleport\ Pro.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*VoidEYE.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Web\ Image\ Collector.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Web\ Sucker.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebAuto.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebCopier.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebFetch.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebGo\ IS.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebLeacher.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebReaper.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebSauger.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*wesee.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Website\ eXtractor.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Website\ Quester.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebStripper.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebWhacker.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebZIP.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Wget.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Widow.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WWWOFFLE.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Xaldon\ WebSpider.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Zeus.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Semrush.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*BecomeBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Screaming.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Screaming\ FrogSEO.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SEO.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*AhrefsBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*AhrefsSiteAudit.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*MJ12bot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*rogerbot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*exabot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Xenu.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*dotbot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*gigabot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Twengabot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*htmlparser.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*libwww.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Python.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*perl.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*urllib.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*scan.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Curl.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*email.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*PycURL.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*Pyth.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*PyQ.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebCollector.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*WebCopy.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*webcraw.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SurveyBot.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*SurveyBot_IgnoreIP.*$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*BlekkoBot.*$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^.*.* http://www.google.com/ [L]

Note: My code redirects to google.com, just so it renders a proper html page, what the bad bot does from there ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ LOL. In very old versions I had it redirecting to webmd.com (so anything with webmd.com originated form me), but that's cause I was in the health industry at the time.

--

nginx.conf version (NGINX)

Since NGINX is taking over, it's time to upgrade the bad bot file and convert it to nginx. I go into details on how to do this in the mastering NGINX guide. Here is the comprehensive version I talk about:

inside http block (nginx.conf)
Code: 
http {
map $http_user_agent $limit_bots {
     default 0;
     ~*(adbeat_bot|ahrefsbot|ahrefssiteaudit|alexibot|appengine|aqua_products|archive.org_bot|archive|asterias|attackbot|b2w|backdoorbot|becomebot|blackwidow|blekkobot) 1;
     ~*(blowfish|botalot|builtbottough|bullseye|bunnyslippers|ccbot|cheesebot|cherrypicker|chinaclaw|chroot|clshttp|collector) 1;
     ~*(control|copernic|copyrightcheck|copyscape|cosmos|craftbot|crescent|curl|custo|demon) 1;
     ~*(disco|dittospyder|dotbot|download|downloader|dumbot|ecatch|eirgrabber|email|emailcollector) 1;
     ~*(emailsiphon|emailwolf|enterprise_search|erocrawler|eventmachine|exabot|express|extractor|extractorpro|eyenetie) 1;
     ~*(fairad|flaming|flashget|foobot|foto|gaisbot|getright|getty|getweb!|gigabot) 1;
     ~*(github|go!zilla|go-ahead-got-it|go-http-client|grabnet|grafula|grub|hari|harvest|hatena|antenna|hloader) 1;
     ~*(hmview|htmlparser|httplib|httrack|humanlinks|ia_archiver|indy|infonavirobot|interget|intraformant) 1;
     ~*(iron33|jamesbot|jennybot|jetbot|jetcar|joc|jorgee|kenjin|keyword|larbin|leechftp) 1;
     ~*(lexibot|library|libweb|libwww|linkextractorpro|linkpadbot|linkscan|linkwalker|lnspiderguy|looksmart) 1;
     ~*(lwp-trivial|mass|mata|midown|miixpc|mister|mj12bot|moget|msiecrawler|naver) 1;
     ~*(navroad|nearsite|nerdybot|netants|netmechanic|netspider|netzip|nicerspro|ninja|nutch) 1;
     ~*(octopus|offline|openbot|openfind|openlink|pagegrabber|papa|pavuk|pcbrowser|perl) 1;
     ~*(perman|picscout|propowerbot|prowebwalker|psbot|pycurl|pyq|pyth|python) 1;
     ~*(python-urllib|queryn|quester|radiation|realdownload|reget|retriever|rma|rogerbot|scan|screaming|frog|seo) 1;
     ~*(scooter|searchengineworld|searchpreview|semrush|semrushbot|semrushbot-sa|seokicks-robot|sitesnagger|smartdownload|sootle) 1;
     ~*(spankbot|spanner|spbot|spider|stanford|stripper|sucker|superbot|superhttp|surfbot|surveybot) 1;
     ~*(suzuran|szukacz|takeout|teleport|telesoft|thenomad|tocrawl|tool|true_robot|turingos) 1;
     ~*(twengabot|typhoeus|url_spider_pro|urldispatcher|urllib|urly|vampire|vci|voideye|warning) 1;
     ~*(webauto|webbandit|webcollector|webcopier|webcopy|webcraw|webenhancer|webfetch|webgo|webleacher) 1;
     ~*(webmasterworld|webmasterworldforumbot|webpictures|webreaper|websauger|webspider|webster|webstripper|webvac|webviewer) 1;
     ~*(webwhacker|webzip|webzip|wesee|wget|widow|woobot|www-collector-e|wwwoffle|xenu) 1;
}
}

inside each server block (within your example.com file inside sites-available folder)
Code: 
server {
location / {
#blocks blank user_agents
if ($http_user_agent = "") { return  301 $scheme://www.google.com/; }

  if ($limit_bots = 1) {
  return  301 $scheme://www.google.com/;
  }
}
}

--

I'll continue updating this post with the latest whenever I find new stuff to block.
 
Last edited:
much appreciated! do you prefer the robots.txt version or the server config method?
 
patrick said:
much appreciated! do you prefer the robots.txt version or the server config method?
Click to expand...
Use both. Sometimes 3rd party tools like Ahrefs use different user-agents (*gasp* - yes they cloak) and if you simply block them in the server configuration they will technically still allow themselves to index your data since you didn't bother blocking them in the robots.txt file (which is the official way). If you block them in the robots.txt file and they STILL index your site there would be mass outrage.

So those people that skip the robots.txt file have found their PBNs exposed because these "SEO gurus" stated it's a footprint. Then the PBN owners complain and can't figure out the problem. It was because Ahrefs cloaks their user-agent at times, but they still respect the robots.txt as gospel - they sort of have too or there will be backlash. If you don't do both you'll defeat the whole purpose and soon find all your sites exposed.
 
I know ccarter doesn't from what I've seen around, but for the people disavowing links and blocking bots... do you just keep an eye on the search console incoming links instead of using ahrefs etc?
 
Michael said:
I know ccarter doesn't from what I've seen around, but for the people disavowing links and blocking bots... do you just keep an eye on the search console incoming links instead of using ahrefs etc?
Click to expand...
You're confused about the technique. Blocking Ahrefs with these scripts would only block YOUR outbound links. It won't remove you from Ahrefs or the 3rd party tools. You would have to place the blocking scripts on the sites you don't want to show are outbound linking to you (PBNs come to mind, if you place the scripts on PBNs, their outbound links to you will not be reported since Ahrefs cannot crawl their website).

If some spammer links to your website in a negative SEO attempt you would still seem them linking to your website (unless they blocked bad bots on their site as well).
 
CCarter said:
You're confused about the technique. Blocking Ahrefs with these scripts would only block YOUR outbound links. It won't remove you from Ahrefs or the 3rd party tools. You would have to place the blocking scripts on the sites you don't want to show are outbound linking to you (PBNs come to mind, if you place the scripts on PBNs, their outbound links to you will not be reported since Ahrefs cannot crawl their website).

If some spammer links to your website in a negative SEO attempt you would still seem them linking to your website (unless they blocked bad bots on their site as well).
Click to expand...
Ah right, I was thinking the other way around. Cheers
 
Wanted to add to this thread: I've noticed a MASSIVE uptick in AWS Amazon Web Services bot spam lately. Apperantly it goes back a few years:

http://www.seo-theory.com/2012/03/14/amazon-web-services-is-slowly-crushing-the-independent-web/

http://serverfault.com/questions/653987/how-do-i-block-incoming-traffic-from-amazon-aws-ips

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2712423

It makes all the other bots on my logs look like peanuts. It's something I completely missed.. Even the server admin from my hosting company missed it.

Each IP is using anywhere form ~1-3 GB per DAY. Over lots of ips. Over a month they chewed through ~4 TB of bandwidth. All of it was wasted.. Any they are doubling that # every month it seems. :surprised:

I'm still in the process of dealing with it, but had to share for now...
 
I have absolutely zero interest in website traffic from India. I'm not going to earn any money from it and there is no way they are going to engage/share/etc. Recently I've seen some weird stuff in Analytics from India/Australia/Middle East. Are there any potential downsides to blocking entire countries, and is there a "best way" to do this?
 
@doublethinker thanks that's a really handy tool to keep bookmarked. I've got client that wants out of these auditing bots and price scrappers, do they remove you when try to crawl you again or is it once they've got your data they'll show it.
 
No matter what I do I can't get nginx to restart correctly after inserting the second part of the code

Code: 
server {
location / {
#blocks blank user_agents
if ($http_user_agent = "") { return  301 $scheme://www.google.com/; }

  if ($limit_bots = 1) {
  return  301 $scheme://www.google.com/;
  }
}
}

@CCarter although server is included in the code above, you don't mean to paste that line and the final } within each server block do you? ie creating a new server within each server block?
 
Darth said:
creating a new server within each server block?
Click to expand...

No it's suppose to be in the main server block, so take out the pieces from the "location" to the end closing bracket of location (2nd to last bracket) and input it into your server block.
 
CCarter said:
No it's suppose to be in the main server block, so take out the pieces from the "location" to the end closing bracket of location (2nd to last bracket) and input it into your server block.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I was doing that already. Still no go. Weird. Robots.txt version it is

_____

lol, another question :smile:

Do the robots.txt rules above go before or after my exisiting:

Code: 
User-agent: *
Disallow:

Is nothing simple these days!?
 
If you use auto renew Let's Encrypt ssl certificate. Then make sure that curl agent is not blocked.

If it is blocked, it can not be checked whether the certificate should be renewed. With an expired ssl certificate as result.
 
I would pay good money and reffer a ton of high quality customers if someone came out with a really good dynamically generated fake link / page data generator to feed non value adding robots.

I've done some half assed jobs before but it only works on the pleb tools.

Specifically looking for bot detection systems that catch the sneaky guys.
 
Hi @CCarter ,

Huge fan and love SERPWOO (user). Seeing as this is now 2020, wondering if you are still blocking SEO link tracker bots? I'm playing with the idea of placing BOT blocking on my own site, PBN and client sites.

Would appreciate knowing if BOT blocking is still a good strategy at this time and if there were any consequences or continued benefits of this. I'm erring towards placing this block list on every site I manage (to keep myself invisible as much as possible).

As a second question, seeing as you are blocking the tools, how do you audit your links? Do you use a tool like https://freshlinkfinder.com/ or more rely on Search Console?

Thanks
 
MuffinS said:
Seeing as this is now 2020, wondering if you are still blocking SEO link tracker bots?
Click to expand...

Yeah why wouldn't I. The less information my competition can easily find about my operations the better.

MuffinS said:
PBN
Click to expand...
Wow, uhhh yeah blocking bots is a HUGE step in hidding your PBN from snitches and potential bad actors. Remember these tracking tools are like radar, if you can get off people's radar you have less problems down the road.

MuffinS said:
As a second question, seeing as you are blocking the tools, how do you audit your links?
Click to expand...

You don't understand the reason for blocking bots. Blocking bots cannot block them from seeing backlinks from going TO your website.

If DomainA.com links to MySite.com since DomainA is not blocking bots the bots CAN see outbound links going to MySite.com.

If MySite.com links to DomainZ.com and MySite.com IS blocking bots THEN those bots CANNOT see the outbound link going to DomainZ.com.

Since the bots cannot crawl MySite.com they can't read my content, they cannot read my inner links, and they cannot read my outbound links. However they can still see inbound links from other domains to my site like in the first example with DomainA.com.

The only way to block the outbound link from DomainA from showing up as a link to MySite.com is if I control DomainA.com and get them to block bots as well. Hence why this is critical for PBNs.

If in 2020 you haven't been blocking bots from your PBNs...

v7VZo3y.gif


You're already dead.
 
What exactly are we blocking these bots from indexing by way of this process?

They can track backlinks to your site, know what pages rank for which keywords, estimated traffic the page gets, and more. They apparently don't need to crawl a page to get access to these metrics according to what they told me.

Is it just the outbound links going from your site that you can prevent them from indexing by blocking these bots?
 
CaptainHustle said:
What exactly are we blocking these bots from indexing by way of this process?

They can track backlinks to your site, know what pages rank for which keywords, estimated traffic the page gets, and more. They apparently don't need to crawl a page to get access to these metrics according to what they told me.

Is it just the outbound links going from your site that you can prevent them from indexing by blocking these bots?
Click to expand...
If you own the site that is providing the links to another one of your sites you can block the crawl to obfuscate your methods.
-----------------------------
@CCarter's code above is a life saver. Much appreciated!

With that said I am spiraling down into a pit of 301s, htaccess, and robots.txt in order to hide links on sites I don't own/control. Let's say I am currently doing the following:

SiteIDontOwn.com is linking to MyMoneySite1.com via a shortener (301). Ahrefs and all the others report the links. The shortener exists so I can swap out the link destination in the future if I ever need to.

I have quite a lot of money sites and I want to hide as much as possible - what should I do?

I can create
SiteThatExistsOnlyToHideLinks.com and add appropriate Robots and htaccess to it.

And then I could link in the following way:
SiteIDontOwn.com ---> SiteThatExistsOnlyToHideLinks.com/MoneySite1 and 301 that to MoneySite1.com

If I use a shortener for the link from the site I don't own how bad is 2, 301s in a row?

SiteIDontOwn.com (Shortener Link 301) ----> SiteThatExistsOnlyToHideLinks.com/MoneySite1 (301) to MoneySite1.com

I can remove the shortener but it would be less than ideal.

If this would pass the link authority without screwing stuff up it wouldnt be a problem to set it up so that I create the following directories with each one 301'd to the matching money site. I could also use subdomains if it matters.

SiteThatExistsOnlyToHideLinks.com/MoneySite2 ---301---->MoneySite2.com
SiteThatExistsOnlyToHideLinks.com/MoneySite3 ---301---->MoneySite3.com
SiteThatExistsOnlyToHideLinks.com/MoneySite4 ---301---->MoneySite4.com
SiteThatExistsOnlyToHideLinks.com/MoneySite5 ---301---->MoneySite5.com
 
Last edited:
CCarter said:
BuiltWith.com'
Click to expand...

FYI you have to remove both www and non-www versions. They seem to be playing games, but get all your subdomains inputted there.

Edit: I ended up filling out their contact form to get them to remove all my domains. We'll see.
 
Last edited:
Code: 
172.71.183.14 - - [04/Jun/2024:13:25:10 +0000] "POST /wp-comments-post.php HTTP/1.1" 409 1097 "https://" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/108.0.0.0 Safari/537.36" "89.110.70"

Do you/How would you block these unnamed spam bots? By IP? They ramp up the server load.
 
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