Bots, bots, bots - Part II :)

[MrMike]

New bots come out every day using different names, IPs, and email addresses and cleaning up after them is 100% wasted time.

After giving this some thought, I decided that it would be nice to have a central clearinghouse of bot "signatures" that we could use to test registrations against. So I've written a site that lets you do that.

It's got over 80,000 bot "signatures" consisting of names, IPs, and email addresses, and it's growing daily due to some sneaky bot honeypots I've set up. (More on that later, and you'll also be able to participate in trapping bots if you want.)

You can do manual searches for names, emails, and IPs right now, but I've also set up a simple API that lets you run realtime queries against the database. A limited number of tests per day can be run from any IP, and if you need more than the default number allowed  you can get an API key (the API keys are free).

Ironically, the whole reason I had to implement the API key system was because the test code and system I was originally developing was being beaten half to death by bots. (sigh)

You can use a small snippet of code to do the checking automatically whenever someone registers (or tries to).

I have some sample code written, but I'm looking for someone who would like to write an SMF plugin for it. If you'd like to help code the actual interface bit for SMF, please PM me.

I hope to have the site finished this week and I'll make the URL available here as soon as it's ready.

[MrMike]

The BotScout.com site is now open and ready for use. The API is working and documentation is available on the site. You can also do as many manual lookups as you want or need to.

You don't need an API Key to use the API service but getting a key (free) will allow you to do more lookups per day.*  If you have fewer than 10 signups (or attempts at signing up) a day you probably don't need an API key. Otherwise, take ten seconds and grab one.

I'd love to work with anyone willing to develop an SMF plugin or package to use the BotScout service. Comments and ideas for the site are more than welcome. Please feel free to reply to me here (or PM me) with your thoughts about the site.

Without further ado, here it is. Enjoy.

Main Page: http://botscout.com/

API Key signup page: (optional): http://botscout.com/getkey.htm

Manual Bot Search page: http://botscout.com/search.htm

Code/API implementation samples: http://botscout.com/code.htm

API documentation: http://botscout.com/api.htm

Bot Statistics: http://botscout.com/stats.htm

Last 100 Bots Caught: http://botscout.com/last.htm

Forum: http://botscout.com/forum/ (coming soon, SMF of course!)

About BotScout: http://botscout.com/about.htm

Supporters & Contributors: http://botscout.com/links.htm


* The API key system had to be used because (ironically) the test code and system was being hit rather aggressively by bots. (sigh)