Richard Kahn
TL;DR: Understanding and Combating Bot Farms.
- Definition: A bot farm is a network of bots spread across multiple locations, used to mimic human online interactions.
- Types: Includes click bots, bot form-fills, social media bots, and scraper bots.
- Usage: Primarily for generating fake traffic for profit, sabotaging competitors, or collecting intelligence.
- Protection: Businesses can use advanced bot detection solutions like Anura to safeguard their digital assets and prevent ad fraud.
Not all traffic is created equal.
While businesses always strive for qualified leads, there are hidden disruptors around every corner.
Bot farms, in particular, pose a major threat to internet traffic. These sophisticated networks of automated programs are designed to mimic human behavior online, from clicking on ads to swiping through social media. As these bot accounts become more advanced, businesses need a modern solution to stay a step ahead.
Consider this the who, what, and why behind bot farms so you can start protecting your marketing efforts.
What Are Bot Farms?
When you think of a bot farm, images of vast digital plantations where lines of code are cultivated might come to mind. Or maybe a warehouse packed with hundreds of smartphones or tablets.
The reality is both more complex and more abstract.
Bot farms are essentially a bunch of different bots running in conjunction. You might think that they're required to be in the same physical location, but that's not always the case. With the Internet, they can be set up anywhere you want.
All of this is to say that bot farms are not limited by geography. They can be distributed across multiple different Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and regions. This decentralization is key to their operation and effectiveness.
By spreading out the infrastructure, fraudsters can maximize their reach and impact while minimizing detection. We have already seen the impact of these more advanced farms, as one report found that almost three-quarters of traffic to digital properties came from bots and human fraud farms in the first half of 2023.
Types of Malicious Bots
Like on real farms, you can find lots of different bots being “grown” around the Internet. Some of the most common types of bad bots include:
- Click Bots: Click bots are perhaps the most well-known type of bot associated with bot farms. These bots are programmed to automatically click on digital advertisements, links, or web pages. The goal is to inflate engagement metrics artificially.
- Bot Form-Fills: Sophisticated bots mimic the behavior of a human user. They will typically use a real IP address and browser, and they will enter valid contact information.
- Social Media Bots:Social media bots are automated programs that mimic human interactions on social media platforms. They can like, share, comment, and even create posts.
- Scraper Bots: Scraper bots are designed to harvest content and data from websites without permission. The data is often used by competitors to gain a competitive edge or sold illicitly on the dark web.
Why Are Bot Farms Used?
So, why would people use bot farms? There are a few different reasons, but they all center around personal gain and/or disruption.
Primarily, bot farms are used to generate fake traffic, such as clicks, for financial gain. Creating false interactions with online advertisements inflates engagement metrics and drains advertising budgets. Advertisers pay for these engagements, thinking they are from genuine potential customers, while the operators of bot farms collect revenue from these fraudulent activities.
Bot farms are a lucrative business, but it’s not always about financial gain. These farms can also be used to sabotage a competitor’s online operations or gain intelligence.
Who Uses Bot Farms?
Since bot farms are used for a variety of activities, they are also used by a diverse array of actors. Here are just a few examples of who would use bot farms and their motive:
- Cybercriminals: At the forefront are cybercriminals who utilize bot farms to carry out fraudulent activities for financial gain. By automating repetitive tasks, cybercriminals can operate on a massive scale.
- Unethical Businesses: Some businesses employ bot farms as a competitive strategy, using them to sabotage competitors or artificially inflate their own online presence.
- Affiliates: Some affiliates pay bot farms to generate fake leads or transactions or engage in click fraud to inflate their commissions.
- Researchers and Developers: Bots aren’t all bad. Sometimes researchers and developers can use ethical bots for testing purposes.
How to Protect Your Business from Bot Farms
Safeguarding your online presence from malicious bots is crucial for maintaining the integrity and performance of your digital assets. Since bot farms are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, businesses need a robust solution to keep up.
Anura offers superior bot detection thanks to advanced algorithms capable of detecting even the most subtle indications of bot activity. This allows businesses to identify and halt harmful bots (and even human fraudsters) swiftly, preventing them from compromising the integrity of your campaigns.
Stop bots from destroying your ROI. Learn more about how Anura helps prevent ad fraud and click fraud today.
