What is PerformlineCrawler?

PerformlineCrawler is a bot in the monitoring and analytics bots category, operated by PerformLine, Inc..

Bot name
PerformlineCrawler
Operator
PerformLine, Inc.
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Not confirmed
robots.txt user agent
PerformLineCrawler
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About PerformlineCrawler

Monitors marketing content for compliance at scale for large enterprises.

Monitoring bots check uptime, performance and page changes on behalf of a site owner or a third party. Allow the services you run yourself and exclude them from analytics so they do not inflate page views.

PerformlineCrawler user agent

Sample user agent strings sent by PerformlineCrawler:

  • PerformLineCrawler
  • CrawlfishUserAgent

Anyone can copy a user agent string. Transfon Security also checks where each request comes from, so a request that claims to be a known crawler but comes from the wrong network is treated as a fake, not as the real crawler.

How to block PerformlineCrawler in robots.txt

We have not confirmed whether PerformlineCrawler follows robots.txt. Add a rule, then check your logs to see that it stopped. robots.txt is a plain text file at the root of your domain, such as https://example.com/robots.txt.

Block PerformlineCrawler from the whole site

User-agent: PerformLineCrawler
Disallow: /

Block PerformlineCrawler from some folders

User-agent: PerformLineCrawler
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /search

Allow PerformlineCrawler only on some folders

User-agent: PerformLineCrawler
Allow: /blog/
Disallow: /

Allow PerformlineCrawler and block other crawlers

User-agent: PerformLineCrawler
Allow: /

User-agent: *
Disallow: /

Things to know

  • Each host needs its own file. Rules on www.example.com do not apply to shop.example.com.
  • A crawler obeys only the most specific group that names it. Once you add a User-agent: PerformLineCrawler group, PerformlineCrawler ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take PerformLineCrawler from PerformlineCrawler's user agent; check PerformLine, Inc.'s own documentation if it publishes a different robots.txt name.
  • Crawlers cache robots.txt, so changes can take up to a day to apply. Disallow stops crawling but does not remove pages already collected or indexed.

Limits of robots.txt

  1. PerformlineCrawler may not follow the rule. robots.txt is a request that nothing enforces, and we have not confirmed that PerformlineCrawler follows it. Check your logs after adding a rule.
  2. The user agent could be fake. robots.txt matches the name a request claims. Anyone can send PerformlineCrawler's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by PerformLine, Inc.'s robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real PerformlineCrawler from a fake one.

Treat robots.txt as a statement of your policy, and enforce it where requests arrive.

Who should care about PerformlineCrawler

Publishers

Allow PerformlineCrawler if it is a service you use, and keep its visits out of page views and ad requests either way.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

PerformlineCrawler is not a person. Exclude it from campaign and conversion data so reports reflect real visitors.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

Allow PerformlineCrawler only if it works for your store, and keep it away from cart and checkout.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

If PerformlineCrawler is a service you use, allow it on the endpoints it needs and block it elsewhere.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block PerformlineCrawler with Transfon Security

robots.txt is a request, not an enforcement. Transfon Security shows PerformlineCrawler by name in the Top Bots report, so you can see how often it visits and which pages it reads. Block or allow it with a User Agent rule, or slow it down with a rate limit decision rule.

Transfon Security

Control PerformlineCrawler on your site

  • See every PerformlineCrawler visit and the pages it reads
  • Spot bots that fake trusted crawler names
  • Block, allow or rate limit PerformlineCrawler with one rule
  • Works with or without robots.txt support

Frequently asked questions

What is PerformlineCrawler?

PerformlineCrawler is a bot in the monitoring and analytics bots category, operated by PerformLine, Inc.. Monitors marketing content for compliance at scale for large enterprises.

Does PerformlineCrawler respect robots.txt?

We have not confirmed whether PerformlineCrawler follows robots.txt. Add a robots.txt rule, then check your logs to see that it stopped, and block it by user agent if it did not.

How do I block PerformlineCrawler?

Add "User-agent: PerformLineCrawler" followed by "Disallow: /" to the robots.txt file at the root of your site. To enforce it, block requests whose user agent contains "PerformLineCrawler" at your WAF. In Transfon Security that is one User Agent block rule.

Is robots.txt enough to block PerformlineCrawler?

No. robots.txt is voluntary, so PerformlineCrawler may not follow it, and anyone can send PerformlineCrawler's user agent, so a fake PerformlineCrawler ignores your rule. Enforce the rule where requests arrive, at your WAF, and check the source network.

Should I block PerformlineCrawler?

Monitoring bots check uptime, performance and page changes on behalf of a site owner or a third party. Allow the services you run yourself and exclude them from analytics so they do not inflate page views.

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Transfon Security identifies every bot in this directory in your traffic reports, flags fake search crawlers, and lets you allow, block or rate limit each bot.

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