What is SkroutzBot?

SkroutzBot is a bot in the feed fetchers category, operated by Skroutz S.A..

Bot name
SkroutzBot
Operator
Skroutz S.A.
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Not confirmed
robots.txt user agent
SkroutzBot
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About SkroutzBot

Skroutz uses SkroutzBot web crawler to download XML feeds.

Feed fetchers poll RSS and Atom feeds for readers, aggregators and podcast apps. They usually request feeds only, so they are cheap to allow. Watch for fetchers that pull full pages at high rates.

SkroutzBot user agent

SkroutzBot identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • SkroutzBot v1.0

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 SkroutzBot in robots.txt

We have not confirmed whether SkroutzBot 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 SkroutzBot from the whole site

User-agent: SkroutzBot
Disallow: /

Block SkroutzBot from some folders

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

Allow SkroutzBot only on some folders

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

Allow SkroutzBot and block other crawlers

User-agent: SkroutzBot
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: SkroutzBot group, SkroutzBot ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take SkroutzBot from SkroutzBot's user agent; check Skroutz S.A.'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. SkroutzBot may not follow the rule. robots.txt is a request that nothing enforces, and we have not confirmed that SkroutzBot 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 SkroutzBot's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by Skroutz S.A.'s robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real SkroutzBot from a fake one.

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

Who should care about SkroutzBot

Publishers

SkroutzBot fetches pages when your links are shared or syndicated. Keep it allowed so previews and feeds work, but leave it out of page views and ad requests.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

When ads or posts are shared, SkroutzBot fetches the landing page. Those hits are not clicks, so keep them out of campaign reports.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

Product links shared in chats and feeds are fetched by SkroutzBot. Keep it allowed so previews show the right image and price.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

Allow SkroutzBot on public pages so shared links preview well, and keep it off the app.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block SkroutzBot with Transfon Security

robots.txt is a request, not an enforcement. Transfon Security shows SkroutzBot 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 SkroutzBot on your site

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

Frequently asked questions

What is SkroutzBot?

SkroutzBot is a bot in the feed fetchers category, operated by Skroutz S.A.. Skroutz uses SkroutzBot web crawler to download XML feeds.

Does SkroutzBot respect robots.txt?

We have not confirmed whether SkroutzBot 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 SkroutzBot?

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

Is robots.txt enough to block SkroutzBot?

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

Should I block SkroutzBot?

Feed fetchers poll RSS and Atom feeds for readers, aggregators and podcast apps. They usually request feeds only, so they are cheap to allow. Watch for fetchers that pull full pages at high rates.

Related bots

All feed fetchers · Full bot directory

See Which Bots Visit Your Site

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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