How to choose the best bot detection software for your business

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated a seismic shift in the way people shop, work, and socialize. As a result, online business is booming in every sector — from retail and e-commerce to travel and telecoms.

But as we spend more time online, hackers and cybercriminals develop sophisticated bots that evade traditional security measures. Bots are getting better at stealing data, defrauding customers, and disrupting businesses. So, to protect your business from increasingly advanced bot traffic, you must use the best bot detection software.

What is bot detection software and why do you need it?

Bots are small programs designed to crawl websites and obtain information. Bots aren’t always bad — in fact, many are necessary for SEO and other online business strategies. But malicious bots for stealing data and compromising websites are always in development.

Bots are responsible for online threats like account takeover (ATO), DDoS attacks, card cracking, and scalping.

Bot detection software identifies bots as they visit your website. They recognize the differences between bots and legitimate users, allowing humans to access the site unimpeded. When your system detects bots, you can implement measures to block them before they attack your site.

Factors to consider when choosing bot detection software

There are many types of bot detection software available — but not all of them are equally effective. Plus, while bot detection software is valuable, the best solutions also block bots automatically, minimizing the human intervention required to effectively protect your site.

Consider the following factors when choosing your bot detection and mitigation software:

1. Type of software

Web application firewalls (WAFs) and intrusion prevention systems (IPSs) are both commonly used to protect against bot attacks.

But these types of software fail to keep up with bot developments, rendering them ineffective against sophisticated or unknown bots. That means you can’t rely on these traditional security measures to protect your site from automated threats. Instead, seek a dedicated bot management solution that’s designed to identify and mitigate against the most advanced bots.

2. Functionality

Some bot detection software simply identifies bots in your web traffic. This is OK if you have a dedicated team of intelligence experts ready to arm your site against the attack with immediate effect. But most businesses don’t have these resources to spare — which is why you need a system that automatically blocks bots and mitigates against future attacks.

Systems that use AI and machine learning to inform their bot management strategy have the upper hand against person-led bot management. They can access millions of data sources instantly, and learn from bot behavior to stay ahead of bot developments.

3. Cost

Open source WAFs and other cheap or free solutions can be tempting. Many businesses choose these solutions — until they’re affected by an attack. When this happens, companies turn away from low-cost solutions to high-ROI services.

The most effective services aren’t cheap, but they deliver best-of-breed bot management that improves return on investment. By saving staff time and reducing the risk of data breach fines and lost sales, you can save money in the long run with an effective bot management system.

4. Effectiveness

Because WAFs and other traditional security solutions aren’t designed to protect specifically against bots, they often can’t cope with the volume or sophistication of new bots.

Advanced bot detection solutions can detect and block all kinds of bot attacks. They continuously learn about new bot developments without the need for human intelligence or interaction, ensuring that your website has continuous protection against unknown and advanced threats.

How to set up and use bot detection software

Unlike WAFs and other bot detection tools, which need to be set up and installed manually, bot management systems can be set up remotely with ease. Netacea’s bot manager is agentless and cloud-based, so it can be added to your existing security setup instantly, without the need for JavaScript or SDKs. Deployment options include:

• Integrations for major CDNs, apps, and programs
• Open API
• Low latency reverse proxy.

Tips for using bot detection software successfully

Follow these tips to find, implement, and use the best bot detection solution for your business:

• Integrate your bot detection system with your existing software for seamless security setup
• Protect your user experience by using server-side bot detection that won’t impact site performance
• Choose a solution that can learn about the behavior of even the most advanced bots, so it can protect you from unknown threats
• Select a multi-layered platform that analyzes threats with both AI and human intelligence, so you get the best possible protection
• Use data insights to inform your ongoing bot mitigation strategy.

How to choose the best bot detection software for your business

The best way to select the right bot detection software is to get a personalized demo. During the demo, you’ll see exactly how a bot management system works, the benefits it can bring to your business, and discuss how to deploy it across your architecture.

To find out more about Netacea’s bot detection software, request a personalized demo.