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Ultimate htaccess Blacklist

[ Image: Solar Eclipse ] For those of us running Apache, htaccess rewrite rules provide an excellent way to block spammers, scrapers, and other scumbags easily and effectively. While there are many htaccess tricks involving blocking domains, preventing access, and redirecting traffic, Apache’s mod_rewrite module enables us to target bad agents by testing the user-agent string against a predefined blacklist of unwanted visitors. Any matches are immediately and quietly denied access.

Update: Check out the new and improved 6G Blacklist/Firewall »

Building the Blacklist

There are many ways to obtain an effective htaccess blacklist. There are several excellent forums around the web that provide a plethora of priceless htaccess advice. Highly suggested. Additionally, after copying and pasting your favorite forum blacklist examples to your domain’s root htaccess file, you will want to continue with its development by tracking bandwidth thieves, comment spammers, and site scrapers and adding them to the list.

Or, you may wish to skip the tedious grunt work and simply grab a copy of the Ultimate htaccess Blacklist!

The Ultimate htaccess Blacklist began as a short list of only the most heinous offenders. Blocking scum was such an enjoyable activity that we soon added to the list the identity of every nasty agent we could find. The result has been a very low-stress, spam-free site with virtually zero stolen bandwidth. The list is fairly comprehensive and attempts to blacklist as many site rippers, grabbers, spammers and bad bots as possible. While no blacklist could ever block them all (nor would they want to using this method)1, an elaborate htaccess blacklist can do wonders to improve overall performance, decrease site maintenance, and reduce server expense. Overall, we consider this blacklist a great foundation on which to build and customize your own ultimate htaccess blacklist!2

The Ultimate .htaccess Blacklist

So without further ado, here is our version of the ultimate htaccess blacklist, as promised. Simply copy and paste the following code into the root htaccess file of your site to enjoy a serious reduction in wasted bandwidth, stolen resources, and comment spam. Don’t forget to backup your data and test everything, etc. — After that, you’re good to go!

# Ultimate htaccess Blacklist from Perishable Press
# Deny domain access to spammers and other scumbags
RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} almaden [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Anarchie [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ASPSeek [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^attach [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^autoemailspider [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^BackWeb [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Bandit [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^BatchFTP [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^BlackWidow [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Bot\ mailto:craftbot@yahoo.com [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Buddy [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^bumblebee [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^CherryPicker [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ChinaClaw [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^CICC [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Collector [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Copier [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Crescent [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Custo [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DA [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DIIbot [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DISCo [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DISCo\ Pump [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Download\ Demon [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Download\ Wonder [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Downloader [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Drip [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DSurf15a [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^eCatch [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EasyDL/2.99 [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EirGrabber [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} email [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailCollector [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailSiphon [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailWolf [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Express\ WebPictures [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ExtractorPro [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EyeNetIE [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^FileHound [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^FlashGet [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} FrontPage [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^GetRight [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^GetSmart [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^GetWeb! [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^gigabaz [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Go\!Zilla [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Go!Zilla [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Go-Ahead-Got-It [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^gotit [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Grabber [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^GrabNet [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Grafula [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^grub-client [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^HMView [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^HTTrack [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^httpdown [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} .*httrack.* [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ia_archiver [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Image\ Stripper [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Image\ Sucker [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Indy*Library [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Indy\ Library [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^InterGET [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^InternetLinkagent [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Internet\ Ninja [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^InternetSeer.com [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Iria [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^JBH*agent [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^JetCar [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^JOC\ Web\ Spider [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^JustView [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^larbin [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^LeechFTP [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^LexiBot [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^lftp [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Link*Sleuth [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^likse [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Link [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^LinkWalker [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mag-Net [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Magnet [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mass\ Downloader [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Memo [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Microsoft.URL [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^MIDown\ tool [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mirror [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mister\ PiX [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mozilla.*Indy [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mozilla.*NEWT [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mozilla*MSIECrawler [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^MS\ FrontPage* [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^MSFrontPage [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^MSIECrawler [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^MSProxy [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Navroad [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NearSite [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NetAnts [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NetMechanic [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NetSpider [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Net\ Vampire [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NetZIP [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NICErsPRO [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Ninja [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Octopus [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Offline\ Explorer [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Offline\ Navigator [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Openfind [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^PageGrabber [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Papa\ Foto [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^pavuk [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^pcBrowser [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Ping [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^PingALink [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Pockey [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^psbot [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Pump [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^QRVA [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^RealDownload [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Reaper [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Recorder [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ReGet [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Scooter [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Seeker [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Siphon [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^sitecheck.internetseer.com [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SiteSnagger [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SlySearch [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SmartDownload [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Snake [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SpaceBison [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^sproose [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Stripper [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Sucker [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SuperBot [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SuperHTTP [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Surfbot [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Szukacz [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^tAkeOut [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Teleport\ Pro [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^URLSpiderPro [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Vacuum [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^VoidEYE [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Web\ Image\ Collector [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Web\ Sucker [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebAuto [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^[Ww]eb[Bb]andit [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^webcollage [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebCopier [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Web\ Downloader [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebEMailExtrac.* [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebFetch [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebGo\ IS [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebHook [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebLeacher [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebMiner [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebMirror [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebReaper [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebSauger [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Website [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Website\ eXtractor [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Website\ Quester [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Webster [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebStripper [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} WebWhacker [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebZIP [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Wget [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Whacker [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Widow [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WWWOFFLE [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^x-Tractor [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Xaldon\ WebSpider [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Xenu [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Zeus.*Webster [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Zeus
RewriteRule ^.* - [F,L]

Update

To reduce confusion and consolidate htaccess rules, the last two lines have been removed from the blacklist. These two lines are not required for the blacklist to work as intended:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^http://www.iaea.org$
RewriteRule !^http://[^/.]\.perishablepress.com.* - [F,L]

Footnotes

  • 1 Although this blacklist is highly effective at eliminating unwanted scum, its immense length requires extra processing and may affect the performance of your server. In our experience, employing this list (along with several other htaccess directives) for over two years has resulted in zero noticeable performance issues. Nonetheless, this may not be an ideal solution for sites with extreme levels of visitor traffic.
  • 2 To begin building your own customized blacklist, you may want to check out the excellent list offered at joemaller.com. Thanks, Joe!

About the Author
Jeff Starr = Designer. Developer. Producer. Writer. Editor. Etc.
The Tao of WordPress: Master the art of WordPress.

72 responses to “Ultimate htaccess Blacklist”

  1. Probably just being dim, but I don’t get the final two lines (where the condition is that the referrer is http://www.iaea.org). Is there some spambot that pretends to be an incoming link from the IAEA?

  2. Perishable 2007/07/15 4:24 pm

    Yes, apparently there is a nasty bot from somewhere in Southeast Asia that uses iaea.org as the referrer. Not sure if it is still crawling the web — you may be safe removing it from the list..

  3. OK, thanks.

    I ran into a problem with the blacklist provided, however, and think there might be a typo.

    The following line causes an internal error on my server. If I add a space after the DISCo slash, then it works fine again:
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DISCo\Pump [OR]

    Thanks for the great blacklist. I’m now using it in place of the less comprehensive version I obtained from here:
    http://www.javascriptkit.com/howto/htaccess13.shtml

    Phil.

  4. Perishable 2007/07/16 2:31 pm

    Phil,

    Yes, good catch. The DISCo condition should definitely have a space before the Pump:

    RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DISCo\ Pump [OR]

    I have corrected the blacklist so others should not experience any problems.
    Thank you for your help!

    Regards,
    Jeff

  5. Perishable 2007/07/22 4:16 pm

    WillMacc,

    We are honored by your presence! Your work at http://www.a-daily-rant.com/ is excellent and much appreciated. I highly recommend your site for anyone serious about winning the war against spam, scrapers, and other online scum!

    Many thanks!

  6. Excellent blacklist for the htaccess file!
    It even had a few on there I haven’t seen before! :)
    I rant on this subject on my blog all the time.

  7. Thanks so much, with any doubt, the best list ever.Your site is fantastic !!
    I’m wondering if you could privude the same list but in a “compress version” ?
    Likethis for exemple: RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ADSARobot|Anarchie|ASPSeek|Atomz|BackWeb|Bandit|…and so much more… with the [OR] and/or the [NC,OR] at the ends of lines.
    Thank you agnain !

  8. Perishable 2007/10/06 8:21 pm

    Greg,

    By all means, that is a great idea. I will rewrite the blacklist and post a complete, compressed version featuring even more agents within the next week or so. Stay tuned..

  9. Thanks – just a heads up that this line causes the whole list to fail on my server (it ignores everything and lets every bot through). Comment it out and there is no problem

    RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Bot\ mailto:craftbot@yahoo.com [OR]

  10. Perishable 2007/10/15 7:58 am

    Robs,

    Thanks for the heads up — may I ask what type of server/software are you using?

    Thanks,
    Jeff

  11. Well done !

    Your Welcome :-)

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Perishable Press is operated by Jeff Starr, a professional web developer and book author with two decades of experience. Here you will find posts about web development, WordPress, security, and more »
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