PAD browser detection

[Yole]

My goal is to identify whether my website's flow is being executed by an automated script rather than a human user. I'm aware that tools like Selenium or Puppeteer can be detected by differences in their headers or by checking specific objects under Window when compared to natural operations.

How can I determine if my website is being interacted with by PAD? Furthermore, if the user doesn't have the PAD browser extension installed, can I still detect whether the website interactions are being performed by PAD?

Thanks

[Nived_Nambiar]

Hi @Yole 

If the browser extension is not installed, PAD couldn't able to interact with browser

Also regarding this question, How can I determine if my website is being interacted with by PAD?

Does it mean you want to check whether pad is interacting with browser while flow is running ?

[Yole]

Hi @Nived_Nambiar 

  -  Does it mean you want to check whether pad is interacting with browser while flow is running ?

  -  For instance, I'm a website owner and there's a promotion going on. Users can get discounts by completing a few clicks. Without considering other preventive measures, I want to know if these actions are performed by a PAD.

- If the browser extension is not installed, PAD couldn't able to interact with browser

- I tried, it can. I recorded a simple flow, it can replay correctly.

[Ahammad_Riyaz]

Hi @Yole ,

Without browser extension not able to further automation, if it works fine in recorder 1st time, while running second time it may throw error due to selector not able to find.

Thanks

Riyaz

[Yole]

I haven't try the second time yet. BTW, do you have any idea about how to detect if a website is visited by PAD?

[Nived_Nambiar]

@Yole 

Did a little research on it and found that technique called Browser Fingerprinting would help you to detect the website is interacted by bot or not. Adding some information here on that

1. Browser fingerprinting: Each browser and device has a unique "fingerprint" based on its configuration and settings. By analyzing this fingerprint, you can determine if the user is a bot or a human. Bots often use default settings and configurations, which can make them easier to identify.

You can do a study based on that. 

[momlo]

Well, as @Nived_Nambiar  mentioned, fingerprinting may give you information on the addons installed in the browser. On the other hand, fingerprint can be randomized by the browser to prevent user tracking.

For example, see https://amiunique.org/ under "list of plugins" and "plugin details" at the bottom.

Another option is to monitor users' actions and assume that anything that does not match a typical human pattern is a bot. I think PAD or other RPA is executing all activities in a sequence, with no breaks for reading/understanding (or very short).

[Yole]

Hi @Nived_Nambiar and @momlo, Thank you for your response. When you mention "browser fingerprinting," the real problem comes,  there is a type of web browser called "fingerprint browser" which allow users to open multiple instances and simulate different fingerprints, making it challenging to determine if a visitor is a bot or a real person based on their fingerprint.

In the past, we identified instances of individuals using Selenium and Puppeteer to access our website, which was relatively simple to detect due to differences in HTTP headers and JavaScript objects compared to regular users. However, for PAD, my understanding is limited, and I'm not sure how to distinguish the unique characteristics of PAD when executing its web flow.