Just started a new job, and it looks like we have some bots that are clicking ev
ID: 653649 • Letter: J
Question
Just started a new job, and it looks like we have some bots that are clicking every link in some % of e-mails. The problem is, I can verify that at least a few of these people are real.
The only possibilities I can think of are: 1. The person is OCD and clicks on every link (not likely, can test with invis link) 2. The email is hacked and someone installed a bot on it. 3. They have some sort of security software (these are financial firms), that clicks on every link in some e-mails.
Any ideas? We're trying to figure who to block. Is there anti-virus software that clicks every link?
Explanation / Answer
A number of anti-virus, anti-spam, and anti-phishing solutions work by visiting every link in an email and checking to see if the link leads to a suspicious-looking site. Sometimes you can detect them by checking the user-agent, but more often, they imitate the user-agent of a well-known browser (typically Internet Explorer) to prevent malicious sites from detecting them.
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