Handling CAPTCHAs and other Bot Blockers in Web Scraping
Web scraping is a technique to automatically collect data from websites. However, many sites try to prevent scraping by employing various bot detection and blocking mechanisms. Some common ones are CAPTCHAs, IP blocking, hidden honeypots and more. As a scraper, you need robust strategies to overcome these blocks and continue unfettered data collection. This post explores the popular anti-scraping measures sites use and how to address them. Why Sites Block Scrapers Websites block automated scrapers for a few key reasons: Overload servers - Excessive scraping can overload servers and cost money. Sites want to throttle usage. Data misuse - Scraped data could be used by competitors or in unethical ways. Sites want control over data usage. Security - Scrapers may try to hack in or find exploits. Blocking bots improves security. Business reasons - Many sites monetize API access to data or want users to see ads on pages. Scraping circumvents these models. Understanding the motivation hel...