Scraping is one of the most common practices of data extraction from websites using automated programs or bots. It is also becoming a significant problem that poses a threat to businesses and online platforms.
With a positive usage of such a powerful technique, there’s a drawback to it as well. People use such techniques for unethical purposes, such as spamming, scamming, and collecting personal data, among others.
In that case, businesses are trying their utmost to ensure that their users’ data remains safe. One approach that some people may not be aware of is the use of blank text, also known as empty space. To a human eye, it’s invisible, and only machines can read them.
It is a new and stealthy tactic that can make a significant difference, whereas many people focus on more conventional security measures, such as firewalls, CAPTCHA systems, and encryption.
In today’s article, we will explore the crucial role of empty text in digital security and anti-scraping.
What is Empty Text?
Empty text, also known as invisible or blank text, is a type of content that is inserted into the HTML code of a webpage. Although this text is not visible to the user, it may be used in several security applications in the right way. Empty text may contain invisible form fields, invisible HTML tags, or invisible text nodes. This text may be deliberately inserted on a webpage with several purposes, such as:
- To confuse bots and scrapers.
- To serve as an obstacle for automated systems.
- To monitor scraping attempts by tracking interactions with hidden elements.
Empty text may be a minor element of web design, but it can serve as an effective measure in protecting digital assets and preventing unauthorized data extraction.
Why is Web Scraping a Problem?
Before we delve into the details of how empty text can be used to combat scraping, it is essential to understand why scraping is such a significant problem first. Web scraping is an activity in which automated programs (referred to as scrapers) retrieve the information on a website and harvest large amounts of data without authorization. Such scrapers are commonly employed in the following ways:
- Data harvesting: Gathering competitor information, personal data, or product data to sell or use.
- Content replication: Duplication of content to be used in other websites, which in most cases leads to copyright infringement.
- Price monitoring: Scrapers collect price data on e-commerce websites to develop a competitive edge by real-time pricing adjustment.
Scraping is an issue because it is frequently performed without the owner's approval of the site, and the retrieved information may be used in a malicious manner, which impacts the integrity of the business or website. Additionally, scrapers may overload a site with numerous requests, which can decrease performance and even lead to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
How Does Empty Text Help Combat Web Scraping?
Empty text is a relatively easy but effective method of preventing scraping. These are some of the ways through which it contributes to digital security:
Confusing Bots with Hidden Data
Parsing HTML code to identify a specific pattern, data field, or element for extraction is one of the primary methods scrapers employ. Using invisible or non-visible content (blank text), website developers can confound scraping bots. Because bots are unable to differentiate between visible and hidden data, they might attempt to scrape the blank text fields, which can be a waste of time and resources for the scraper.
For example, websites can insert invisible form fields or empty div tags into the HTML code. Such elements do not influence the user experience since they are not visible to human visitors, but they compel scrapers to work with irrelevant data. This strategy raises the possibility of slowing down or blocking scrapers, which decreases the efficiency of their extraction process.
Obstructing Scrapers from Extracting Relevant Data
Empty text may also serve as a barrier to block automated scrapers, preventing them from accessing valuable information. Website owners can also complicate the process of scraping by surrounding essential data (e.g., product names, prices, or descriptions) with blank or invisible text, making it challenging to find and scrape.
For example, when a product page contains hidden text blocks between the prices or descriptions of products, it becomes significantly more challenging to scrape the correct data without encountering any issues. Empty text as invisible barriers introduces further complications that the scraping bots must overcome, making scraping attempts less effective and more prone to failure.
Generate Empty Text
If you're a web developer looking to add invisible or empty text to your site for security purposes, tools like a blank text generator can be quite helpful. An online blank text generator allows you to create invisible characters, blank spaces, or even fake text that can be inserted into HTML code without being visible on the page.
With these blank text generators, you can easily generate zero-width spaces, non-breaking spaces, or other invisible characters, which you can insert into the code of your website. It is a relatively simple yet efficient method to increase your anti-scraping capabilities.
Tracking Scraping Attempts
Empty text can also be used by web developers as a tracking tool to monitor suspicious activity. Developers can monitor the scrapers accessing or attempting to scrape this empty data by inserting special hidden fields or text that regular users should not access. This technique may be used as a "honeypot," in which the existence of hidden text alerts administrators of the site to scraping.
For example, when a scraper accesses these hidden fields, it creates a notification to the website's backend system, allowing admins to take action (e.g., block the scraper's IP address or initiate another CAPTCHA check). This allows website owners to understand how scrapers are using their site by setting up these invisible traps and then adjusting their anti-scraping strategy to deal with scrapers accordingly.
Serving as an Effective Deterrent
Although empty text does not necessarily prevent scrapers, it may serve as a deterrent because scraping becomes more complex and inefficient. The existence of hidden text complicates the process of scraping and makes bots work with irrelevant information. This complexity can cause a lot of scrapers to give up on the site and seek other targets.
In that manner, empty text does not always have to avoid scraping altogether, it just makes scraping less rewarding by consuming more resources and time. Scrapers tend to hit sites that have clear and easily detectable content, and therefore, adding hidden or blank elements can make them give up.
Complementing Other Security Measures
Empty text is not a solution in itself but instead should be used in conjunction with other anti-scraping techniques. CAPTCHA systems, IP blocking, rate limiting, and dynamic content loading can also be used to counter scrapers on websites that use empty text. Combined, these strategies have a higher likelihood of catching scrapers at work and limiting their effects.
An example is that a site may employ blank text and CAPTCHA for users who are trying to carry out multiple requests within a short time. This layered protection system provides that scraping bots encounter more and more obstacles on their way to accessing the site, and it is more probable that they will be stopped before the extraction is over.
Use of Empty Text in Digital Security
Here is a bit more detailed but still simple explanation of the use of empty text in digital security for each listed purpose:
Watermarking / Fingerprinting
Digital texts have empty or invisible characters hidden within them to place ownership marks or track where the content is disseminated. The approach does not alter the text that can be seen. Still, it enables checking the origin or authenticity of the material in the future, which can help to guard against copyright infringement and unauthorized reproduction.
Password Security
Passwords have empty or invisible characters inserted into them, like spaces, zero-width spaces, or other non-printing Unicode characters. This makes it even more complicated and passwords harder to guess or crack, and unseen by random viewers.
Bypassing Text Filters
Empty characters are added to words or sentences to deceive automated content filters. They do not show these characters, hence they enable limited or censored text to pass through filters that scan specific keywords or phrases.
Steganography
The data or secret messages are hidden by inserting them as blank or invisible characters in regular text. The method is a form of security that keeps sensitive information secret, as only those who know how to retrieve it can read the concealed message.
Obfuscating Malware
It is difficult to detect or analyze malicious code by dividing it with empty or invisible characters, which makes it harder for security tools to detect or analyze. This is a technique of obfuscation that helps malware evade detection and execute attacks stealthily.
Conclusion
Empty text is one of the most effective yet simple tools in the digital security arsenal, particularly in preventing web scraping. Businesses can disrupt scraping bots by inserting hidden components into the webpage's code, making it impossible to retrieve important information and even trace their actions. Empty text by itself is not the full solution to scraping, but can be employed together with other security measures to make a very effective defense against unauthorized data mining. Websites can enhance their security in the digital world and protect their information by strategically applying empty text and other anti-scraping tools.