Patent ID: 6662230
Filing Date: 2003-12-09
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
A method for protecting a web server from abusive clients, the method comprising:a) receiving at said webserver client requests from said abusive clients comprising originating IP addresses and requested data objects; b) recording log entries associated with the client requests in a request log file; c) denying at said webserver client requests from an IP address failing a frequency check, wherein the frequency check comprises determining from the log file if a request frequency from the IP address exceeds a predetermined maximum request frequency; d) denying at said webserver client requests from an IP address failing a cumulative data check, wherein the cumulative data check comprises determining from the log file if a cumulative data request value for the IP address exceeds a predetermined data access threshold; and e) denying at said webserver client requests from multiple IP addresses failing a second cumulative data check, wherein the second cumulative data check comprises identifying systematic request patterns, wherein said abusive clients are webcrawlers sending said client requests over the Internet to said webserver.