# mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker

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4,750 stars · 524 forks · Shell · NOASSERTION

## Links

- GitHub: https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker
- awesome-repositories: https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/mitchellkrogza-nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker.md

## Topics

`adware` `bot-blocker` `bots` `gambling-filter` `malware` `nginx` `nginx-server` `porn-filter` `referer-blocker` `referrer-spam` `scanners` `spam-blocker` `spam-filtering` `spam-prevention` `spam-protection` `spam-referers` `spam-referrer-blocker` `spambot-security` `spyware` `vulnerability-scanners`

## Description

This project is a collection of configuration files and scripts serving as a bot blocker and security middleware for Nginx. It functions as an automated blocklist manager that filters malicious user-agents and IP addresses to mitigate vulnerability scanning, login brute-forcing, and DDoS attacks.

The system distinguishes itself by automating the maintenance of security rules, downloading updated bot definitions and reloading the server on a schedule. It also includes a search engine spam filter capable of generating robots.txt files and link disavow lists to prevent malicious domains from impacting site indexing.

The software covers a broad range of traffic management and access control capabilities, including rate limiting, referrer-based filtering, and connection dropping. It integrates with Fail2Ban for log-based IP banning and provides IP whitelisting to ensure legitimate services remain accessible.

Installation supports custom paths for servers with non-standard directory structures.

## Tags

### Security & Cryptography

- [Malicious Traffic Blocking](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/malicious-traffic-blocking.md) — Filters malicious traffic from known bad bots, malware distributors, and scanners using curated blocklists. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker/blob/master/README.md))
- [Automated IP Banning](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/automated-ip-banning.md) — Automatically blocks IP addresses based on repeated error patterns found in server access logs.
- [Log-Based Temporary Bans](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/automated-ip-banning/temporary-ban-accelerators/log-based-temporary-bans.md) — Monitors server logs for frequent errors to trigger firewall bans for aggressive bots over a set duration. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker#readme))
- [Automated Server Hardening](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/automated-server-hardening.md) — Updates security configurations and blocklists on a schedule to defend against emerging malware and scanners.
- [Automated Blocklist Subscriptions](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/blocklist-aggregators/peer-blocklist-managers/automated-blocklist-subscriptions.md) — Periodically fetches and merges blocklists from trusted sources to maintain current security rules.
- [Custom Blocklist Definitions](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/domain-blocklists/custom-blocklist-definitions.md) — Enables the addition of specific user-agents and referrer domains to the blacklist to block emerging malicious sources. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker/blob/master/MANUAL-CONFIGURATION.md))
- [Intrusion Prevention Systems](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/intrusion-prevention-systems.md) — Monitors server logs to identify repeat offenders and trigger firewall bans for bots and login attacks.
- [Custom Access Rules](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/identity-access-management/access-control/custom-access-rules.md) — Allows the definition of specific IPs, domains, and user agents in configuration files to override default security settings. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker/blob/master/AUTO-CONFIGURATION.md))

### Web Development

- [Bot Mitigation Configurations](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/web-development/web-infrastructure-deployment/web-infrastructure-servers/web-server-hosting/nginx-security-hardening/bot-mitigation-configurations.md) — Filters malicious user agents and scanners using automated blocklists to reduce server load and security risks.
- [Nginx Security Hardening](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/web-development/web-infrastructure-deployment/web-infrastructure-servers/web-server-hosting/nginx-security-hardening.md) — Acts as a security layer for Nginx to mitigate DDoS attacks, brute-forcing, and vulnerability scanning.
- [Robots.txt Generation](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/web-development/robots-txt-generation.md) — Generates standardized robots.txt files to control how automated crawlers index the site. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker#readme))
- [Search Engine Optimization](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/web-development/web-standards/search-engine-optimization.md) — Generates disavow lists and manages robots files to prevent bad bots from impacting site indexing.

### Data & Databases

- [Login](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/data-databases/cache-avalanche-prevention/attack-protections/login.md) — Detects and blocks repeated login attempts by monitoring request rates and matching attack patterns. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker/tree/master/_fail2ban_addon))
- [Referrer Spam Filtering](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/data-databases/referral-analysis/referrer-spam-filtering.md) — Prevents traffic from known malicious domains and spammy referrers to stop referral attacks.

### DevOps & Infrastructure

- [NGINX Configuration Management](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/nginx-configuration-management.md) — Provides a collection of configuration files and scripts to filter malicious user-agents and IP addresses in Nginx.
- [Connection Dropping](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/client-connectivity-tools/connection-dropping.md) — Terminates connections from blocked clients immediately without sending a response to make the server appear offline. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker/blob/master/README.md))
- [Immediate Connection Dropping](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/client-connectivity-tools/connection-termination/immediate-connection-dropping.md) — Configures the server to immediately close connections for malicious patterns without returning an HTTP response.

### System Administration & Monitoring

- [Security Rule Auto-Updates](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/system-administration-monitoring/cleaning-rule-definitions/automatic-rule-updates/security-rule-auto-updates.md) — Automatically downloads updated bot definitions and reloads the server on a schedule. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker/blob/master/AUTO-CONFIGURATION.md))
- [Log-Based Firewall Integration](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/system-administration-monitoring/log-based-firewall-integration.md) — Integrates with Fail2Ban to monitor Nginx errors and trigger firewall blocks for repeat offenders.

### Part of an Awesome List

- [DDoS Mitigation](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/security/ddos-mitigation.md) — Implements configuration rules to detect and limit high-volume request patterns typical of DDoS attacks. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker/tree/master/bots.d))

### Development Tools & Productivity

- [Cron Scheduling](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/cron-scheduling.md) — Implements scheduled background tasks using cron expressions to update threat intelligence lists.

### Networking & Communication

- [Referrer Spam Filtering](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/domain-traffic-filters/referrer-spam-filtering.md) — Inspects the HTTP Referer header and blocks requests from known malicious or spammy domains.
- [Search Engine Spam Filtering](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/domain-traffic-filters/referrer-spam-filtering/search-engine-spam-filtering.md) — Generates disavow lists and robots.txt files to prevent spammy domains and bad bots from indexing sites.
- [Crawler Detection](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/http-2-protocol-implementations/crawlers/crawler-detection.md) — Blocks requests from bots masquerading as legitimate search crawlers to prevent ghost spam. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker/tree/master/_google_analytics_ghost_spam))

### Software Engineering & Architecture

- [Robots File Automation](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/file-update-utilities/robots-file-automation.md) — Provides scripts to update access control files across multiple websites to keep bot directives current. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker/tree/master/robots.txt))
- [Rate Limiting](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/request-throttling/rate-limiting.md) — Caps the frequency of visits for specific spiders to prevent server strain while maintaining legitimate access. ([source](https://github.com/mitchellkrogza/nginx-ultimate-bad-bot-blocker/blob/master/README.md))
- [IP-Based Rate Limiting](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/traffic-management/request-rate-limiting/ip-based-rate-limiting.md) — Restricts the number of requests per second from specific IP addresses or bots using Nginx limit modules.