Robots.txt, An Online Entrepreneurs Friend Or Foe?
SEnuke: Ready for action
Lots of people believe that using a document on their web site they are protecting pages and files from hackers and thieves. Actually it is totally the opposite! robots.txt opens up a massive protection hole that hackers and thieves will use to easily gain access to the elements of your website that you don't want them to.
What is robots.txt?
robots.txt is a report that you create and up...
robots.txt is possibly the miss understood report that the site can contain.
Many people think that by using a file on their internet site they're protecting pages and folders from hackers and thieves. In-fact it is completely the other! robots.txt opens up an enormous safety hole that hackers and thieves will use to easily gain access to the parts of your website that you never want them to.
What's robots.txt?
robots.txt is just a file that you create and upload to your websites root directory that's utilized by search-engine spiders to find out which parts of your website they ought to index and which folders/pages that you, the website owner,
Do not want shown in se indexes.
Why wouldn't need pages listed?
There are various reasons why you do not want search-engines to index pages on your site, such as private account pages or exclusive instruction pages and such like.
You would not need your thank you pages found sometimes, if you are an Online Marketer promoting your personal book or other electronic solution!
And that is where the misunderstanding involves the fore, and robots.txt becomes your enemy.
Many internet marketers who provide e-books or other electronic products for instant download may list their download thanks pages in the robots.txt document because they obviously don't need these pages found in search engines. Get more on our favorite related URL by visiting Software Chicken Feeders.
By utilizing robots.txt this way though, you will be opening your product to whoever has a small little bit of knowledge about how a file works.
robots.txt is easily understandable by any human if you've shown your thank you pages and that opens a browser and types in http://www.yourdomain.com/robots.txt, all they've to do is go to that url and simply take your product( s)!
It is that simple!
And I am living proof that this works, as this is exactly what happened to me. For a second standpoint, please check-out: advertisers. I had listed my thank you pages in robots.txt and thought that they were safe from thieves and hackers, then one day I was checking my website figures and BAM, someone had been to every individual thank you page, and take-n everything. To compare additional information, we recommend people have a view at: visit link.
The meaning is, do not record any URL in robots.txt that you do not need people to have free use of. Use robots.txt with great caution and secure your thanks pages using dedicated computer software..
Replies