How to hide web-application from search bots? (ASP.NET)

Question

I have a web-application for the company's inner needs. However, customers should have access only by some specific URL sent by company. So, to make things short, site can be accessed by everyone, but only by typing concrete URL. No search engine allowed to index any page of the site. How can I reach it?

I found an approach based on robots.txt, but could it be implemented in web.config file?

Answer 1

There is a Web.Config solution as well, based on the User Agent. It uses the IIS rewrite module. But it is not foolproof since User Agents can be easly changed. Note that I did not create the list myself but found it recently on the web, but cannot seem to find the article anymore.

<rewrite>
  <rules>
    <rule name="Abuse User Agents Blocking" stopProcessing="true">
      <match url=".*" ignoreCase="false" />
      <conditions logicalGrouping="MatchAny">
        <add input="{HTTP_USER_AGENT}" pattern="^.*(1Noonbot|1on1searchBot|3D_SEARCH|3DE_SEARCH2|3GSE|50.nu|192.comAgent|360Spider|A6-Indexer|AASP|ABACHOBot|Abonti|abot|AbotEmailSearch|Aboundex|AboutUsBot|AccMonitor\ Compliance|accoona|AChulkov.NET\ page\ walker|Acme.Spider|AcoonBot|acquia-crawler|ActiveTouristBot|Acunetix|Ad\ Muncher|AdamM|adbeat_bot|adminshop.com|Advanced\ Email|AESOP_com_SpiderMan|AESpider|AF\ Knowledge\ Now\ Verity|aggregator:Vocus|ah-ha.com|AhrefsBot|AIBOT|aiHitBot|aipbot|AISIID|AITCSRobot|Akamai-SiteSnapshot|AlexaWebSearchPlatform|AlexfDownload|Alexibot|AlkalineBOT|All\ Acronyms|Amfibibot|AmPmPPC.com|AMZNKAssocBot|Anemone|Anonymous|Anonymouse.org|AnotherBot|AnswerBot|AnswerBus|AnswerChase\ PROve|AntBot|antibot-|AntiSantyWorm|Antro.Net|AONDE-Spider|Aport|Aqua_Products|AraBot|Arachmo|Arachnophilia|archive.org_bot|aria\ eQualizer|arianna.libero.it|Arikus_Spider|Art-Online.com|ArtavisBot|Artera|ASpider|ASPSeek|asterias|AstroFind|athenusbot|AtlocalBot|Atomic_Email_Hunter|attach|attrakt|attributor|Attributor.comBot|augurfind|AURESYS|AutoBaron|autoemailspider|autowebdir|AVSearch-|axfeedsbot|Axonize-bot|Ayna|b2w|BackDoorBot|BackRub|BackStreet\ Browser|BackWeb|Baiduspider-video|Bandit|BatchFTP|baypup|BDFetch|BecomeBot|BecomeJPBot|BeetleBot|Bender|besserscheitern-crawl|betaBot|Big\ Brother|Big\ Data|Bigado.com|BigCliqueBot|Bigfoot|BIGLOTRON|Bilbo|BilgiBetaBot|BilgiBot|binlar|bintellibot|bitlybot|BitvoUserAgent|Bizbot003|BizBot04|BizBot04\ kirk.overleaf.com|Black.Hole|Black\ Hole|Blackbird|BlackWidow|bladder\ fusion|Blaiz-Bee|BLEXBot|Blinkx|BlitzBOT|Blog\ Conversation\ Project|BlogMyWay|BlogPulseLive|BlogRefsBot|BlogScope|Blogslive|BloobyBot|BlowFish|BLT|bnf.fr_bot|BoaConstrictor|BoardReader-Image-Fetcher|BOI_crawl_00|BOIA-Scan-Agent|BOIA.ORG-Scan-Agent|boitho.com-dc|Bookmark\ Buddy|bosug|Bot\ Apoena|BotALot|BotRightHere|Botswana|bottybot|BpBot|BRAINTIME_SEARCH|BrokenLinkCheck.com|BrowserEmulator|BrowserMob|BruinBot|BSearchR&amp;D|BSpider|btbot|Btsearch|Buddy|Buibui|BuildCMS|BuiltBotTough|Bullseye|bumblebee|BunnySlippers|BuscadorClarin|Butterfly|BuyHawaiiBot|BuzzBot|byindia|BySpider|byteserver|bzBot|c\ r\ a\ w\ l\ 3\ r|CacheBlaster|CACTVS\ Chemistry|Caddbot|Cafi|Camcrawler|CamelStampede|Canon-WebRecord|Canon-WebRecordPro|CareerBot|casper|cataguru|CatchBot|CazoodleBot|CCBot|CCGCrawl|ccubee|CD-Preload|CE-Preload|Cegbfeieh|Cerberian\ Drtrs|CERT\ FigleafBot|cfetch|CFNetwork|Chameleon|ChangeDetection|Charlotte|Check&amp;Get|Checkbot|Checklinks|checkprivacy|CheeseBot|ChemieDE-NodeBot|CherryPicker|CherryPickerElite|CherryPickerSE|Chilkat|ChinaClaw|CipinetBot|cis455crawler|citeseerxbot|cizilla.com|ClariaBot|clshttp|Clushbot|cmsworldmap|coccoc|CollapsarWEB|Collector|combine|comodo|conceptbot|ConnectSearch|conpilot|ContentSmartz|ContextAd|contype|cookieNET|CoolBott|CoolCheck|Copernic|Copier|CopyRightCheck|core-project|cosmos|Covario-IDS|Cowbot-|Cowdog|crabbyBot|crawl|Crawl_Application|crawl.UserAgent|CrawlConvera|crawler|crawler_for_infomine|CRAWLER-ALTSE.VUNET.ORG-Lynx|crawler-upgrade-config|crawler.kpricorn.org|crawler@|crawler4j|crawler43.ejupiter.com|Crawly|CreativeCommons|Crescent|Crescent\ Internet\ ToolPak\ HTTP\ OLE\ Control|cs-crawler|CSE\ HTML\ Validator|CSHttpClient|Cuasarbot|culsearch|Curl|Custo|Cutbot|cvaulev|Cyberdog|CyberNavi_WebGet|CyberSpyder|CydralSpider).*$" />
        <add input="{HTTP_USER_AGENT}" pattern="^.*(D1GArabicEngine|DA|DataCha0s|DataFountains|DataparkSearch|DataSpearSpiderBot|DataSpider|Dattatec.com|Dattatec.com-Sitios-Top|Daumoa|DAUMOA-video|DAUMOA-web|Declumbot|Deepindex|deepnet|DeepTrawl|dejan|del.icio.us-thumbnails|DelvuBot|Deweb|DiaGem|Diamond|DiamondBot|diavol|DiBot|didaxusbot|DigExt|Digger|DiGi-RSSBot|DigitalArchivesBot|DigOut4U|DIIbot|Dillo|Dir_Snatch.exe|DISCo|DISCo\ Pump|discobot|DISCoFinder|Distilled-Reputation-Monitor|Dit|DittoSpyder|DjangoTraineeBot|DKIMRepBot|DoCoMo|DOF-Verify|domaincrawler|DomainScan|DomainWatcher|dotbot|DotSpotsBot|Dow\ Jonesbot|Download|Download\ Demon|Downloader|DOY|dragonfly|Drip|drone|DTAAgent|dtSearchSpider|dumbot|Dwaar|Dwaarbot|DXSeeker|EAH|EasouSpider|EasyDL|ebingbong|EC2LinkFinder|eCairn-Grabber|eCatch|eChooseBot|ecxi|EdisterBot|EduGovSearch|egothor|eidetica.com|EirGrabber|ElisaBot|EllerdaleBot|EMail\ Exractor|EmailCollector|EmailLeach|EmailSiphon|EmailWolf|EMPAS_ROBOT|EnaBot|endeca|EnigmaBot|Enswer\ Neuro|EntityCubeBot|EroCrawler|eStyleSearch|eSyndiCat|Eurosoft-Bot|Evaal|Eventware|Everest-Vulcan|Exabot|Exabot-Images|Exabot-Test|Exabot-XXX|ExaBotTest|ExactSearch|exactseek.com|exooba|Exploder|explorersearch|extract|Extractor|ExtractorPro|EyeNetIE|ez-robot|Ezooms|factbot|FairAd\ Client|falcon|Falconsbot|fast-search-engine|FAST\ Data\ Document|FAST\ ESP|fastbot|fastbot.de|FatBot|Favcollector|Faviconizer|FDM|FedContractorBot|feedfinder|FelixIDE|fembot|fetch_ici|Fetch\ API\ Request|fgcrawler|FHscan|fido|Filangy|FileHound|FindAnISP.com_ISP_Finder|findlinks|FindWeb|Firebat|Fish-Search-Robot|Flaming\ AttackBot|Flamingo_SearchEngine|FlashCapture|FlashGet|flicky|FlickySearchBot|flunky|focused_crawler|FollowSite|Foobot|Fooooo_Web_Video_Crawl|Fopper|FormulaFinderBot|Forschungsportal|fr_crawler|Francis|Freecrawl|FreshDownload|freshlinks.exe|FriendFeedBot|frodo.at|froGgle|FrontPage|Froola|FU-NBI|full_breadth_crawler|FunnelBack|FunWebProducts|FurlBot|g00g1e|G10-Bot|Gaisbot|GalaxyBot|gazz|gcreep|generate_infomine_category_classifiers|genevabot|genieBot|GenieBotRD_SmallCrawl|Genieo|Geomaxenginebot|geometabot|GeonaBot|GeoVisu|GermCrawler|GetHTMLContents|Getleft|GetRight|GetSmart|GetURL.rexx|GetWeb!|Giant|GigablastOpenSource|Gigabot|Girafabot|GleameBot|gnome-vfs|Go-Ahead-Got-It|Go!Zilla|GoForIt.com|GOFORITBOT|gold|Golem|GoodJelly|Gordon-College-Google-Mini|goroam|GoSeebot|gotit|Govbot|GPU\ p2p|grab|Grabber|GrabNet|Grafula|grapeFX|grapeshot|GrapeshotCrawler|grbot|GreenYogi\ [ZSEBOT]|Gromit|GroupMe|grub|grub-client|Grubclient-|GrubNG|GruBot|gsa|GSLFbot|GT::WWW|Gulliver|GulperBot|GurujiBot|GVC|GVC\ BUSINESS|gvcbot.com|HappyFunBot|harvest|HarvestMan|Hatena\ Antenna|Hawler|Hazel's\ Ferret\ hopper|hcat|hclsreport-crawler|HD\ nutch\ agent|Header_Test_Client|healia|Helix|heritrix|hijbul-heritrix-crawler|HiScan|HiSoftware\ AccMonitor|HiSoftware\ AccVerify|hitcrawler_|hivaBot|hloader|HMSEbot|HMView|hoge|holmes|HomePageSearch|Hooblybot-Image|HooWWWer|Hostcrawler|HSFT\ -\ Link|HSFT\ -\ LVU|HSlide|ht:|htdig|Html\ Link\ Validator|HTMLParser|HTTP::Lite|httplib|HTTrack|Huaweisymantecspider|hul-wax|humanlinks|HyperEstraier|Hyperix).*$" />
        <add input="{HTTP_USER_AGENT}" pattern="^.*(ia_archiver|IAArchiver-|ibuena|iCab|ICDS-Ingestion|ichiro|iCopyright\ Conductor|id-search|IDBot|IEAutoDiscovery|IECheck|iHWebChecker|IIITBOT|iim_405|IlseBot|IlTrovatore|Iltrovatore-Setaccio|ImageBot|imagefortress|ImagesHereImagesThereImagesEverywhere|ImageVisu|imds_monitor|imo-google-robot-intelink|IncyWincy|Industry\ Cortexcrawler|Indy\ Library|indylabs_marius|InelaBot|Inet32\ Ctrl|inetbot|InfoLink|INFOMINE|infomine.ucr.edu|InfoNaviRobot|Informant|Infoseek|InfoTekies|InfoUSABot|INGRID|Inktomi|InsightsCollector|InsightsWorksBot|InspireBot|InsumaScout|Intelix|InterGET|Internet\ Ninja|InternetLinkAgent|Interseek|IOI|ip-web-crawler.com|Ipselonbot|Iria|IRLbot|Iron33|Isara|iSearch|iSiloX|IsraeliSearch|IstellaBot|its-learning|IU_CSCI_B659_class_crawler|iVia|iVia\ Page\ Fetcher|JadynAve|JadynAveBot|jakarta|Jakarta\ Commons-HttpClient|Java|Jbot|JemmaTheTourist|JennyBot|Jetbot|JetBrains\ Omea\ Pro|JetCar|Jim|JoBo|JobSpider_BA|JOC|JoeDog|JoyScapeBot|JSpyda|JubiiRobot|jumpstation|Junut|JustView|Jyxobot|K.S.Bot|KakcleBot|kalooga|KaloogaBot|kanagawa|KATATUDO-Spider|Katipo|kbeta1|Kenjin.Spider|KeywenBot|Keyword.Density|Keyword\ Density|kinjabot|KIT-Fireball|Kitenga-crawler-bot|KiwiStatus|kmbot-|kmccrew|Knight|KnowItAll|Knowledge.com|Knowledge\ Engine|KoepaBot|Koninklijke|KrOWLer|KSbot|kuloko-bot|kulturarw3|KummHttp|Kurzor|Kyluka|L.webis|LabelGrab|Labhoo|labourunions411|lachesis|Lament|LamerExterminator|LapozzBot|larbin|LARBIN-EXPERIMENTAL|LBot|LeapTag|LeechFTP|LeechGet|LetsCrawl.com|LexiBot|LexxeBot|lftp|libcrawl|libiViaCore|libWeb|libwww|libwww-perl|likse|Linguee|Link|link_checker|LinkAlarm|linkbot|LinkCheck\ by\ Siteimprove.com|LinkChecker|linkdex.com|LinkextractorPro|LinkLint|linklooker|Linkman|LinkScan|LinksCrawler|LinksManager.com_bot|LinkSweeper|linkwalker|LiteFinder|LitlrBot|Little\ Grabber\ at\ Skanktale.com|Livelapbot|LM\ Harvester|LMQueueBot|LNSpiderguy|LoadTimeBot|LocalcomBot|locust|LolongBot|LookBot|Lsearch|lssbot|LWP|lwp-request|lwp-trivial|LWP::Simple|Lycos_Spider|Lydia\ Entity|LynnBot|Lytranslate|Mag-Net|Magnet|magpie-crawler|Magus|Mail.Ru|Mail.Ru_Bot|MAINSEEK_BOT|Mammoth|MarkWatch|MaSagool|masidani_bot_|Mass|Mata.Hari|Mata\ Hari|matentzn\ at\ cs\ dot\ man\ dot\ ac\ dot\ uk|maxamine.com--robot|maxamine.com-robot|maxomobot|Maxthon$|McBot|MediaFox|medrabbit|Megite|MemacBot|Memo|MendeleyBot|Mercator-|mercuryboard_user_agent_sql_injection.nasl|MerzScope|metacarta|Metager2|metager2-verification-bot|MetaGloss|METAGOPHER|metal|metaquerier.cs.uiuc.edu|METASpider|Metaspinner|MetaURI|MetaURI\ API|MFC_Tear_Sample|MFcrawler|MFHttpScan|Microsoft.URL|MIIxpc|miner|mini-robot|minibot|miniRank|Mirror|Missigua\ Locator|Mister.PiX|Mister\ PiX|Miva|MJ12bot|mnoGoSearch|mod_accessibility|moduna.com|moget|MojeekBot|MOMspider|MonkeyCrawl|MOSES|Motor|mowserbot|MQbot|MSE360|MSFrontPage|MSIECrawler|MSIndianWebcrawl|MSMOBOT|Msnbot|msnbot-products|MSNPTC|MSRBOT|MT-Soft|MultiText|My_Little_SearchEngine_Project|my-heritrix-crawler|MyApp|MYCOMPANYBOT|mycrawler|MyEngines-US-Bot|MyFamilyBot|Myra|nabot|nabot_|Najdi.si|Nambu|NAMEPROTECT|NatchCVS|naver|naverbookmarkcrawler|NaverBot|Navroad|NearSite|NEC-MeshExplorer|NeoScioCrawler|NerdByNature.Bot|NerdyBot|Nerima-crawl-).*$" />
        <add input="{HTTP_USER_AGENT}" pattern="^.*(T-H-U-N-D-E-R-S-T-O-N-E|Tailrank|tAkeOut|TAMU_CRAWLER|TapuzBot|Tarantula|targetblaster.com|TargetYourNews.com|TAUSDataBot|taxinomiabot|Tecomi|TeezirBot|Teleport|Teleport\ Pro|TeleportPro|Telesoft|Teradex\ Mapper|TERAGRAM_CRAWLER|TerrawizBot|testbot|testing\ of|TextBot|thatrobotsite.com|The.Intraformant|The\ Dyslexalizer|The\ Intraformant|TheNomad|Theophrastus|theusefulbot|TheUsefulbot_|ThumbBot|thumbshots-de-bot|tigerbot|TightTwatBot|TinEye|Titan|to-dress_ru_bot_|to-night-Bot|toCrawl|Topicalizer|topicblogs|Toplistbot|TopServer\ PHP|topyx-crawler|Touche|TourlentaScanner|TPSystem|TRAAZI|TranSGeniKBot|travel-search|TravelBot|TravelLazerBot|Treezy|TREX|TridentSpider|Trovator|True_Robot|tScholarsBot|TsWebBot|TulipChain|turingos|turnit|TurnitinBot|TutorGigBot|TweetedTimes|TweetmemeBot|TwengaBot|TwengaBot-Discover|Twiceler|Twikle|twinuffbot|Twisted\ PageGetter|Twitturls|Twitturly|TygoBot|TygoProwler|Typhoeus|U.S.\ Government\ Printing\ Office|uberbot|ucb-nutch|UCSD-Crawler|UdmSearch|UFAM-crawler-|Ultraseek|UnChaos|unchaos_crawler_|UnisterBot|UniversalSearch|UnwindFetchor|UofTDB_experiment|updated|URI::Fetch|url_gather|URL-Checker|URL\ Control|URLAppendBot|URLBlaze|urlchecker|urlck|UrlDispatcher|urllib|URLSpiderPro|URLy.Warning|USAF\ AFKN\|usasearch|USS-Cosmix|USyd-NLP-Spider|Vacobot|Vacuum|VadixBot|Vagabondo|Validator|Valkyrie|vBSEO|VCI|VerbstarBot|VeriCiteCrawler|Verifactrola|Verity-URL-Gateway|vermut|versus|versus.integis.ch|viasarchivinginformation.html|vikspider|VIP|VIPr|virus-detector|VisBot|Vishal\ For\ CLIA|VisWeb|vlad|vlsearch|VMBot|VocusBot|VoidEYE|VoilaBot|Vortex|voyager|voyager-hc|voyager-partner-deep|VSE|vspider).*$" />
        <add input="{HTTP_USER_AGENT}" pattern="^.*(W3C_Unicorn|W3C-WebCon|w3m|w3search|wacbot|wastrix|Water\ Conserve|Water\ Conserve\ Portal|WatzBot|wauuu\ engine|Wavefire|Waypath|Wazzup|Wazzup1.0.4800|wbdbot|web-agent|Web-Sniffer|Web.Image.Collector|Web\ CEO\ Online|Web\ Image\ Collector|Web\ Link\ Validator|Web\ Magnet|webalta|WebaltBot|WebAuto|webbandit|webbot|webbul-bot|WebCapture|webcheck|Webclipping.com|webcollage|WebCopier|WebCopy|WebCorp|webcrawl.net|webcrawler|WebDownloader\ for|Webdup|WebEMailExtrac|WebEMailExtrac.*|WebEnhancer|WebFerret|webfetch|WebFetcher|WebGather|WebGo\ IS|webGobbler|WebImages|Webinator-search2.fasthealth.com|Webinator-WBI|WebIndex|WebIndexer|weblayers|WebLeacher|WeblexBot|WebLinker|webLyzard|WebmasterCoffee|WebmasterWorld|WebmasterWorldForumBot|WebMiner|WebMoose|WeBot|WebPix|WebReaper|WebRipper|WebSauger|Webscan|websearchbench|WebSite|websitemirror|WebSpear|websphinx.test|WebSpider|Webster|Webster.Pro|Webster\ Pro|WebStripper|WebTrafficExpress|WebTrends\ Link\ Analyzer|webvac|webwalk|WebWalker|Webwasher|WebWatch|WebWhacker|WebXM|WebZip|Weddings.info|wenbin|WEPA|WeRelateBot|Whacker|Widow|WikiaBot|Wikio|wikiwix-bot-|WinHttp.WinHttpRequest|WinHTTP\ Example|WIRE|wired-digital-newsbot|WISEbot|WISENutbot|wish-la|wish-project|wisponbot|WMCAI-robot|wminer|WMSBot|woriobot|worldshop|WorQmada|Wotbox|WPScan|wume_crawler|WWW-Mechanize|www.freeloader.com.|WWW\ Collector|WWWOFFLE|wwwrobot|wwwster|WWWWanderer|wwwxref|Wysigot|X-clawler|Xaldon|Xenu|Xenu's|Xerka\ MetaBot|XGET|xirq|XmarksFetch|XoviBot|xqrobot|Y!J|Y!TunnelPro|yacy.net|yacybot|yarienavoir.net|Yasaklibot|yBot|YebolBot|yellowJacket|yes|YesupBot|Yeti|YioopBot|YisouSpider|yolinkBot|yoogliFetchAgent|yoono|Yoriwa|YottaCars_Bot|you-dir|Z-Add\ Link|zagrebin|Zao|zedzo.digest|zedzo.validate|zermelo|Zeus|Zeus\ Link\ Scout|zibber-v|zimeno|Zing-BottaBot|ZipppBot|zmeu|ZoomSpider|ZuiBot|ZumBot|Zyborg|Zyte).*$" />
        <add input="{HTTP_USER_AGENT}" pattern="^.*(Nessus|NESSUS::SOAP|nestReader|Net::Trackback|NetAnts|NetCarta\ CyberPilot\ Pro|Netcraft|NetID.com|NetMechanic|Netprospector|NetResearchServer|NetScoop|NetSeer|NetShift=|NetSongBot|Netsparker|NetSpider|NetSrcherP|NetZip|NetZip-Downloader|NewMedhunt|news|News_Search_App|NewsGatherer|Newsgroupreporter|NewsTroveBot|NextGenSearchBot|nextthing.org|NHSEWalker|nicebot|NICErsPRO|niki-bot|NimbleCrawler|nimbus-1|ninetowns|Ninja|NjuiceBot|NLese|Nogate|Nomad-V2.x|NoteworthyBot|NPbot|NPBot-|NRCan\ intranet|NSDL_Search_Bot|nu_tch-princeton|nuggetize.com|nutch|nutch1|NutchCVS|NutchOrg|NWSpider|Nymesis|nys-crawler|ObjectsSearch|oBot|Obvius\ external\ linkcheck|Occam|Ocelli|Octopus|ODP\ entries|Offline.Explorer|Offline\ Explorer|Offline\ Navigator|OGspider|OmiExplorer_Bot|OmniExplorer_Bot|omnifind|OmniWeb|OnetSzukaj|online\ link\ validator|OOZBOT|Openbot|Openfind|Openfind\ data|OpenHoseBot|OpenIntelligenceData|OpenISearch|OpenSearchServer_Bot|OpiDig|optidiscover|OrangeBot|ORISBot|ornl_crawler_1|ORNL_Mercury|osis-project.jp|OsO|OutfoxBot|OutfoxMelonBot|OWLER-BOT|owsBot|ozelot|P3P\ Client|page_verifier|PageBitesHyperBot|Pagebull|PageDown|PageFetcher|PageGrabber|PagePeeker|PageRank\ Monitor|pamsnbot.htm|Panopy|panscient.com|Pansophica|Papa\ Foto|PaperLiBot|parasite|parsijoo|Pathtraq|Pattern|Patwebbot|pavuk|PaxleFramework|PBBOT|pcBrowser|pd-crawler|PECL::HTTP|penthesila|PeoplePal|perform_crawl|PerMan|PGP-KA|PHPCrawl|PhpDig|PicoSearch|pipBot|pipeLiner|Pita|pixfinder|PiyushBot|planetwork|PleaseCrawl|Plucker|Plukkie|Plumtree|Pockey|Pockey-GetHTML|PoCoHTTP|pogodak.ba|Pogodak.co.yu|Poirot|polybot|Pompos|Poodle\ predictor|PopScreenBot|PostPost|PrivacyFinder|ProjectWF-java-test-crawler|ProPowerBot|ProWebWalker|PROXY|psbot|psbot-page|PSS-Bot|psycheclone|pub-crawler|pucl|pulseBot\ \(pulse|Pump|purebot|PWeBot|pycurl|Python-urllib|pythonic-crawler|PythonWikipediaBot|q1|QEAVis\ agent|QFKBot|qualidade|Qualidator.com|QuepasaCreep|QueryN.Metasearch|QueryN\ Metasearch|quest.durato|Quintura-Crw|QunarBot|Qweery_robot.txt_CheckBot|QweeryBot|r2iBot|R6_CommentReader|R6_FeedFetcher|R6_VoteReader|RaBot|Radian6|radian6_linkcheck|RAMPyBot|RankurBot|RcStartBot|RealDownload|Reaper|REBI-shoveler|Recorder|RedBot|RedCarpet|ReGet|RepoMonkey|RepoMonkey\ Bait|Riddler|RIIGHTBOT|RiseNetBot|RiverglassScanner|RMA|RoboPal|Robosourcer|robot|robotek|robots|Robozilla|rogerBot|Rome\ Client|Rondello|Rotondo|Roverbot|RPT-HTTPClient|rtgibot|RufusBot|Runnk\ online\ rss\ reader|s~stremor-crawler|S2Bot|SafariBookmarkChecker|SaladSpoon|Sapienti|SBIder|SBL-BOT|SCFCrawler|Scich|ScientificCommons.org|ScollSpider|ScooperBot|Scooter|ScoutJet|ScrapeBox|Scrapy|SCrawlTest|Scrubby|scSpider|Scumbot|SeaMonkey$|Search-Channel|Search-Engine-Studio|search.KumKie.com|search.msn.com|search.updated.com|search.usgs.gov|Search\ Publisher|Searcharoo.NET|SearchBlox|searchbot|searchengine|searchhippo.com|SearchIt-Bot|searchmarking|searchmarks|searchmee_v|SearchmetricsBot|searchmining|SearchnowBot_v1|searchpreview|SearchSpider.com|SearQuBot|Seekbot|Seeker.lookseek.com|SeeqBot|seeqpod-vertical-crawler|Selflinkchecker|Semager|semanticdiscovery|Semantifire1|semisearch|SemrushBot|Senrigan|SEOENGWorldBot|SeznamBot|ShablastBot|ShadowWebAnalyzer|Shareaza|Shelob|sherlock|ShopWiki|ShowLinks|ShowyouBot|siclab|silk|Siphon|SiteArchive|SiteCheck-sitecrawl|sitecheck.internetseer.com|SiteFinder|SiteGuardBot|SiteOrbiter|SiteSnagger|SiteSucker|SiteSweeper|SiteXpert|SkimBot|SkimWordsBot|SkreemRBot|skygrid|Skywalker|Sleipnir|slow-crawler|SlySearch|smart-crawler|SmartDownload|Smarte|smartwit.com|Snake|Snapbot|SnapPreviewBot|Snappy|snookit|Snooper|Snoopy|SocialSearcher|SocSciBot|SOFT411\ Directory|sogou|sohu-search|sohu\ agent|Sokitomi|Solbot|sootle|Sosospider|Space\ Bison|Space\ Fung|SpaceBison|SpankBot|spanner|Spatineo\ Monitor\ Controller|special_archiver|SpeedySpider|Sphider|Sphider2|spider|Spider.TerraNautic.net|SpiderEngine|SpiderKU|SpiderMan|Spinn3r|Spinne|sportcrew-Bot|spyder3.microsys.com|sqlmap|Squid-Prefetch|SquidClamAV_Redirector|Sqworm|SrevBot|sslbot|SSM\ Agent|StackRambler|StarDownloader|statbot|statcrawler|statedept-crawler|Steeler|STEGMANN-Bot|stero|Stripper|Stumbler|suchclip|sucker|SumeetBot|SumitBot|SummizeBot|SummizeFeedReader|SuperBot|superbot.com|SuperHTTP|SuperLumin|SuperPagesBot|Supybot|SURF|Surfbot|SurfControl|SurveyBot|suzuran|SWEBot|swish-e|SygolBot|SynapticWalker|Syntryx\ ANT\ Scout\ Chassis\ Pheromone|SystemSearch-robot|Szukacz).*$" />
      </conditions>
      <action type="CustomResponse" statusCode="403" statusReason="Forbidden" statusDescription="Forbidden" />
    </rule>
  </rules>
</rewrite>

More info:

http://www.blogtips.org/web-crawlers-love-the-good-but-kill-the-bad-and-the-ugly/ https://perishablepress.com/eight-ways-to-blacklist-with-apaches-mod_rewrite/

Answer 2

As explained in other answers the way to prevent bots from crawling a page is by using robots.txt. However based on your description this might not even be needed. Here is why:

In order for a page to be crawled it needs to be linked to. There are two ways for this to happen:

1. The page is linked in your root/front web page (i.e. the page shown by typing httpx://mysite.domain/). My understanding is this does not happen. The information you want out of search engines is only available from specific deep (secret?) URLs not linked in the web site.
2. The page is linked another web-site. I.e. someone posts the URL to the information in a different web-site. In this case if you want to prevent the content of the page being crawled you need to use robots.txt, however the URL itself will be indexed in the search engine as this is information in a different web page.

The question then is how likely is option 2? For an example of public URLs that are not indexed unless published by a third party see dropbox/google drive/one drive URLs used for sharing to everyone. The URL usually includes a GUID which by definition is practically impossible to guess or brute force.

Answer 3

No, it cant be achieved by web config file. Dealing with search bots is done with robots.txt, its pretty simple solution. As written above, crawlers cannot see your web config file.

But, in code you can determine that HttpUserAgent is google bot, after you determine that, u dont write content to web page, just send Response code 404, or which i think is better, code 410.

Im not 100% behind above solution because there was no need to use that, but logically i think that would do the same. And you would just waste google energy to crawl your page :)

Answer 4

Web.config is obviously not accessible to users or crawlers. You should be able to create a route "/robots.txt", if your application resides in the root folder of the website, and return the text that normally should be inside that file from a controller, OWIN middleware or HTTP handler. But why?