ShieldSquare functions in two modes namely,


 Monitor Mode:

  • In Monitor mode, asynchronous calls are made to the ShieldSquare API that sends various parameters about the visitor which allow ShieldSquare engine to analyze the bot traffic and passively collect the data.

  • In this mode, all type of traffic is by default set to allow to access your website. No action can be taken against the bots.


 Active Mode:

 This mode allows you to take action against bots. There are two types of protection in active mode

 

    Real-time protection:

  • This allows you to take real-time action on the bots having malicious intent.

  • In Real-time protection, synchronous calls are made to ShieldSquare engine which responds with response code (0-Allow, 2-Captcha, 3-Block, 4-Feed Fake Data) in real time and you can take required action based on the response code.

  • This is recommended when you want to take action against bots at server/application level.


    Feed-based protection:

  • Feed based protection makes asynchronous calls to the ShieldSquare API and allows you to take action on bots.

  • ShieldSquare engine detects bots and sends those signatures' feed regularly to you so that you can take action against the bots using this Bot IP feed.

  • This is recommended if you are using WAF or if the complete web page content is cached at CDN level or if you have cache servers implemented within the network.

 

ShieldSquare engine has self-learning capabilities. We recommend you to integrate your website in Monitor mode (first) to allow the engine to fine tune its rules depending on the traffic on your website. After a few days of analysis and tuning, you can migrate to Active mode.