Why Enable Bot Fight Mode?
Bot Fight Mode is a free Cloudflare feature designed to identify and block malicious bots. Here's why you should enable it for your PHP site that's experiencing fake registrations:
Key Benefits:
Blocks Malicious Bots Automatically
- Stops bots trying to mass-register accounts
- Prevents content scraping and spam submissions
- Reduces server load from automated attacks
Consumes Attacker Resources
- Instead of just blocking, it serves computationally expensive challenges
- Wastes attacker's CPU/bandwidth resources
- Makes large-scale attacks impractical
Zero Configuration Required
- Works out-of-the-box with machine learning
- Continuously updated with new bot signatures
- No maintenance needed
Protects Your Registration Endpoint
- Exactly what you need for your
/deepsound-login.php issue
- Stops bots before they reach your server
- Complements your code-level rate limiting
How to Enable Bot Fight Mode
Step-by-Step Guide:
Log in to Cloudflare Dashboard
Navigate to Bots Section
Click on Security tab in top menu
Select Bots from the left sidebar
Enable Bot Fight Mode
Verify it's Working
- After enabling, you'll see statistics in the same section
- Check "Bot Analytics" to see blocked traffic
- Look for "Automated" and "Likely automated" traffic being challenged
What Happens After Enabling:
When a bot hits your site:
1. Cloudflare analyzes the request behavior
2. If identified as malicious bot:
- Serves an interstitial challenge page
- Requires JavaScript execution
- Wastes bot's computational resources
3. Legitimate users pass through normally
4. Your PHP server never sees the malicious traffic
Important Notes:
- Free Feature: Yes, Bot Fight Mode is completely free on all Cloudflare plans
- No False Positives: It's designed to only target malicious bots, not legitimate users or search engines
- Works with Other Rules: Complements your WAF and custom rate limiting rules
- Instant Effect: Protection starts immediately after toggling on
Monitoring Bot Activity:
After enabling, you can monitor effectiveness:
- Go to Security > Settings > Bots
- Filter by "Bot traffic", turn on Bot fight mode
- See metrics like:
- Total bot requests blocked
- Types of bots detected
- Top bot IPs attempting attacks
