Why Websites See Some VPN Users As Robots

If you use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), you might be wondering why websites ask you to prove you’re not a robot. Why do websites see some VPN users as potential robots? There is one reason.

Suspicion Of DDoS Attack

VPNs hide your IP address by displaying a different one in its place online, giving you the privilege to use the internet confidentially. Some VPNs achieve this by allowing you to use some of their owned IP addresses. However, since other devices might be sharing a specific IP address with you, the website you want to access could easily suspect a DDoS attack.

What Are DDoS Attacks?

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks occur when a collection of devices work together to overload a server with internet traffic. The primary goal is to disrupt the normal flow of traffic, causing the server to either respond slowly to legitimate requests or become too overwhelmed to handle them efficiently. Malicious actors execute such attacks by using botnets, which are groups of devices owned by unsuspecting individuals.

RELATED: How To Access Twitter In Nigeria, Using A VPN App, Even Amidst The Current Ban Of The Social Media Platform

To understand why websites see some VPN users as robots, you have to understand how botnets are made and used.

How Hackers and Others Weave Botnets

According to antivirus experts Kaspersky Labs, botnets are woven in three stages:

1. Prep and Expose: this is when malicious actors try to make people download their malware.
2. Infect: once downloaded, the malware infects the computer.
3. Activate: those actors include the computer in their botnets (also called “army” or “bots”).

Why Websites Fear Botnets

Websites are scared of the different bad things botnets can be used for. Botnets can be used to extort money and other things from companies and to gain unfair advantages in a highly competitive sphere. These bots reduce the quality of service websites render and thereby make them less desirable.

How This Fear Affects Users of the Internet

If a website suspects you might be a robot, it would ask you to solve a CAPTCHA or two, delaying you. Your browsing experience can be made unpleasant further by the number of sites asking you to solve puzzles before you can access their contents. Sometimes, a website might ask you to do this multiple times during a visit.

Websites see some users as robots because their IP addresses look identical to those of other people accessing the server through a VPN. To avoid being mistaken for a robot, use a paid VPN that provides unique IP addresses.

Now that you know why websites see some VPN users as robots, you understand why you have to solve those ever-changing puzzles.