<s>
An	O
Internet	B-Protocol
bot	I-Protocol
,	O
web	B-Protocol
robot	I-Protocol
,	O
robot	O
or	O
simply	O
bot	B-Protocol
,	O
is	O
a	O
software	B-Application
application	I-Application
that	O
runs	O
automated	O
tasks	O
(	O
scripts	B-Language
)	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
usually	O
with	O
the	O
intent	O
to	O
imitate	O
human	O
activity	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
messaging	B-Protocol
,	O
on	O
a	O
large	O
scale	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Internet	B-Protocol
bot	I-Protocol
plays	O
the	O
client	B-Protocol
role	O
in	O
a	O
client	B-Operating_System
–	I-Operating_System
server	I-Operating_System
model	I-Operating_System
whereas	O
the	O
server	B-Application
role	O
is	O
usually	O
played	O
by	O
web	B-Application
servers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Protocol
bots	I-Protocol
are	O
able	O
to	O
perform	O
tasks	O
,	O
that	O
are	O
simple	O
and	O
repetitive	O
,	O
much	O
faster	O
than	O
a	O
person	O
could	O
ever	O
do	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
extensive	O
use	O
of	O
bots	B-Protocol
is	O
for	O
web	B-Application
crawling	I-Application
,	O
in	O
which	O
an	O
automated	O
script	O
fetches	O
,	O
analyzes	O
and	O
files	O
information	O
from	O
web	B-Application
servers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
than	O
half	O
of	O
all	O
web	O
traffic	O
is	O
generated	O
by	O
bots	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Efforts	O
by	O
web	B-Application
servers	I-Application
to	O
restrict	O
bots	B-Protocol
vary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
servers	O
have	O
a	O
robots.txt	O
file	O
that	O
contains	O
the	O
rules	O
governing	O
bot	B-Protocol
behavior	O
on	O
that	O
server	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
bot	B-Protocol
that	O
does	O
not	O
follow	O
the	O
rules	O
could	O
,	O
in	O
theory	O
,	O
be	O
denied	O
access	O
to	O
or	O
removed	O
from	O
the	O
affected	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
would	O
be	O
no	O
way	O
to	O
enforce	O
the	O
rules	O
or	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
a	O
bot	B-Protocol
's	O
creator	O
or	O
implementer	O
reads	O
or	O
acknowledges	O
the	O
robots.txt	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
bots	B-Protocol
are	O
"	O
good	O
"	O
–	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
spiders	I-Application
–	O
while	O
others	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
launch	O
malicious	O
attacks	O
on	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
political	O
campaigns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
bots	B-Protocol
communicate	O
with	O
users	O
of	O
Internet-based	O
services	O
,	O
via	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
(	O
IM	O
)	O
,	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Relay	I-Protocol
Chat	I-Protocol
(	O
IRC	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
or	O
other	O
web	O
interfaces	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	O
bots	B-Protocol
and	O
Twitter	B-Protocol
bots	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
chatbots	B-Application
may	O
allow	O
people	O
to	O
ask	O
questions	O
in	O
plain	O
English	O
and	O
then	O
formulate	O
a	O
response	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
bots	B-Protocol
can	O
often	O
handle	O
reporting	O
weather	O
,	O
zip	O
code	O
information	O
,	O
sports	O
scores	O
,	O
currency	O
or	O
other	O
unit	O
conversions	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Others	O
are	O
used	O
for	O
entertainment	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
SmarterChild	B-Protocol
on	O
AOL	B-Protocol
Instant	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
and	O
MSN	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
roles	O
of	O
an	O
IRC	B-Protocol
bot	B-Protocol
may	O
be	O
to	O
listen	O
on	O
a	O
conversation	O
channel	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
comment	O
on	O
certain	O
phrases	O
uttered	O
by	O
the	O
participants	O
(	O
based	O
on	O
pattern	B-Language
matching	I-Language
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
sometimes	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
help	O
service	O
for	O
new	O
users	O
or	O
to	O
censor	O
profanity	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Social	O
bots	B-Protocol
are	O
sets	O
of	O
algorithms	O
that	O
take	O
on	O
the	O
duties	O
of	O
repetitive	O
sets	O
of	O
instructions	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
establish	O
a	O
service	O
or	O
connection	O
among	O
social	O
networking	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
various	O
designs	O
of	O
networking	O
bots	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
are	O
chat	B-Protocol
bots	I-Protocol
,	O
algorithms	O
designed	O
to	O
converse	O
with	O
a	O
human	O
user	O
,	O
and	O
social	O
bots	B-Protocol
,	O
algorithms	O
designed	O
to	O
mimic	O
human	O
behaviors	O
to	O
converse	O
with	O
patterns	O
similar	O
to	O
those	O
of	O
a	O
human	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1960s	O
Joseph	O
Weizenbaum	O
created	O
ELIZA	B-Application
,	O
a	O
natural	O
language	O
processing	O
computer	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ELIZA	B-Application
inspired	O
computer	O
programmers	O
to	O
design	O
tasked	O
programs	O
that	O
can	O
match	O
behavior	O
patterns	O
to	O
their	O
sets	O
of	O
instruction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
natural	O
language	O
processing	O
has	O
become	O
an	O
influencing	O
factor	O
to	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
artificial	O
intelligence	O
and	O
social	O
bots	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reports	O
of	O
political	O
interferences	O
in	O
recent	O
elections	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
2016	O
US	O
and	O
2017	O
UK	O
general	O
elections	O
,	O
have	O
set	O
the	O
notion	O
of	O
bots	B-Protocol
being	O
more	O
prevalent	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
ethics	O
that	O
is	O
challenged	O
between	O
the	O
bot	B-Protocol
's	O
design	O
and	O
the	O
bot	B-Protocol
's	O
designer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Emilio	O
Ferrara	O
,	O
a	O
computer	O
scientist	O
from	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Southern	O
California	O
reporting	O
on	O
Communications	O
of	O
the	O
ACM	O
,	O
said	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
resources	O
available	O
to	O
implement	O
fact-checking	O
and	O
information	O
verification	O
results	O
in	O
the	O
large	O
volumes	O
of	O
false	O
reports	O
and	O
claims	O
made	O
about	O
these	O
bots	B-Protocol
on	O
social	O
media	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
Twitter	O
,	O
most	O
of	O
these	O
bots	B-Protocol
are	O
programmed	O
with	O
search	O
filter	O
capabilities	O
that	O
target	O
keywords	O
and	O
phrases	O
favoring	O
political	O
agendas	O
and	O
then	O
retweet	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
attention	O
of	O
bots	B-Protocol
is	O
programmed	O
to	O
spread	O
unverified	O
information	O
throughout	O
the	O
social	O
media	O
platforms	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
a	O
challenge	O
that	O
programmers	O
face	O
in	O
the	O
wake	O
of	O
a	O
hostile	O
political	O
climate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Bot	B-Protocol
Effect	O
is	O
what	O
Ferrera	O
reported	O
as	O
the	O
socialization	O
of	O
bots	B-Protocol
and	O
human	O
users	O
creating	O
a	O
vulnerability	O
to	O
the	O
leaking	O
of	O
personal	O
information	O
and	O
polarizing	O
influences	O
outside	O
the	O
ethics	O
of	O
the	O
bot	B-Protocol
's	O
code	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
confirmed	O
by	O
Guillory	O
Kramer	O
in	O
his	O
study	O
where	O
he	O
observed	O
the	O
behavior	O
of	O
emotionally	O
volatile	O
users	O
and	O
the	O
impact	O
the	O
bots	B-Protocol
have	O
on	O
them	O
,	O
altering	O
their	O
perception	O
of	O
reality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
great	O
deal	O
of	O
controversy	O
about	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
bots	B-Protocol
in	O
an	O
automated	O
trading	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Auction	O
website	O
eBay	B-Application
took	O
legal	O
action	O
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
suppress	O
a	O
third-party	O
company	O
from	O
using	O
bots	B-Protocol
to	O
look	O
for	O
bargains	O
on	O
its	O
site	O
;	O
this	O
approach	O
backfired	O
on	O
eBay	B-Application
and	O
attracted	O
the	O
attention	O
of	O
further	O
bots	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
United	O
Kingdom-based	O
bet	O
exchange	O
,	O
Betfair	O
,	O
saw	O
such	O
a	O
large	O
amount	O
of	O
traffic	O
coming	O
from	O
bots	B-Protocol
that	O
it	O
launched	O
a	O
WebService	O
API	O
aimed	O
at	O
bot	B-Protocol
programmers	O
,	O
through	O
which	O
it	O
can	O
actively	O
manage	O
bot	B-Protocol
interactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bot	B-Protocol
farms	O
are	O
known	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
online	O
app	B-Application
stores	I-Application
,	O
like	O
the	O
Apple	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
and	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
,	O
to	O
manipulate	O
positions	O
or	O
increase	O
positive	O
ratings/reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
rapidly	O
growing	O
,	O
benign	O
form	O
of	O
internet	B-Protocol
bot	I-Protocol
is	O
the	O
chatbot	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
2016	O
,	O
when	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
allowed	O
developers	O
to	O
place	O
chatbots	B-Application
on	O
their	O
platform	O
,	O
there	O
has	O
been	O
an	O
exponential	O
growth	O
of	O
their	O
use	O
on	O
that	O
app	O
alone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
30,000	O
bots	B-Protocol
were	O
created	O
for	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
in	O
the	O
first	O
six	O
months	O
,	O
rising	O
to	O
100,000	O
by	O
September	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Avi	O
Ben	O
Ezra	O
,	O
CTO	O
of	O
SnatchBot	O
,	O
told	O
Forbes	O
that	O
evidence	O
from	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
their	O
chatbot	B-Application
building	O
platform	O
pointed	O
to	O
a	O
near	O
future	O
saving	O
of	O
millions	O
of	O
hours	O
of	O
human	O
labor	O
as	O
'	O
live	O
chat	O
 '	O
on	O
websites	O
was	O
replaced	O
with	O
bots	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Companies	O
use	O
internet	B-Protocol
bots	I-Protocol
to	O
increase	O
online	O
engagement	O
and	O
streamline	O
communication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Companies	O
often	O
use	O
bots	B-Protocol
to	O
cut	O
down	O
on	O
cost	O
;	O
instead	O
of	O
employing	O
people	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
consumers	O
,	O
companies	O
have	O
developed	O
new	O
ways	O
to	O
be	O
efficient	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
chatbots	B-Application
are	O
used	O
to	O
answer	O
customers	O
 '	O
questions	O
:	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
Domino	O
's	O
developed	O
a	O
chatbot	B-Application
that	O
can	O
take	O
orders	O
via	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chatbots	B-Application
allow	O
companies	O
to	O
allocate	O
their	O
employees	O
 '	O
time	O
to	O
other	O
tasks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
example	O
of	O
the	O
malicious	O
use	O
of	O
bots	B-Protocol
is	O
the	O
coordination	O
and	O
operation	O
of	O
an	O
automated	O
attack	O
on	O
networked	O
computers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
denial-of-service	O
attack	O
by	O
a	O
botnet	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Protocol
bots	I-Protocol
or	O
web	O
bots	B-Protocol
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
commit	O
click	O
fraud	O
and	O
more	O
recently	O
have	O
appeared	O
around	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
games	O
as	O
computer	O
game	O
bots	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
category	O
is	O
represented	O
by	O
spambots	B-Protocol
,	O
internet	B-Protocol
bots	I-Protocol
that	O
attempt	O
to	O
spam	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
content	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
usually	O
adding	O
advertising	O
links	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
than	O
94.2	O
%	O
of	O
websites	O
have	O
experienced	O
a	O
bot	B-Protocol
attack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
malicious	O
bots	B-Protocol
(	O
and	O
botnets	B-Architecture
)	O
of	O
the	O
following	O
types	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Registration	O
bots	B-Protocol
that	O
sign	O
up	O
a	O
specific	O
email	O
address	O
to	O
numerous	O
services	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
have	O
the	O
confirmation	O
messages	O
flood	O
the	O
email	O
inbox	O
and	O
distract	O
from	O
important	O
messages	O
indicating	O
a	O
security	O
breach	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Botnets	B-Architecture
,	O
zombie	O
computers	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bots	B-Protocol
that	O
buy	O
up	O
higher-demand	O
seats	O
for	O
concerts	O
,	O
particularly	O
by	O
ticket	O
brokers	O
who	O
resell	O
the	O
tickets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
bots	B-Protocol
run	O
through	O
the	O
purchase	O
process	O
of	O
entertainment	O
event-ticketing	O
sites	O
and	O
obtain	O
better	O
seats	O
by	O
pulling	O
as	O
many	O
seats	O
back	O
as	O
it	O
can	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bots	B-Protocol
that	O
are	O
used	O
in	O
massively	B-Protocol
multiplayer	I-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
role-playing	I-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
to	O
farm	O
for	O
resources	O
that	O
would	O
otherwise	O
take	O
significant	O
time	O
or	O
effort	O
to	O
obtain	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
a	O
concern	O
for	O
online	O
in-game	O
economies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bots	B-Protocol
that	O
increase	O
traffic	O
counts	O
on	O
analytics	O
reporting	O
to	O
extract	O
money	O
from	O
advertisers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bots	B-Protocol
used	O
on	O
internet	O
forums	O
to	O
automatically	O
post	O
inflammatory	O
or	O
nonsensical	O
posts	O
to	O
disrupt	O
the	O
forum	O
and	O
anger	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
in	O
2012	O
,	O
journalist	O
Percy	O
von	O
Lipinski	O
reported	O
that	O
he	O
discovered	O
millions	O
of	O
bots	B-Protocol
or	O
botted	O
or	O
pinged	O
views	O
at	O
CNN	B-Architecture
iReport	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CNN	B-Architecture
iReport	O
quietly	O
removed	O
millions	O
of	O
views	O
from	O
the	O
account	O
of	O
iReporter	O
Chris	O
Morrow	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
not	O
known	O
if	O
the	O
ad	O
revenue	O
received	O
by	O
CNN	B-Architecture
from	O
the	O
fake	O
views	O
was	O
ever	O
returned	O
to	O
the	O
advertisers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
widely	O
used	O
anti-bot	O
technique	O
is	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
CAPTCHA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
captchas	O
are	O
not	O
foolproof	O
in	O
preventing	O
bots	B-Protocol
,	O
as	O
they	O
can	O
often	O
be	O
circumvented	O
by	O
computer	O
character	O
recognition	O
,	O
security	O
holes	O
,	O
and	O
outsourcing	O
captcha	O
solving	O
to	O
cheap	O
laborers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
two	O
main	O
concerns	O
with	O
bots	B-Protocol
:	O
clarity	O
and	O
face-to-face	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cultural	O
background	O
of	O
human	O
beings	O
affects	O
the	O
way	O
they	O
communicate	O
with	O
social	O
bots	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
people	O
believe	O
that	O
bots	B-Protocol
are	O
vastly	O
less	O
intelligent	O
than	O
humans	O
and	O
so	O
they	O
are	O
not	O
worthy	O
of	O
our	O
respect	O
.	O
</s>
