OP, Internet Connection or Bot?

#1

Does anyone happen to know what CASPERXP stands for? This is in my access log: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; CASPERXP)
Not knowing what the last part stands for in the parentheses and curious about the name, I did a search only to find a backup/copy utility by the same name (well, almost - I found Casper XP).
IP: 13.13.16.1 - -
IP location: United States - New York - Rochester - Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.
It’s a little weird. It first came in as Mozilla/3.01 (compatible;)
Then switched to Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; CASPERXP)
Any thoughts?

TIX,

Hope

#2

A Google search reveals that Casper XP is a backup software for Windows XP, released by www.fssdev.com.
Cheers,
marsbar

#3

Thanks Mars but I already knew that. I was wondering if anyone else heard of CASPERXP and why I’d found it in my access logs on the server. I considered it could be the utility “Casper XP”, but set that aside until I heard confirmation - that’s why I posted.

People can’t copy/backup people’s website over the internet or else that would be considered a bot (and a bad one?), wouldn’t it? I’ve heard of a few, one of them being WebCopier, also one of several I’ve blocked in my .htaccess but hadn’t heard of CASPERXP.

Does anyone have any ideas about this?

Thanks,
Hope

#4

Oops–I am awfully sorry I didn’t read your first post properly before replying!

  • marsbar
#5

[quote][i]Oops–I am awfully sorry I didn’t read your first post properly before replying!

  • marsbar[/i]

[/quote]

No worries mate! But after seeing your Username, for some reason I’m having a craving for chocolate. Possibly because I’m trying to stay off of it… LOL!

Hope

#6

People can’t copy/backup people’s website over the internet or else that would be considered a bot (and a bad one?), wouldn’t it?

You don’t need a “bot” to download a copy of someone’s web site, and there’s nothing inherently bad about doing so. For example, I used wget just this morning to download a copy of the HTML-format Subversion book.

The CASPERXP in your user-agent log is almost certainly someone with Casper XP installed. I’ve never heard of it before, so I don’t know what it does with regard to the web, but any application can modify IE’s user-agent string. Additionally, it’s trivial to do yourself. You can put whatever you want in there.

I can just about guarantee this is nothing to be concerned about.

–
If you want useful replies, ask smart questions.

#7

You don’t need a “bot” to download a copy of someone’s web site, and there’s nothing inherently bad about doing so. For example, I used wget just this morning to download a copy of the HTML-format Subversion book.

I guess I shouldn’t have used the generic form “bot”. Sorry, I’m not a techie and don’t know the individual classifications/technical terms for these programs. To me, they are “bots” if they have the capability of copying and downloading an entire site. If that term is incorrect then I should probably sit down one day and learn the differences. I understand not all bots (or similar programs) are bad. In your case, I wouldn’t consider it a bad use of the wget software but in other instances, I would. This thread on Webmasterworld pretty much sums up where I’m at. I just don’t like bandwidth hogs and possible content thieves and like to keep up to date on which ones are doing what. Not that it helps much - I realize it’s a losing battle, but I feel it’s good idea try to protect oneself. As you said, it’s probably nothing to worry about but being curious, I thought I’d ask. Thanks for your reply.

#8