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Override Rate Limit and Perform Expert Web Scraping

Emily Chen
Emily Chen

Advanced Data Extraction Specialist

23-Sep-2024

A vital tool for gathering online data is web scraping. The procedure may become really complicated, especially when you take into account all the obstacles and requirements you must meet. One of them is the rate limit, which, if you're not careful, may quickly lead to your account being blocked.

How does it operate, then, and what can your spider do to prevent it? This post will explain all there is to know about rate limits and how to get around them while scraping.

What Does a Web Scraping Rate Limit Mean?

The maximum number of requests you may submit within a specific time frame is known as the rate limit. It's the most calls you are able to make while using APIs. Stated differently, you are unable to send requests exceeding a resource limit.

You may see the following error messages if you go on:

  • Too many requests are coming from this IP address;
  • IP Address Has Ended Its Allotted Rate.

Rate limitation is used by WAF service providers like Cloudflare, Akamai, and Datadome to bolster security. In the interim, it is used by API providers such as Amazon to regulate data flow and avoid abuse.
Let's examine its operation:

Let's say the web server has restrictions on you. The server returns 429: Too Many Requests when your scraper hits the rate limit.

Numerous techniques exist for rate-limiting. This article will examine practical applications, though. These are the most common types:

  • First method of rate restriction is IP rate limiting. just links the user's IP address to the quantity of requests
  • API Rate Limits: Typically, using an API key is mandated by API providers. Then, they have the option to restrict how many calls you may place in a given period of time
  • Geographic Rate Limit: You can also establish restrictions for a nation or a particular area
  • Rate Limiting according to User Session: After session cookies are created, your request rate is restricted by WAF suppliers like Akamai
  • Rate restriction according to HTTP requests: Certain HTTP headers and cookies are supported by Cloudflare for rate restriction. TLS fingerprints can also be used to implement a limitation.

Why Are APIs Rate Limited?

To save the web server from becoming overloaded, many are limited. Additionally, it offers more defense against DDoS assaults and malevolent bots. These attacks either totally stop the API's operation or prevent it from being used by authorized users.

Why Do Websites Use Rate Limiting?

Once more, the main goal is to prevent server overloading and lessen the likelihood of assaults. But even with the best of intentions, scraping might lead to a limit runaway. This is done in order to manage the server-side data flow.

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How to Bypass the Rate Limits When Web Scraping

What steps can you take to prevent web scraping rate limits? The following tips and techniques may be useful:

  • Making Use of Proxy Servers
  • Employing Particular Request Headers
  • Modifying the Request Headers of HTTP

As you are aware, the IP-based method is the most commonly used restricting technique. Therefore, we advise utilizing proxy servers. Let's first consider every possibility:

Utilizing Particular Headers in Requests

We can fake IP on the backend using a number of headers. When a CDN distributes the material, you may also try them out:

  • X-Forwarded-Host: This one uses the Host HTTP request header to identify the original host that the client requested. Using a large list of hostnames, rate limitation may be circumvented. A URL can be given in this header
  • X-Forwarded-For: This specifies the IP address from which a client connecting via a proxy to a web server originated. The IP addresses of the proxy servers that are being utilized for the connection must be specified. It is feasible to brute-force using a list of IPs or pass a single address.

The client's IP address is specified in the headers below. They might not be used in every service, though. Attempt your luck by changing the address!

  • X-Client-IP
  • X-Remote-IP
  • X-Remote-Addr

Modifying the Request Headers of HTTP

Bypassing rate restriction, requests can be sent with randomized HTTP headers. Headers are used by a lot of websites and WAF providers to stop malicious bots. To get around the restrictions, you can randomly assign them, much like User-Agent. It's a common scraping technique.

Ultimate Solution: Proxy Servers

A proxy server forwards your request to itself when you utilize it. After receiving the response, it sends the information to you. As there is always another proxy available, you won't have to cope with a rate-limited one.

Because of this, proxies are the best way to get around IP rate limitation. Although there are free and public servers available, WAF vendors and websites typically block them.

Let's examine the two categories of proxy servers:

  • Residential Proxies: Internet service providers assign IP addresses. Because they are connected to a physical address, they are far more dependable than data center ones. The main disadvantage is the cost: superior servers are more expensive
  • Datacenter Proxies: These proxies are given out on a business basis. They are often reported by websites and WAF services and lack a unique address. They are therefore less dependable but more reasonably priced than the previous choice.

Another option is to utilize a smart rotating proxy, which will select a different residential proxy server at random each time you submit a request.

Conclusion

You now have a snippet to make requests from random IP addresses, congratulations!

It is challenging to implement a complete proxy rotator that is appropriate for scraping. You can utilize the Scrapeless API to save yourself some trouble. It comes with intelligent rotating proxies that you can utilize with only one URL to automatically use. Get your free API key by registering now!

At Scrapeless, we only access publicly available data while strictly complying with applicable laws, regulations, and website privacy policies. The content in this blog is for demonstration purposes only and does not involve any illegal or infringing activities. We make no guarantees and disclaim all liability for the use of information from this blog or third-party links. Before engaging in any scraping activities, consult your legal advisor and review the target website's terms of service or obtain the necessary permissions.

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