%PDF-1.4 %âãÏÓ 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Pages 2 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Count 2 /Kids [5 0 R 7 0 R] >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /BaseFont /Helvetica >> endobj 4 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold >> endobj 5 0 obj << /Type /Page /Parent 2 0 R /MediaBox [0 0 595.28 841.89] /Resources << /Font << /F1 3 0 R /F2 4 0 R >> >> /Contents 6 0 R >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Length 4970 >> stream BT /F2 22 Tf 0.06 0.08 0.12 rg 1 0 0 1 46 789.89 Tm (Understanding Bots and Their Different Uses as) Tj ET BT /F2 22 Tf 0.06 0.08 0.12 rg 1 0 0 1 46 762.89 Tm (well as Misuse) Tj ET BT /F2 11 Tf 0.72 0.14 0.18 rg 1 0 0 1 46 725.89 Tm (TechRounder PDF Edition) Tj ET BT /F1 9.5 Tf 0.36 0.39 0.46 rg 1 0 0 1 46 709.89 Tm (Live article:) Tj ET BT /F1 9.5 Tf 0.36 0.39 0.46 rg 1 0 0 1 46 697.39 Tm (https://www.techrounder.com/technology/understanding-bots-and-their-different-uses-as-well-as-misuse/) Tj ET q 0.82 0.85 0.9 RG 1 w 46 678.89 m 549.28 678.89 l S Q BT /F1 10 Tf 0.24 0.27 0.32 rg 1 0 0 1 46 666.89 Tm (By Vipin PG | Published May 18, 2021 | Updated January 4, 2026 | Format: Explainer | 3 min read) Tj ET BT /F2 13 Tf 0.72 0.14 0.18 rg 1 0 0 1 46 643.89 Tm (In brief) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 623.89 Tm (You've probably seen or heard about bots online. Many have been advertised for their useful) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 608.89 Tm (applications and efficiency.) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 583.89 Tm (You've probably seen or heard about bots online. Many have been advertised for their useful) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 568.89 Tm (applications and efficiency. In other cases, we find services adamantly asserting that they have a no) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 553.89 Tm (bot policy.) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 531.89 Tm (For example, SocialWick, a website that helps social media accounts boost their growth, continuously) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 516.89 Tm (assures its users that they do not use bots. It makes you wonder how bad they must be.) Tj ET BT /F2 15 Tf 0.08 0.1 0.14 rg 1 0 0 1 46 488.89 Tm (What is a Bot?) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 464.89 Tm (By definition, a bot is a software that can perform specific tasks repeatedly. The tasks are) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 449.89 Tm (performed and restarted without any human interaction. As with any software, the tasks depend on the) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 434.89 Tm (original code that was written. That is, if a programmer wrote a code to create a software to) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 419.89 Tm (repetitively check an email account for updates, that's all the code will do.) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 397.89 Tm (Instead, the programmer could choose the malicious route and create a software that repeatedly signs) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 382.89 Tm (out of an email account, effectively blocking the user from access. Of course, we're over) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 367.89 Tm (simplifying the types of tasks that bots do, for illustration purposes.) Tj ET BT /F2 15 Tf 0.08 0.1 0.14 rg 1 0 0 1 46 339.89 Tm (The Most Common \(Legal\) Uses Of Bots) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 315.89 Tm (Bots are actually meant to simulate the tasks that used to be performed by humans. The internet would) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 300.89 Tm (not be what it is today without bots, because search engines make excellent use of this type of) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 285.89 Tm (software to scan and index content over the internet. Imagine the time and manpower it would take to) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 270.89 Tm (do that by traditional means!) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 248.89 Tm (Other useful applications include chatbots that can hold a conversation reasonably well. These used to) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 233.89 Tm (be very obvious, and only specific phrases could get responses, but advances in machine learning) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 218.89 Tm (have created more complex bots that can be used in customer support fairly well for the most part.) Tj ET BT /F2 15 Tf 0.08 0.1 0.14 rg 1 0 0 1 46 190.89 Tm (Malicious Applications) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 166.89 Tm (Human history has proven that anything can either be used for good or for evil. The same concept of a) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 151.89 Tm (bot can be applied for many malicious uses., For example, content scrapers are software used in a) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 136.89 Tm (black hat manner to copy content from a website and steal it, without the website owner's permission.) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 121.89 Tm (In other instances, people have used bots for spam, or even for manipulation of stock prices.) Tj ET q 0.86 0.88 0.92 RG 1 w 46 42 m 549.28 42 l S Q BT /F1 8.4 Tf 0.42 0.45 0.5 rg 1 0 0 1 46 30 Tm (TechRounder | Page 1 of 2) Tj ET BT /F1 7.2 Tf 0.42 0.45 0.5 rg 1 0 0 1 46 19 Tm (https://www.techrounder.com/pdf/blog/understanding-bots-and-their-different-uses-as-well-as-misuse.pdf) Tj ET endstream endobj 7 0 obj << /Type /Page /Parent 2 0 R /MediaBox [0 0 595.28 841.89] /Resources << /Font << /F1 3 0 R /F2 4 0 R >> >> /Contents 8 0 R >> endobj 8 0 obj << /Length 2112 >> stream BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 789.89 Tm (There have been instances in the past, where governments have used bots to spam social media to) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 774.89 Tm (flood out anti-government messages. Others have used it to influence a public opinion prior to elections) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 759.89 Tm (in hopes of swaying votes towards a candidate.) Tj ET BT /F2 13 Tf 0.08 0.1 0.14 rg 1 0 0 1 46 731.89 Tm (Conclusion: Are Bots Good Or Bad?) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 709.89 Tm (In the end, a bot is simply a program and cannot be inherently good or bad. It is similar to asking a) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 694.89 Tm (question about fire: while it burns down buildings, it can also provide heat and cook food. Bot software) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 679.89 Tm (can be used for both white hat and black hat purposes, depending on the human behind its use.) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 657.89 Tm (Most websites these days have a specific policy about how bots can and cannot be used, to define the) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 642.89 Tm (lines between malicious and useful. People with malicious intent will likely ignore whatever rules are) Tj ET BT /F1 11 Tf 0.14 0.16 0.2 rg 1 0 0 1 46 627.89 Tm (in such a policy.) Tj ET BT /F2 13 Tf 0.08 0.1 0.14 rg 1 0 0 1 46 599.89 Tm (References) Tj ET BT /F1 10 Tf 0.18 0.2 0.24 rg 1 0 0 1 46 579.89 Tm (1. socialwick.com - https://www.socialwick.com/) Tj ET BT /F1 10 Tf 0.18 0.2 0.24 rg 1 0 0 1 46 562.39 Tm (2. moz.com - beginners-guide-to-seo / how-search-engines-operate -) Tj ET BT /F1 10 Tf 0.18 0.2 0.24 rg 1 0 0 1 46 548.89 Tm (https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo/how-search-engines-operate) Tj ET q 0.86 0.88 0.92 RG 1 w 46 42 m 549.28 42 l S Q BT /F1 8.4 Tf 0.42 0.45 0.5 rg 1 0 0 1 46 30 Tm (TechRounder | Page 2 of 2) Tj ET BT /F1 7.2 Tf 0.42 0.45 0.5 rg 1 0 0 1 46 19 Tm (https://www.techrounder.com/pdf/blog/understanding-bots-and-their-different-uses-as-well-as-misuse.pdf) Tj ET endstream endobj xref 0 9 0000000000 65535 f 0000000015 00000 n 0000000064 00000 n 0000000127 00000 n 0000000197 00000 n 0000000272 00000 n 0000000414 00000 n 0000005435 00000 n 0000005577 00000 n trailer << /Size 9 /Root 1 0 R >> startxref 7740 %%EOF