We’re excited to introduce another new access control feature in the VIP Dashboard. You can now block requests based on the user agent, adding an additional layer of protection for your application powered by the VIP CDN.
What’s New?
This feature allows you to block requests from specific user agents, such as AI crawlers and unwanted bots, before they even reach your application. With better control of the traffic accessing your site, you can ensure that unwanted traffic doesn’t impact your app’s performance.
Rules for managing User Agent blocks can be managed in the VIP Dashboard, from the User Agents page, located under the Security Controls section of the VIP Dashboard. Requests can be blocked based on exact or partial matches of user agent strings.
Why This Matters
- Edge-Based Denial: Requests are blocked at the VIP CDN, reducing application load and ensuring faster response times for legitimate users.
- No Deployments Required: Easily enable and manage this feature directly from the VIP Dashboard — no code changes or deployments needed.
- Granular Control: Set rules to block full or partial user-agent strings for better control over your traffic.
- Independent of IP Restrictions: Use this feature alone or combine it with IP address restrictions for enhanced security.
If you’re currently using the VIP_Request_Block class in your application code to manage user agent blocks, we’ve created a guide to help you transition to this new, easier method of restricting access.
Find out more about this feature in our documentation.