What is an All In One (AIO) bot?
An All In One (AIO) bot is a type of sneaker bot that is used for buying sneakers from more than one website.
This type of malicious bot does all things a human would do but in a faster, smarter and more efficient way, they offer “all in one” solutions. They are much more reliable than regular bots, especially for getting limited release sneakers. Due to the number of people interested in using these bots, they are often only available for use by invite.
If your eCommerce business is regularly targeted by AIO bots and other sneaker bots, it can negatively impact your brand image, and you will loyal customers as a result.
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How AIO bots work
An AIO bot is responsible for making web requests to multiple websites very quickly, using a range of proxies, in order to get the product you want. They can then be used for a number of different tasks, such as checking product stock, placing an order and keeping track of the whole process.
AIO bots are very good at making multiple requests in parallel and they often have access to more proxies than non-AIO bots do. Wherever possible, AIO bots will try to use a proxy on your local network or one which is owned by the brand website itself (these are called “capture” or “backdoor” proxies).
What makes AIO bots so popular among cybercriminals
The popularity of All in One bots in the past few years has skyrocketed, especially amongst cybercriminals because they don’t need any technical skills to run them. Cybercriminals who are new to hacking can usefully deploy AIO bot as a service (Bot-as-a-Service) and generate revenue through the “rental” of this malicious software tool for profit.
Additionally, there is a huge demand for these services from people outside the world of crime, as well as those that want to get access to limited release sneakers that would usually be inaccessible without help. These sneaker lovers are willing to pay out large amounts of money and even resorting to selling personal items just for a pair of shoes.
Why should my eCommerce business care about AIO bots
If your eCommerce business is regularly targeted by AIO bots and other sneaker bots, it can negatively impact your brand image, and you will loyal customers as a result.
The fraudulent orders could be placed very quickly and might make it seem like you have higher sales than you actually do, which can make genuine customers question the quality of your products, or have them miss out on limited stock items.
How to know if someone is using an AIO bot
Checking product stock levels on your website is one of the best ways to detect whether there’s any kind of bot activity going on. However, even though you can’t stop orders from being placed, it’s important to monitor the trends and look for anything which might be suspicious.
How you can protect yourself against AIO bots
It’s important to protect your website from these bots as they can affect the performance of other customers’ orders and can make it harder for genuine buyers to place an order.
The best thing you can do is require a phone number during checkout, this way when someone places an order using one of these bots their details will be sent straight to you so that you know who placed the order (and where they are based), allowing you more control over whether or not they get through.
You should also check that the customer has entered all their details correctly at checkout so that there are no errors in any secondary processing. You could even make this mandatory if there have been too many orders with errors recently.
Are AIO bots illegal?
All In One bots are not illegal. However, their use goes against the terms and conditions of most websites.
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Frequently asked questions about AIO bots
What is the best way to stop AIO bots?
The best solution is to require a phone number during checkout, this will help ensure that you know who placed an order and can take action as necessary.
Do I have to let people use All In One (AIO) bots on my eCommerce website?
It’s important to be aware that third-party companies are offering products like these with unethical intentions and could damage your business if their services are used. If you do allow bots then it could mean accepting orders from all over the world when there might only be 10 pairs of shoes available in each size. This type of bot makes it easy for fraudulent customers to place unlimited orders which they wouldn’t usually be able to do. You are likely to receive complaints and negative feedback as a result of this.
How can I stop AIO bots from spamming my website?
If you don’t require a phone number during checkout then there are some other steps you can take to avoid having orders placed on AIO bots altogether. Firstly, it’s important that you only show products that are in stock if a customer places an order using one of these systems – they make it easy to add items to the cart which aren’t currently available but this means they might end up buying shoes without knowing for sure whether or not they’ll be able to get them. You could also use one product identifier per item instead of just assigning an ID when the item is created, this will help ensure that you don’t accidentally display out of stock items and will keep your customers more satisfied.
Talk to our team of cyber-security experts today to discover more about our pioneering approach to bot management to help you detect All in One (AIO) bots and defend against them.
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