Is Microsoft testing a spider?

• Jun. 2, 2003

One of the things I do on a regular basis is pick a client at random and check their log reports.  After all, you'd be amazed at what information this seemingly simple report can show you.

We told you a while back how you can detect hack attempts through log analysis and how to view log files to find server issues which can affect rank.  Well today I found something else interesting.  A single entry called "MicrosoftPrototypeCrawler"

This showed up in the "spiders" section of the log report and it does have a valid Microsoft IP address.  Therefore one must assume that Microsoft is indeed forging ahead with their plans to develop their own brand of search.  We brought news that Microsoft was going to develop their own MSN search and now the proof is in the logs. 

Rob Sullivan
Production Supervisor
Searchengineposition.com
Search Engine Positioning
specialists