#  NodePing Drive-By's 

 

Strange visits from NodePing user agents make me wonder what is really going on. I didn't sign up for a server status service.

Running and maintaining servers is a tedious job. While it's possible to automate many processes, it is important to put eyeballs on the inner workings to determine if something has changed. The web is an evolving place, and as such, attack vectors are born and die as well. Eyeballs on log files can illuminate new trends and identify new attacks that may not be noticed by automated methods.

I spend hours every week looking through log files. While it's mind-numbing - it can sometimes be illuminating, and it can occasionally save the server from building issues.

Today, I was reading through the server access logs, and I noticed a recurring bot named "NodePing". Quick research identified this as a server status bot. I figured that it was my host running self status on their network....and that's cool! Then I decided to look up the IP address ranges, and that's where things got weird.

It wasn't my host checking up on my servers. It was a company in Moldova, and another in Pennsylvania. Two companies I've never heard of, never done business for or with - and they're monitoring my server. I hesitate to block IP addresses or ranges for things that are as benign as retrieving HTTP headers, but I'm not sure how to react to un-requested monitoring. This certainly uses some of my server resources, although not much. Where do they get by testing my server? And these aren't the only two. As I read log files, I keep running across more-and-more.

General weirdness.

After reviewing 2 hours of log files - 137 different IP address ranges are hitting me with these "NodePing" visits. I don't know what these shenanigans are getting at, but I shut it down. I can't think of any reason that 137 different companies should be pinging my server and checking its status. That's just 2 hours.

- [      email ](mailto:?subject=NodePing+Drive-By%27s&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.richeyweb.com%2Fblog%2Fhosting%2Fnodeping-drive-bys)
- [      facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.richeyweb.com%2Fblog%2Fhosting%2Fnodeping-drive-bys)
- [      x-twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=NodePing+Drive-By%27s%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.richeyweb.com%2Fblog%2Fhosting%2Fnodeping-drive-bys)
- [      linkedin ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.richeyweb.com%2Fblog%2Fhosting%2Fnodeping-drive-bys&title=NodePing+Drive-By%27s&summary=Strange+visits+from+NodePing+user+agents+make+me+w...)
- [      pinterest ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.richeyweb.com%2Fblog%2Fhosting%2Fnodeping-drive-bys&media=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.joomla.org%2Fimages%2Fjoomla-org-og.jpg&description=NodePing+Drive-By%27s)
 


 

   [  Previous article: Unintentional Downtime   Unintentional Downtime ](/blog/hosting/unintentional-downtime)  

##### We Value Your Privacy

 

We use cookies to enhance your experience and for traffic analysis. By continuing to visit this site you agree to our use of cookies.

[Privacy Policy](/privacy-policy)

 Details 

###### Google Tag Manager Items

- Ad Storage
- Ad User Data
- Ad Personalization
- Analytics Storage
- Functionality Storage
- Personalization Storage
- Security Storage
 
 

 

 

 

 

 Decline Accept
```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.richeyweb.com/#organization","name":"RicheyWeb","url":"https://www.richeyweb.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.richeyweb.com/images/logo/richeyweb.svg","contentUrl":"https://www.richeyweb.com/images/logo/richeyweb.svg","width":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","value":38,"unitCode":"PX"},"height":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","value":38,"unitCode":"PX"},"@id":"https://www.richeyweb.com/#logo"},"image":{"@id":"https://www.richeyweb.com/#logo"},"sameAs":["https://x.com/ComRicheyweb","https://www.facebook.com/RicheyWebDev/","https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxnVG8BwOvQRO7hVqNX7T2g","https://community.joomla.org/service-providers-directory/listings/115:richeyweb.html"],"description":"RicheyWeb is a custom software developer specializing in Joomla extensions.","ContactPoint":[{"@type":"ContactPoint","url":"https://www.richeyweb.com/contact-us","telephone":"903-873-8460","contactType":"Owner/Administrator","areaServed":["United States",{"@type":"Country","name":"United States","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30","https://g.co/kg/m/09c7w0"]},"European Union",{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"European Union","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q458","https://g.co/kg/m/0_6t_z8"]},"United Kingdom",{"@type":"Country","name":"United Kingdom","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q145","https://g.co/kg/m/07ssc"]},"Australia",{"@type":"Country","name":"Australia","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q408","https://g.co/kg/m/0chghy"]},"Canada",{"@type":"Country","name":"Canada","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16","https://g.co/kg/m/0d060g"]},"Russia",{"@type":"Country","name":"Russia","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q159","https://g.co/kg/m/06bnz"]},"China",{"@type":"Country","name":"China","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q148","https://g.co/kg/m/0d05w3"]}],"availableLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"ContactPoint","url":"https://www.richeyweb.com/bugs","telephone":"903-873-8460","contactType":"Technical Support","areaServed":["United States",{"@type":"Country","name":"United States","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30","https://g.co/kg/m/09c7w0"]},"European Union",{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"European Union","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q458","https://g.co/kg/m/0_6t_z8"]},"United Kingdom",{"@type":"Country","name":"United Kingdom","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q145","https://g.co/kg/m/07ssc"]},"Australia",{"@type":"Country","name":"Australia","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q408","https://g.co/kg/m/0chghy"]},"Canada",{"@type":"Country","name":"Canada","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16","https://g.co/kg/m/0d060g"]},"Russia",{"@type":"Country","name":"Russia","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q159","https://g.co/kg/m/06bnz"]},"China",{"@type":"Country","name":"China","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q148","https://g.co/kg/m/0d05w3"]}],"availableLanguage":"en"}],"knowsAbout":["Computer programming",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Computer programming","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_programming","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80006","https://g.co/kg/m/01mf_"]},"PHP",{"@type":"Thing","name":"PHP","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q59","https://g.co/kg/m/060kv"]},"JavaScript",{"@type":"Thing","name":"JavaScript","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2005","https://g.co/kg/m/02p97"]},"arduino","Computer forensics",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Computer forensics","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_forensics","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q878553","https://g.co/kg/m/02wxbd"]},"White hat",{"@type":"Thing","name":"White hat","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_hat_(computer_security)","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7995625","https://g.co/kg/m/03ns_5"]},"Search engine optimization",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Search engine optimization","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q180711","https://g.co/kg/m/019qb_"]},"Search engine marketing",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Search engine marketing","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_marketing","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q846132","https://g.co/kg/m/06mw8r"]},"Digital marketing",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Digital marketing","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_marketing","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1323528","https://g.co/kg/g/122hcnps"]},"Web hosting service",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Web hosting service","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_hosting_service","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5892272","https://g.co/kg/m/014pz4"]},"Email hosting service",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Email hosting service","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_hosting_service","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5368818","https://g.co/kg/m/09w60m"]},"Internet hosting service",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Internet hosting service","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_hosting_service","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1210425","https://g.co/kg/m/09w5yw"]},"Virtual hosting",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Virtual hosting","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_hosting","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q588365","https://g.co/kg/m/024mvh"]},"Web performance",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Web performance","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_performance","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7978612","https://g.co/kg/m/0gfj3f1"]},"Web content management system",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Web content management system","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_content_management_system","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q45211","https://g.co/kg/m/0615s2"]},"Content management system",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Content management system","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131093","https://g.co/kg/m/0k23c"]},"General Data Protection Regulation",{"@type":"Thing","name":"General Data Protection Regulation","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1172506","https://g.co/kg/m/0pk_7xs"]},"SERP",{"@type":"Thing","name":"SERP","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SERP","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2205811","https://g.co/kg/g/11c5szp7kc"]},"Artificial intelligence",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Artificial intelligence","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","https://g.co/kg/m/0mkz"]},"Prompt engineering",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Prompt engineering","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prompt_engineering","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108941486","https://g.co/kg/g/11p6kpgt_n"]},"E-learning",{"@type":"Thing","name":"E-learning","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-learning_(theory)","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q182250","https://g.co/kg/g/122czm1f"]},"Sharable Content Object Reference Model",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Sharable Content Object Reference Model","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharable_Content_Object_Reference_Model","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q827811","https://g.co/kg/m/06_40"]},"Experience API",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Experience API","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience_API","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7807728","https://g.co/kg/g/1yw9ktxr8"]},"Joomla",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Joomla","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joomla","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13167","https://g.co/kg/m/07qb81"]},"Nginx",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Nginx","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nginx","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q306144","https://g.co/kg/m/02qft91"]},"MySQL",{"@type":"Thing","name":"MySQL","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MySQL","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q850","https://g.co/kg/m/04y3k"]}],"areaServed":["United States",{"@type":"Country","name":"United States","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30","https://g.co/kg/m/09c7w0"]},"European Union",{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"European Union","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q458","https://g.co/kg/m/0_6t_z8"]},"United Kingdom",{"@type":"Country","name":"United Kingdom","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q145","https://g.co/kg/m/07ssc"]},"Australia",{"@type":"Country","name":"Australia","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q408","https://g.co/kg/m/0chghy"]},"Canada",{"@type":"Country","name":"Canada","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16","https://g.co/kg/m/0d060g"]},"Russia",{"@type":"Country","name":"Russia","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q159","https://g.co/kg/m/06bnz"]},"China",{"@type":"Country","name":"China","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q148","https://g.co/kg/m/0d05w3"]}],"memberOf":["Mensa International",{"@type":"Organization","name":"Mensa International","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensa_International","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q184194","https://g.co/kg/m/0140pf"]},"National Rifle Association",{"@type":"Organization","name":"National Rifle Association","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rifle_Association","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q863259","https://g.co/kg/m/0j6f9"]},"CompTIA",{"@type":"Organization","name":"CompTIA","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompTIA","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q597534","https://g.co/kg/m/040shq"]},"ISFCE LLC",{"@type":"Organization","name":"ISFCE LLC","sameAs":["https://isfce.com","https://g.co/kg/g/11wxm5r0rg"]}],"hasCredential":[{"@type":"EducationalOccupationalCredential","name":"Joomla 3 Certified Administrator","credentialCategory":"Certification","description":"Administrator Exam is the first available Joomla! certification exam","recognizedBy":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Open Source Matters, Inc.","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Source_Matters,_Inc.","https://g.co/kg/g/11f00wvjhz"]},"url":"https://certification.joomla.org/certified-user-directory/michael-richey","about":["Content management system",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Content management system","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131093","https://g.co/kg/m/0k23c"]},"Web content management system",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Web content management system","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_content_management_system","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q45211","https://g.co/kg/m/0615s2"]},"Joomla",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Joomla","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joomla","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13167","https://g.co/kg/m/07qb81"]}],"educationalLevel":"expert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.richeyweb.com/images/contact/badge.webp","contentUrl":"https://www.richeyweb.com/images/contact/badge.webp","width":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","value":300,"unitCode":"PX"},"height":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","value":86,"unitCode":"PX"},"caption":"Joomla 3 Certified Administrator"}},{"@type":"EducationalOccupationalCredential","name":"Certified Computer Examiner","credentialCategory":"Certification","description":"Internationally recognized computer forensics certifiecation","recognizedBy":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ISFCE LLC","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISFCE_LLC","https://g.co/kg/g/11wxm5r0rg"]},"url":"https://isfce.com/","about":["Digital forensics",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Digital forensics","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_forensics","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3246940","https://g.co/kg/m/0cnxzfx"]},"Computer forensics",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Computer forensics","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_forensics","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q878553","https://g.co/kg/m/02wxbd"]},"Mobile device forensics",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Mobile device forensics","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_device_forensics","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6887097","https://g.co/kg/m/06zp3tp"]},"Network forensics",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Network forensics","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_forensics","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7001032","https://g.co/kg/m/05pb280"]},"Database forensics",{"@type":"Thing","name":"Database forensics","sameAs":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_forensics","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5227405","https://g.co/kg/m/0cgqsy"]}],"educationalLevel":"expert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.richeyweb.com/images/contact/isfce-cce.webp","contentUrl":"https://www.richeyweb.com/images/contact/isfce-cce.webp","width":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","value":150,"unitCode":"PX"},"height":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","value":150,"unitCode":"PX"},"caption":"Certified Computer Examiner"}}],"hasOfferCatalog":{"@type":"OfferCatalog","name":"Web Services","itemListElement":[{"@type":"Offer","itemOffered":{"@type":"Service","name":"Hosting"}},{"@type":"Offer","itemOffered":{"@type":"Service","name":"Development"}},{"@type":"Offer","itemOffered":{"@type":"Service","name":"Search Engine Optimization"}}]}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://www.richeyweb.com/#website","url":"https://www.richeyweb.com/","name":"RicheyWeb","publisher":{"@id":"https://www.richeyweb.com/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://www.richeyweb.com/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string","valueMaxLength":256,"valueMinLength":2,"valuePattern":"^[A-Za-z0-9\\s]+$"}},"creator":{"@id":"https://www.richeyweb.com/#organization"},"copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https://www.richeyweb.com/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.richeyweb.com/blog/hosting/nodeping-drive-bys#webpage","url":"https://www.richeyweb.com/blog/hosting/nodeping-drive-bys","name":"NodePing Drive-By's","description":"Strange visits from NodePing user agents make me wonder what is really going on.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.richeyweb.com/#website"},"about":{"@id":"https://www.richeyweb.com/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}
```