Kasada's web application firewall (WAF) can easily block your scraper and return the 403 Forbidden status code. Luckily, there are ways to deal with it.
This tutorial will explore two of the best methods to bypass the Kasada 403 error and successfully retrieve the necessary data.
Let's go!
What Is 403 Forbidden Error in Kasada?
The 403 Forbidden error is a common HTTP status code for unfulfilled requests. It typically means that the web server understood your request but is unable to provide access to the resource.
In Kasada, this appears when the web page you're trying to scrape identifies your scraping attempt as suspicious and denies you access.
Here's what the error looks like in your console or terminal.
HTTPError: 403 Client Error: Forbidden for https://www.canadagoose.com/
When a user sends a request to a Kasada-protected web page, the anti-bot system, which acts as a reverse proxy, intercepts and analyzes the request's legitimacy before routing it to the target web server.
Unfortunately, your script never makes it past the analysis stage. Hence, the 403 Forbidden error. This is due to a series of detection techniques that result in a "bot" score, which Kasada uses to determine whether or not to fulfill your request.
Some of these detection techniques include:
- TLS fingerprinting: Kasada can leverage the parameters in your client hello message (a critical part of the TLS handshake used to establish a client-server connection) to generate a fingerprint it uses to track your scraper.ย ย
- JavaScript challenges: Tests used to determine whether your request comes from a legitimate user. They typically involve instructing the client to execute certain JavaScript code that is difficult for bots to handle.
- Behavioral analysis: Kasada collects data on user patterns and behavior and runs them against a database of known bot characteristics to determine the legitimacy of the request.
However, there are many techniques that Kasada uses to recognize bots, which is why bypassing it with a simple scraper is an impossible task. In the next section, you'll learn how to improve your scraper for better chances.
How to Bypass 403 Forbidden in Kasada?
Kasada's detection techniques work together to create a sophisticated, hard-to-bypass mechanism. However, by emulating natural user behavior, you can still bypass Kasada. Let's learn the two best methods for the job.
Method #1: Add Proxies
Proxies are valuable web scraping tools that allow you to route your requests through different IP addresses. They're particularly useful when making multiple requests, as websites often flag such actions as suspicious.
By using proxies to distribute traffic across multiple IP addresses, your request appears to originate from unique users. This increases your chances of avoiding detection and, ultimately, the Kasada 403 error.
To add proxies to your script, configure your scraper to route requests through a specified proxy server.
Here's an example showing how to implement a proxy in Python Requests. The code makes a request to HTTPbin, a test website that returns the client's IP address, using a proxy from Free Proxy List.
import requests
# define your proxy server address
proxy_url = 'http://189.240.60.166:9090'
# create a dictionary with the proxy configuration
proxies = {
'http': proxy_url,
'https': proxy_url
}
# make a request using the proxy
response = requests.get('https://httpbin.org/ip', proxies=proxies)
# verify it works
print(response.text)
However, while free proxies are great for learning purposes, they don't work in real-world cases because they're short-lived and unreliable. For guaranteed results and consistent performance, you need premium proxies. You must also rotate proxies to avoid IP-based restrictions like rate limits and IP bans.
Check out this ranking of the best web scraping proxies to choose the best one for your project!
Method #2: Use a Web Scraping API
Web scraping APIs are the most effective solution to the Kasada 403 error. They provide an interface for making HTTP requests and processing responses according to your project needs, guaranteeing an automated process and full anti-bot power.
An example of such a web scraping API is ZenRows. ZenRows provides a complete web scraping toolkit for bypassing any anti-bot systems. Its features include auto-rotating premium proxies, optimized headers, anti-CAPTCHAs, a User Agent rotator, and more.
Also, its headless browser functionality lets you emulate natural user behavior and interact with web pages like you would in an actual browser. This enables you to scrape dynamic pages and solve any JavaScript challenges.
Try ZenRows for free to see for yourself.
To help you get started, below is a simple step-by-step guide on bypassing a Kasada-protected website (https://www.canadagoose.com/) using ZenRows.
Sign up, and you'll be directed to the Request Builder page.
Input the target URL (https://www.canadagoose.com/) and activate Premium Proxies and the JS Rendering mode.
Select any language option on the right and ZenRows will generate your request code.
Copy the generated code and use your preferred HTTP client to make a request to the ZenRows API.ย
Your script will look like this if you select Python:
# pip install requests
import requests
url = 'https://www.canadagoose.com/'
apikey = '<YOUR_ZENROWS_API_KEY>'
params = {
'url': url,
'apikey': apikey,
'js_render': 'true',
'premium_proxy': 'true',
}
response = requests.get('https://api.zenrows.com/v1/', params=params)
print(response.text)
Run it, and you'll get the page's HTML content.
<html lang="en-EG">
<!-- ... -->
<title>
Extreme Weather Outerwear | Since 1957 | Canada Goose
</title>
<!-- ... -->
</html>
Awesome, right? ZenRows makes bypassing any anti-bot system easy.ย
Conclusion
Encountering the Kasada 403 error when web scraping can be frustrating. Thankfully, you can avoid it entirely by emulating natural user behavior. The techniques discussed in this article can help you achieve that.
However, due to Kasada's complex detection techniques (which keep being updated), only web scraping APIs, such as ZenRows, offer a guaranteed and consistent option for bypassing the 403 Forbidden error.
Try ZenRows now and watch it handle Kasada while you focus on uninterrupted scraping!