GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies Practice Test

What is the name of the file that instructs search engines to avoid certain locations on a website?

1. robots.txt

2. my.conf

3. index.html

4. admin.php

The correct answer is: robots.txt

The file that instructs search engines to avoid certain locations on a website is known as robots.txt. This file is placed in the root directory of a website and is part of the Robots Exclusion Protocol. It allows webmasters to inform search engine crawlers and bots which pages or sections of the site should not be processed or scanned. By specifying directives within this file, website owners can effectively manage how their content is crawled and indexed by search engines, facilitating better control over their site’s visibility and search engine optimization strategies. The other options are not used for this purpose. For example, my.conf is typically a configuration file for applications or services but is unrelated to web crawling or indexing. Index.html is a standard file that serves as the homepage or main entry point of a website, containing the HTML content, but does not influence how bots interact with the site. Admin.php is a script file that usually handles administrative functions on a website but does not serve to communicate with search engine bots regarding crawling permissions.