Empty User Agent strings on the increase?

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Empty User Agent strings on the increase?

Increase in our http logs on the number of requests with an empty UA string

StarFire

2:11 pm on Dec 17, 2003 (gmt 0)

I am seeing more and more http log entries with an empty user agent string. The increase is from many IP locations. Normally, I would suspect impolite robots. We get plenty of those... Hoever, in this case, the number of IPs sending an empty UA is large, and the number of hits per IP is very low. Also, some of the requests appear to be legitimate.

Other posts here mention this can be caused by firewall and/or proxy software converting user agent strings.

Are other folks seeing an increase in this type of traffic?

Does anyone have references that can explain this type of activity and effective ways to exlcude it?

thanks.