need some help, cloacking script returns wrong info

globalinsites

Hello,

I want to do some allowed cloaking with this script that I include in a .htm file:

<?php
$userAgent = getenv("HTTP_USER_AGENT");
if (stristr($userAgent, "Mozilla/4.0 (Googlebot))")) {
print "<META NAME=\"robots\" CONTENT=\"NOINDEX,FOLLOW\">\n";
}
else {
print "<META NAME=\"robots\" CONTENT=\"INDEX,FOLLOW\">\n";
}
?>

To test if it works I have replaced 'Googlebot' with my browsers user agent: 'Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98'

<?php
$userAgent = getenv("HTTP_USER_AGENT");
if (stristr($userAgent, "Mozilla/4.0 (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98))")) {
print "<META NAME=\"robots\" CONTENT=\"NOINDEX,FOLLOW\">\n";
}
else {
print "<META NAME=\"robots\" CONTENT=\"INDEX,FOLLOW\">\n";
}
?>

but when I test my page in Internet Explorer 6.0 I see that this appears in my source: <META NAME="robots" CONTENT="INDEX,FOLLOW">, but it should have said NOINDEX,FOLLOW

What can possibly go wrong here? I have no clue whatsoever. I am a newbie :-)

Thanks,

Rik.

dalecosp

Have you checked the value of $userAgent?
Have you tried with $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] instead of getenv() ... not that it should matter, maybe, but I like to grasp at straws....

🙂

globalinsites

No, I haven't checked the value of $userAgent because I wouldn't know how to. Someone gave me the script, php is not really my thing. Don't know the first thing about it.

What does getenv() mean anyway? or could it have said anything instead of getenv?

Regards,

Rik.

dalecosp

Likely "get environment variable" or somesuch ... check it here: getenv()

If the site's not critically live, try this:

<?php 
$userAgent = getenv("HTTP_USER_AGENT"); 
echo $userAgent; // this will print the string that the next statement
//is trying to match ... if it's null, or different, there's your issue...

if (stristr($userAgent, "Mozilla/4.0 (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98))")) { 
print "<META NAME=\"robots\" CONTENT=\"NOINDEX,FOLLOW\">\n"; 
} 
else { 
print "<META NAME=\"robots\" CONTENT=\"INDEX,FOLLOW\">\n"; 
} 
?>

🙂

globalinsites

I've tried it but it says this in the source:

Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)<META NAME="robots" CONTENT="INDEX,FOLLOW"> and I'm viewing in IE 6.0 with win98.

Rik.

dalecosp

Fix the code so that the string looks exactly like what the browser printed. I notice that you've got an extra "Mozilla 4.0" and an extra set of parentheses....

globalinsites

Do you mean that I have to change:

if (stristr($userAgent, "Mozilla/4.0 (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98))")) {

into:

if (stristr($userAgent, "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98")) {

I just copied and pasted the code, lol. Like I said, I don't know anything about it.

I've checked it and it does say <META NAME="robots" CONTENT="NOINDEX,FOLLOW"> now!! It does print Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98) on the page of course but I can replace that with Googlebot again now in the php file, right?

Rik.

dalecosp

Yea, verily, and behold....

Whoever gave you the script typed the user-agent string incorrectly; you fixed it, and now stristr does match it....

🙂 🙂 🙂

globalinsites

Well... sort of! hahaha

Thanks!

globalinsites

I still this printed in my browser: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)

This is the code now:

<?php

$userAgent = getenv("HTTP_USER_AGENT");

echo $userAgent; // this will print the string that the next statement
//is trying to match ... if it's null, or different, there's your issue...
if (stristr($userAgent, "Mozilla/4.0 (Googlebot")) {

print "<META NAME=\"robots\" CONTENT=\"NOINDEX,FOLLOW\">\n";

}

else {

print "<META NAME=\"robots\" CONTENT=\"INDEX,FOLLOW\">\n";

}

?>

I probable have to change this line:

if (stristr($userAgent, "Mozilla/4.0 (Googlebot")) {

But how? I tried removing Mozilla/4.0 but it doesn't help.

I tried some other things but I get parse errors. Any clue?

Regards, Rik.