GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies Practice Test

Which file, located at the root of a website, contains URLs that should not be indexed by search engine spiders?

1. robots.txt

2. spider.txt

3. index.html

4. config.php

The correct answer is: robots.txt

The correct answer is the file that plays a crucial role in managing how search engines interact with a website. The robots.txt file is specifically designed to communicate with web crawlers and search engine spiders about which pages or sections of the site should not be indexed. When a search engine bot visits a website, it checks for the presence of robots.txt in the root directory. This file can contain directives for specific user agents (types of bots), indicating areas that should be off-limits for indexing. For example, it might instruct bots to avoid specific directories or files that may contain sensitive information or content that the website owner does not wish to appear in search engine results. In contrast, the other options serve different purposes: spider.txt is not a standard file used for this function, index.html is typically a main file for website content that is meant to be served to users and indexed by search engines, and config.php is a configuration file that usually contains server-side settings and operational code, which would not be relevant to search engine indexing rules. Thus, the robots.txt file is the recognized standard for controlling search engine crawling behavior.