Frequently Asked Questions

General

  1. What is SimpleWebSpider?
  2. Do I get anonymity with SimpleWebSpider?
  3. Why I should use SimpleWebSpider?
  4. Is it illegal to use SimpleWebSpider

Installation

  1. Where can I download current version of SimpleWebSpider?
  2. Which file is the correct file for me?
  3. How can I install SimpleWebSpider?
  4. Which java version do I need?
  5. How can I run SimpleWebSpider?

Troubleshooting

  1. Where can I can get help?
  2. I've some but, feature or improvement request, where can I ask for implementation?

General

What is SimpleWebSpider?

It's a simple Java based application, running an all system, that can run java virtual machine (javavm).

This program will start with some web pages, scan for new links to other pages and than visit them.

Do I get anonymity with SimpleWebSpider?

No. You are not getting anonymity. But it should be harder to track your normal page visits

You can try Tor to get some anonymity.

Why I should use SimpleWebSpider?

Their can be some reasons:

  • You use some indexer like YaCy and you will give this tools some web pages to index.
  • You are curious, which pages that tool will visit.
  • You want to try to obfuscate you web page visits.
Is it illegal to use SimpleWebSpider

At first you're using this tool on your own risk. But why should it be illegal to use another program as your browser to visit web pages?

But it could be, that this tool will visit some pages, which you would never visit. And if some one (e.g. your country, your ISP or the web hoster) will track this access, he could blame you for this and you could get into trouble.

Installation

Where can I download current version of SimpleWebSpider?

You get all available version on Sourceforge.

Which file is the correct file for me?

There are some available:

  • .zip: Windows user
  • .tar.gz: Linux/*nix user
  • .jar: this contains only the class files for main program, not usable alone.
  • -sources.jar: this contains the sources of this program, but not the whole project. If you'r curious, what code is running.
How can I install SimpleWebSpider?

You only need to uncompress the file and save the directory where ever you want to.

Which java version do I need?

You need 1.5 or higher.

How can I run SimpleWebSpider?

For some operations systems, there are helper scripts:

  • Linux/*nix: Use start-sws.sh
  • Mac OS X: Use also start-sws.sh it should work
  • M$ Windows: Not today, but there is an open taks: Script for start under windows

Troubleshooting

Where can I can get help?
Please use the forums.
I've some but, feature or improvement request, where can I ask for implementation?
Please use the forums. And after this describe your request as some task.