How to configure traffic protection settings

The Settings tab under Configuration holds the settings of your traffic protection, in a card labeled Site Protection Configuration. This is where you decide how ClickPatrol treats traffic types that carry extra risk: VPN users, proxy traffic, dark web visitors, unknown devices and operating systems, and AI bots. The same card contains the Monitor Only Mode toggle. This guide covers each setting.

Our advice: leave these rules on Algorithm as much as possible. The algorithm was built exactly for these decisions and weighs far more signals per click than a blanket rule can. Only pick a hard setting when you really know what you are doing for your specific audience.

Where to find it#

1. Log in to your ClickPatrol dashboard.
2. Click Configuration in the sidebar.
3. Open the Settings tab.
4. Scroll to the Site Protection Configuration card.

Monitor Only Mode#

The first setting on the card is the Monitor Only Mode toggle. Switch it on to temporarily stop live updates to Google: ClickPatrol keeps monitoring your campaigns and scoring every click, but no exclusions or other changes are sent to your Google Ads account.

This is handy right after you connect an account. You can watch how your traffic gets classified for a while before you let ClickPatrol block anything. Read How does ClickPatrol prevent false positives? for how this fits into a careful rollout.

The six protection rules#

Below the toggle sit six rules. Each rule has its own dropdown. The standard setting is Algorithm, which leaves the decision to ClickPatrol's algorithm per click instead of applying a blanket block. We recommend keeping it that way unless you have a clear reason to override it, for example when your audience sits in a region where a hard rule would block genuine customers.

Block all VPN traffic#

Stops VPN users from clicking your ads. Keep in mind that in some locations people can only reach the internet through a VPN. If your ads target those locations, leave this rule off.

Block all proxy traffic#

Blocks fraudulent proxy traffic. In countries where regular users often sit behind proxies, this rule should stay off.

Block all Dark Web Users#

Keeps dark web users away from your campaign. These visitors are tagged as fraudulent. If this group happens to be part of your audience, you can leave the rule off.

Treat all unknown devices as suspicious#

By default ClickPatrol accepts traffic from unknown devices, since some genuine visitors hide device details to protect their privacy. Hidden device data can also point to malicious or fraudulent clicks, so you can choose to mark this traffic as suspicious instead.

Treat all unknown operating systems as suspicious#

When ClickPatrol cannot tell which operating system a click comes from, it is often a bot or a heavily shielded user. Turn this rule on to keep such visitors out of your campaigns.

Protect against AI or GPT related bots#

Lets you choose whether to accept AI bots, block them, or let the algorithm decide how to handle them in your Google Ads campaigns.

Save your changes#

Click Update Configuration at the bottom of the card to apply your settings.

Good to know#

• These rules work on traffic type. Blocking based on repeated clicks from the same IP is a separate setting: see Click Threshold Rules.
• The same Settings tab also contains Blocked IP Cleanup, your timezone and your currency.