Q: What is KittyScan?
A: KittyScan is a crawler that scans the internet for Minecraft servers and collects data on them. This data is then used to provide statistics and insights on the Minecraft server community. KittyScan also acts as a honeypot to attract malicious actors and collect data on their activities. The goal of KittyScan is to provide valuable information to server owners and players to help them secure their servers and stay safe online.
Q: How can I prevent my server from being scanned by KittyScan?
A: Changing away from the default port is enough to make your server invisible to KittyScan. KittyScan operates with the premise of "if an attempt has been made to hide the server, we will respect that".
Q: A player named "KittyScan" joined my server, was that you?
A: To check if a server has offline mode enabled, KittyScan will join the server with the username "KittyScan". This will not happen often though. However since it is possible to change your (offline) username to anything, it is not guaranteed that a player named "KittyScan" is actually KittyScan. Since a Reddit thread about KittyScan was posted, I have found that at least 80 IPs, not affiliated with me, that have tried to connect to my honeypots. I also don't own the 'KittyScan' Mojang account.
The full list of accounts I use is:
- KittyScanNya
- KittyScanNyaNya
- KittyScanArchive
- KittyScan01
- KittyScanIPv6
Q: A player named "KittyScanNya" joined my server, was that you?
A: To check if a server has its whitelist enabled, KittyScan will join the server with the username "KittyScanNya". This will not happen often though. If 'KittyScanNya' was able to join your server, please add a whitelist. If I can join your server, so can anyone else. And that someone else could be a malicious actor.
See this guide on how to set up a whitelist.
If you need help setting up a whitelist, you can join the KittyScan Discord server and ask for help
I also do not own the 'KittyScan' Mojang account just 'KittyScanNya'.
The full list of accounts I use is:
- KittyScanNya
- KittyScanNyaNya
- KittyScanArchive 44
- KittyScan01
- KittyScanIPv6
Q: Will you make the data you collect public?
A: No, I will not make the data public. The data is collected for research purposes and will not be shared with third parties. The statistics and insights generated from the data will be made public on the KittyScan website.
Q: Can I buy access to the data you collect?
A: No, see the question above.