Advanced Web Scraping: Building a Cluster System for Highly Protected Websites

Web scraping professionals know that some websites employ sophisticated protection measures that block conventional scraping tools like Selenium, Playwright, and Puppeteer. One such heavily fortified site is Batch 365, particularly its virtual football games section that updates every three minutes.

This article explores an innovative approach to scraping highly protected websites using Android emulators configured in a cluster system. The technique bypasses traditional blocking mechanisms by simulating mobile devices rather than typical web browsers.

Why Traditional Methods Fail

Batch 365 represents one of the most protected sites on the internet, actively blocking all standard scraping tools. Its virtual sports section is particularly valuable for data analysis since games occur regularly every three minutes, providing consistent patterns that could be leveraged for machine learning models.

The Android Emulator Solution

The proposed system utilizes multiple Android instances running simultaneously in a cluster configuration. This approach offers several advantages:

• Mobile device signatures are harder to detect and block than conventional web scrapers
• Android’s WebView implementation differs from typical browsers
• Multiple instances can collect data concurrently, increasing efficiency
• The system can be scaled to run on dedicated servers

Technical Components

The solution incorporates several specialized tools:

1. CYAndroCell

A library designed for interacting with Android devices through automation scripts, allowing direct access to emulators.

2. CYAndroEmo (Fork)

An enhanced version that supports interaction with non-visible elements, crucial for navigating complex interfaces.

3. ADB AutoConnect

A tool that automatically manages connections to multiple emulator instances, simplifying the cluster management process.

4. UI Automator Server

Provides a service that continuously runs in the background, facilitating seamless connections to the Android devices.

Implementation Architecture

The complete system features a Flask server that coordinates the emulator cluster. This server:

• Manages the distribution of scraping tasks across multiple emulators
• Implements shared memory for efficient data exchange between instances
• Provides an API interface for retrieving collected data
• Can be used to perform real-time calculations on the collected data

Cost Benefits

Building this custom scraping system eliminates the need for expensive API subscriptions. Access to similar data through official APIs can cost upwards of $300 per month, making this DIY solution significantly more economical for regular data collection needs.

The technique can be applied beyond Batch 365 to virtually any heavily protected website, providing a robust framework for advanced web scraping projects.