What is Expanse?
Expanse is a security scanner operated by Palo Alto Networks that continuously scans the global IPv4 address space multiple times per day. The scanner identifies and maps internet-facing assets and presences across the internet, typically as part of cybersecurity monitoring and attack surface management services. Agent Analytics can track when it visits your website.
Category
Expected Behavior
Expanse's pattern depends on who pointed it at you. Continuous monitoring services check daily or even hourly, while a one time assessment sweeps once and disappears. Expect requests aimed at login pages, admin paths, APIs, and configuration files, because exposed ones are what scanners exist to find.
Overview
| Operated By | Palo Alto Networks |
| Expected To Follow Robots.txt | Yes |
| Insights Last Updated | July 6, 2026 |
Robots.txt Blocked Percentage
Country of Origin
Robots.txt Blocking Trend
As of July 6, 2026, 0% of top websites block Expanse in their robots.txt files.
Overall Security Scanner Traffic
As of July 6, 2026, 0.0% of all web traffic came from security scanners.
This data reflects agent visits measured across thousands of websites using Agent Analytics, combined with daily scans of the world's top 1000 websites and their robots.txt files.
Expanse's User Agent
| User Agent | Expanse, a Palo Alto Networks company, searches across the global IPv4 space multiple times per day to identify customers' presences on the Internet. |
Access other known user agents and IP addresses using the Enterprise API.
How To Block Expanse
Add this rule to your robots.txt file to block Expanse from accessing your entire website. You can customize which pages are blocked by swapping out / for a different path.
User-agent: Expanse # https://knownagents.com/agents/expanse
Disallow: /Frequently Asked Questions
Should I Block Expanse?
Not unless you already run your own scanning and want cleaner logs. Expanse checks websites for exposed vulnerabilities, and some scanning services report what they find to site owners for free. Almost none of the top websites we track have robots.txt rules for Expanse right now.
Does Expanse Respect Robots.txt?
Yes. Expanse is expected to honor robots.txt rules, so a disallow rule is the right first move. Automatic Robots.txt adds and maintains that rule for you, and Agent Analytics confirms Expanse actually honors it.
Does Expanse Access Private Content?
It probes for private content deliberately. Login pages, admin panels, and API endpoints are exactly what Expanse tests, because exposed ones are what it exists to find. Probing is not the same as getting in, but expect requests to sensitive paths in your logs.
Why Is Expanse Visiting My Website?
Expanse is scanning your site for vulnerabilities, either as part of a sweep across the whole internet or because someone requested an assessment of your domain. Recurring visits usually mean a monitoring service has you on its list.
How Can I Tell if Expanse Is Visiting My Website?
Agent Analytics tracks Expanse visits in real time alongside every other known AI agent, crawler, and scraper. You can also check your server logs for requests whose user agent string contains "Expanse". Look for probes of login, admin, and API paths. Keep in mind that Expanse doesn't publish a verification method, so any client can claim its user agent string and a log match is a hint rather than proof.