Probes
About Plimsoll SI test traffic.
If you found requests in your logs from PlimsollSI-Probe, they came from the Plimsoll SI testing service. Here is what they are, who started them, the limits we apply, and how to stop all testing of your system.
Identify
What the traffic is.
If you found requests in your logs with the user agent PlimsollSI-Probe/1.0 (+https://plimsollsi.com/probe) or the header X-Plimsoll-Probe: 1, they came from the Plimsoll SI testing service.
What the requests are. Plimsoll SI sends ordinary questions to an AI assistant or agent through its own interface, and records the answers. It does not scan ports, guess passwords or try to break into systems. Some questions check whether an assistant can be talked out of its own rules; they are plain text, use made up test values, and are sent only to the system being tested.
Who started the test. A Plimsoll SI customer registered your system and confirmed in our service that they own it or hold written permission from its owner to test it. We record that confirmation with the account, the person, the time and the system. For most tests we do not check that permission ourselves. Where a customer also showed control of the endpoint, or gave us written permission from the owner, the test record says so. If you did not authorise this testing, tell us and we will act as set out below.
Limits we apply. Unless the customer showed control of the endpoint, a test is limited to 30 requests a minute and 1,000 questions a day. Every test stops itself when the system shows strain, such as repeated throttling, server errors, timeouts or a sharp rise in response time. Our service refuses to test public AI model provider services, and tests government, military and international organisation systems only under a written agreement with their operator.
What we keep. We keep a record of every connection, confirmation, check and test, including request times, volumes, response codes and the points where a test slowed or stopped itself. We do not keep the text of your system's replies.
Opt out
Stop all Plimsoll SI testing of your system.
An opt out stops testing by every Plimsoll SI customer, now and in future. Choose one:
- Opt out form. Enter the host or domain and an email address at that domain or a parent domain. We send a confirmation link valid for 7 days. Once you confirm, the domain and every host under it are blocked for all customers. Lookalike or unrelated domains are not covered. The form is not available for shared parent domains used by many unrelated owners; use the well known file on your own host instead.
- Well known file. Serve any content with HTTP status 200 at
/.well-known/plimsoll-optouton the host. We check for it before every test. Use this for bare IP addresses or if you cannot receive email at the domain. - Email. Write to abuse@plimsollsi.com from an address at the domain, or with details that show you operate the system. We add the host by hand.
Withdrawing an opt out. Remove the well known file, or write to abuse@plimsollsi.com from an address at the same domain as the opt out, or use this form with such an address. We never lift an opt out because a customer asks.
Report
Report unwanted testing.
Write to abuse@plimsollsi.com or use the form above. Please include the host, the approximate times, and any request headers you logged.
What we do:
- We aim to acknowledge reports within 24 hours.
- We aim to stop all testing of the reported host within 48 hours of a credible report, and to suspend the customer's runs against it while we review. An opt out confirmed by form or by the well known file takes effect automatically before the next test.
- We keep the records of the reported tests on hold until the matter is closed.
- Once we confirm that you control the host, we tell you the dates, volumes and level of the tests and that they have stopped. We share the customer's identity with their consent, under legal process, or once we find they did not have permission.
- Where we believe an offence may have been committed, we may refer the matter to the authorities and keep records for them.