UGA CS Research Scans
This page describes a research project conducted by the School of Computing at the University of Georgia (UGA). As part of this project, we perform Internet-wide TLS/HTTPS scanning using ZGrab2 to collect publicly accessible HTML and certificate data. If you were redirected to this page from a scanning IP, this page provides details about our scanning methodology and purpose.
Why am I being scanned?
You are seeing connections from us as part of an academic research project aiming to analyze TLS certificate usage and webpage content across the Internet to study:
- The dynamics of SSL certificate rotation
- Indicators of website hijacking incidents
Our system periodically performs HTTPS/TLS handshakes and retrieves HTML content from publicly reachable IP addresses and domain names. Each scan involves a single, standard-compliant request to port 443 (HTTPS) or 80 (HTTP), depending on the scan type.
We do not attempt: - To exploit vulnerabilities - To guess credentials or inject payloads - To send high traffic or overload services
All scans are non-intrusive, read-only, and conform to standard protocol behavior.
What data are we collecting?
We collect only: - TLS certificates presented by servers - Server response headers and HTML landing pages - Timestamp, IP address, and associated domain name
This information is already publicly accessible to any browser connecting to your server. We do not store or analyze sensitive content or user information.
The data is used exclusively for academic purposes, including peer-reviewed research and conference presentations. No commercial usage is involved.
IP Addresses Used for Scanning
The scans originate from the following IP addresses:
128.192.12.100 - 128.192.12.126
(Subnet: 128.192.12.100/27)
We recommend allowlisting or blocklisting this range as appropriate to your policy. The range is static and dedicated exclusively to research scanning.
Opt-Out
If you wish to opt out from our measurements, please email us at:
📩 xingda.bao@uga.edu
Include the IP range or domain name you would like to exclude, and we will honor the request promptly.
Contact
This scanning infrastructure is maintained by:
Xingda Bao
Graduate Research Assistant
University of Georgia, School of Computing
📧 xingda.bao@uga.edu
Project Director:
Dr. Roberto Perdisci
Professor of Computer Science
University of Georgia, School of Computing
📧 perdisci@uga.edu
For any concerns, abuse complaints, or collaboration inquiries, please contact us directly.
About the Research
This scanning is part of a security research project focused on: - Detecting misissued or reverted SSL certificates as potential indicators of website hijacking - Analyzing certificate ecosystems and trends - Contributing to the scientific community through open, reproducible measurements
We follow best practices for responsible Internet measurement and aim to minimize any disruption caused by our scans. Our research results are published in aggregated form without identifying individual IP addresses or networks.