Scan Speed & Stealth Mode

The three speed modes

Setting scan speed

Pass the scan_speed field in the POST /api/scan body. Valid values are "normal", "cautious", and "stealth":

{
  "target_url": "https://app.example.com",
  "scan_type":  "vuln",
  "scan_speed": "stealth"
}

In the UI, the Scan Speed selector is on the scan form. The selected mode is also shown in scan history so you know which mode was used for each run.

Custom delay override

For fine-grained control, use request_delay_ms to set an exact inter-request delay in milliseconds (0–5000). This overrides the default delay for the selected speed mode while keeping the concurrency setting:

{
  "target_url":       "https://app.example.com",
  "scan_type":        "vuln",
  "scan_speed":       "cautious",
  "request_delay_ms": 750  // overrides the default 300 ms cautious delay
}

Mode tradeoffs

Normal

Fastest scan time — a full vulnerability + performance scan typically completes in 3–8 minutes. No delays or concurrency limits. Likely to trigger WAF rate limits or IP blocks on hardened targets. Use for development or staging environments where scan noise is acceptable.

Cautious

Balanced mode for most production scans. The 300 ms inter-request delay and reduced concurrency reduce the chance of rate limiting while keeping scan times reasonable (8–20 minutes). The recommended default for recurring scheduled scans.

Stealth

Designed to blend in with normal browsing traffic. Random 1–2 second jitter between requests, a single sequential worker, and a rotating pool of real browser User-Agent strings make Shieldome's traffic harder to fingerprint. Scan time increases significantly (30–90 minutes for a full scan). Use only for authorized security assessments where WAF evasion is required.

When to use each mode