Tag Archives: spam

How to Prevent Blog Spam

How to prevent SpamThere are a million and one different kinds of blog spam. Some of it is easily prevented by installing spam prevention tools like Akismet (which I use on all my blogs). Some is prevented by simple tricks like spelling out your e-mail address rather than hotlinking it. (As in “jwallace at turntabling dot net”).

But some kinds of spam prevention have more to do with a keen eye for BS and a bit of knowledge of how spammers operate.

I spent way too much time over the weekend cleaning out comment spam on my most recent blog creation to promote a music project I do on the site. In spite of having Akismet installed, I was getting spammed like nobody’s business.

I also have a second layer of protection which failed me for reasons I couldn’t understand—at first. That second layer is the requirement that all commenters must register and login before posting comments that get posted without my approval. Once they’ve had one approved comment, they get free run on the comment section.

And that was where my system–which usually works–broke down. Continue reading How to Prevent Blog Spam

What You Don’t Know About Twitter CAN Hurt You

Twitter-dangersby Joe Wallace

Over the last few years, in addition to freelance writer and editor, I’ve also added social media specialist to my list of titles. I got started doing MySpace accounts for music projects and music journalist sites and branched out over time as Twitter, Facebook and other social media gained traction.

Among the many trends I’ve noticed among social media, one thing remains constant regardless of platform preference; there are always people willing to find new ways to send spam. Twitter is a no-brainer when it comes to spam–it’s too easy to tweet, tweet, tweet ad nauseum and send annoying direct messages until the keyboard breaks.

But it’s also just as easy to block spammers, so a bit more innovation is required to send out the annoyance.

One way spammers are using Twitter can actually affect YOUR account’s reputation, get you blocked by potential readers, clients or customers, and give you a bad name all round. And if you’re not disciplined enough to check your account on a daily basis, you might never know it’s happening. Continue reading What You Don’t Know About Twitter CAN Hurt You

Top Five Blog Spam Control Tips

spam

When  you first start a blog, you eagerly await that first round of comments. You post for a while, start getting bummed out that nobody’s thought enough of your hard work to leave even a “Way to go”.

Then one day you wake up, hit the Admin area and there they are–actual COMMENTS! Ones you didn’t pester your friends to leave! Hooray!

Then reality sets in.

In the comments section for the article you wrote about getting burned by an editor or the mag that went bankrupt before they paid you, you get something like, “I disagree. Could we talk more about the contents?” or something even stupider like, “Thanks, webmaster.”

Who the @#$*! calls themselves a WEBMASTER anymore?

Yep, the spammers are here. How do you deal with these idiots? Don’t allow unmoderated posts, be nitpicky and adjust your comment settings to prevent unregistered users from posting freely. OR set the comments to require a name and e-mail address but STILL require your approval before comments are made public.

Totally obvious, right? That is a complete “No DUH” piece of advice. But what do you do when you’re moderating those comments? How can you tell who the spammers are vs. the real readers? Check this list of tell-tale signs you’ve got someone trying to spam your comments section and your blog comments moderation duties will get easier…exponentially.

5. The username does not match the e-mail. I don’t mean that user “Peggy Sue” should have “peggysue@yahoo.com” as her e-mail addy. Instead, keep your eyes peeled for commenters who have usernames like “Peggy Sue” but return email addys like “chromiumunitas-abc-12@muymble-16.dk”.

4. URLs posted link to spammy pages. I never approve comments by people who leave links to spam. No viagra sites, not bikini girls with machine guns sites, no pyramid marketing schemes or make money onliners, please.

3. E-mail addys with suspicious extensions. I NEVER approve comments from any e-mail address with a .ru extension. Sorry, Russia! Same goes for any suspicious looking post from “Jonny” with a return addy like “crondum12343@sk.dk”

2. E-mail addys or usernames with spam keywords in them. I refuse to post comments by people who have the word Cialis in their e-mail addresses. Just how dumb do they think I am, anyway?

1.  Posts with dumb things written in them. I don’t mean someone who has an opinion I consider goofy or ill-informed. Instead, I’m looking for the aforementioned “Thanks, webmaster” comments and other nonsense like stuff that doesn’t relate to the topic at hand. “I disagree. Maybe it’s the other way around?” I’ve gotten than one six times. Check the return addresses and URL fields, you’ll find somebody’s trying to sneak a spammy URL past you. My current favorite of these are the guys who post, “Nice layout, webmaster!”

What a bunch of dumbasses.