Untitled, 6 inches by 6 inches collage by Leslie Avon Miller
Something is going on, and I don’t understand it. I first noticed it in my Dashboard. Maggie at Colormusings blog has had her blog hacked. Someone is able to post multiple posts – ads about Windows products, Viagra, online casinos, etc. Horrid!
I saw these strange goings on and contacted Maggie by email. She has tried to no avail to be able to reach blogger for help. She has removed the offensive posts, but there is no way to know when and if the offenders will strike her blog again – or one of our blogs.
Does anyone out there have any advice? How do you get through to blogger? Has this happened to anyone else? Her ULR is still the same, so I don’t think that is the answer to the problem.
I know all of us would like Maggie to be able to put a stop to this and return to her artful posting, and we would all like to keep our blogs safe and sound from unwanted intruders.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
Leslie--I haven't had anything weird on mine except one day I got a post that was all in Japanese. Does that count? I don't know what to do but was wondering why Maggie hadn't been posting. It didn't seem like her. Let me know, will you?
ReplyDeleteLeslie my advice would be to start with changeing her pass words on blogger and any of her other accounts email facebook whatever immediately! Here is a link that I found that might help! Wishing you well.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bloggertipsandtricks.com/2006/08/how-to-contact-blogger-support.html
Teri: Thank you. I will be posting something about the solution when it is found. I can only imagine how it would feel to have ads posted without permission on my blog! Comments in a foreign language or of inappropriate nature are one thing - we can delete those easily enough. But unauthorized posts of an offensive nature are too much!
ReplyDeleteThank you Crimson Fire Studios. She tried to change her pass word but couldn't for some reason. I'll send her the link.
ReplyDeletehi Leslie - something similar happened to me once...sent you an email.
ReplyDeleteHope it's resolved soon! So frustrating when something like that happens.
Thank you Jeana!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leslie, I was able to change my password on Mac and I have scanned this PC and cleaned. Strange. I did send 2 messages to blogger, but no response yet. I was able to make 2 new posts.
ReplyDeleteHi Maggie: I sent you an email that came from Jeana. She had some good ideas too. I saw your new posts. I hope I don't see any new ones for Viagra!
ReplyDeleteFirst thing I would get her to do is change her password.
ReplyDeleteHi Leslie,
ReplyDeleteI lost my first 2 beautiful blogs cause of hackers,my Pc crashed too,lately Im getting again spam in in my inbox gmail as the filth as comments on my new blogs, language I could not even recognize,so,I hope your friend will find a solution for her problem and keep her blog as well her PC healthy. Google warned me few times that something unlawful was happening on my blogs so I could react on time and change my paswords.I do not react on calls from the Facebook via gmail,first I check it with my friends did they sent me invite or not and in all cases they did not.Blogger team is not able to protect us in most cases so good luck and all the best,greetings Aleksandra
Thanks Dale. Maggie did try to change her pass word, but had to go to a different computer to do so. She then scanned the computer she had been on. I guess the lesson is that opportunists are always out there, looking for an opening.
ReplyDeleteOh gee Aleks. I'm sorry you lost your blogs. Maggie did mention was asked for ID data, which she didn't do of course. She was able to get to her stuff on a different computer and make a change. That's a good idea to check with your friends about an invitation to Facebook. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteFirst I have heard of this. And it sounds like such a frustrating experince. Best to Maggie on solving this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Seth.
ReplyDeleteChange password, however, when you change your password you should use a number as well to making it harder to guess or have a computer generated anything hack in to the account..... ps you need to get on facebook that is where i have most of my pics of wes
ReplyDeletepss. my mom loves your art she keeps trying to find a better place to hang it.
ReplyDeleteHi Keri: I need to do the facebook thing. Maybe tomorrow...And how nice your Mom likes my art. Maybe she should have some....
ReplyDeleteLeslie this happened to me and it will come back unless she changes her comment thing to moderated comments and rejects them (instead of accepting them) before they get to the blog. (I used to get more than 100 messages at a time) Eventually they stop doing it because they can't win. Every comment already on must be deleted because as each commenter stops to leave a comment this thing latches on without you being aware of it and it will then start on your blog spreading like wildfire.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't get hold of blogger either so joined the forum and left a message. In the mean time Mansuetude emailed me about her friends experience. I didn't change any passwords. They do end up in my email inbox from time to time but I delete them without opening them and eventually those stop too.
Soooo frustrating!!!
following the comments here I may just change mine now to moderated comments rather than 'wait' forthis to happen to me ... it sounds horrible and most frustrating ...
ReplyDeleteglad to hear it was solved albeit with a few challenges along the way
thanks for letting us know and thanks to everyone for their thoughts - it surely helps the rest of us ..
>> Gina
http://ginaseye.blogspot.com/ (my blog)
Wow . . .
ReplyDeleteTwice I have been hit with spam coming from Asia, yet I still continue to keep comments from being moderated.
Google will not come to your aid if there is a problem, but there are forums and usually help can be found there. One person who I have dealt with and knows his stuff, goes by NightRider.
Warmest regards,
Egmont
Thank you again, Leslie, for your concern and generating helpful ideas. I have changed my password and disabled my email access to blog. I have an old fashioned belief in being open and trusting. Sometimes I get slapped by the real world which likes invasion and fear.
ReplyDeleteI still wish blessings to all.
Leslie this was happening to me, too, but now my comments have the little thing that you have to actually type something in the box to verify that you are a person, not a computer, plus I have always moderated the comments for this very reason. Maybe it isn't too late for Maggie to try that. Plus, love your new collage.
ReplyDeleteI know less than nothing about technical stuff, but I do know a cool collage when I see it!
ReplyDeleteLove the verticals,,and the soft gold is perfect!
Well thank you so much everyone! Maggie is back in control of her blog, and I may make a few changes today to mine. I know it's annoying to have comment moderation on, but seems to be the safety gate we have been given.
ReplyDeleteWho wants to sell Viagra on their blog for heavens sake? Not me!
This is an interesting post Leslie! I get strange comments all the time. I haven't put the word verification on yet but I'm thinking about it. It's frustrating the people would even think of doing these things!!
ReplyDeleteomg-- how terrible-- and frustrating--to have to then take time and deal with the problem-- like identity theft-- you feel like your privacy has been violated-- I did not know this could even happen and so glad to be put on alert.
ReplyDeleteDavid Darrow, a painter, has a blog, Where Art Meets Technology, http://artmeetstechnology.blogspot.com/, that has lots of useful information about blogging, and another really funny one called Scam and Eggs, http://scamandeggs.blogspot.com/ where he answers scammers. An email to him might help answer Maggie's problem if the answer isn't already on one of his sites.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the alert Leslie...I have had a couple of unusual looking comments recently...will up my security up too.
ReplyDeleteGlad all is well with Maggie's blog...would have been an awful violation!!!
I moderate all my comments except on the three most recent posts. That seems to catch all the spam. And my readers don't have to deal with the dreaded word verification.
ReplyDeleteWell,after posting comment on your blog I got my viagra spam too,grrrrr...
ReplyDeleteAnd that after changing my password.
It seems the cyberwar is going on.
Ill check my blogs more often and I think that all the old links of inactive blogs are possible weak spots,I do have to do some cleaning.
Bye,Aleksandra
Thanks Jo and Jo!
ReplyDeleteWillow - thank you. You get so many comments, if that works for you it is a good option!
Hi again Aleks: Yes, there is a creepy spammer moving amongst us. Its one thing to get spam in a comment, another that they were able to post on Maggie's Blog, and were pfishing for her identity information too. And when Robyn said she would sometimes get 100 spammer comments - well that's enough to up the security right there!
I got some "viagra messages" the last few days sent to my email address. I deleted them at once. Some months ago I also got some weird messages, which I never opened. It suddenly stopped. Don't know yet, if my blog is affected.
ReplyDeleteLeslie, that's awful. I'm glad to see you've gotten some suggestions and that she has control of her blog again. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteHere is where I went when I had problems. It is not an official blogger answer site but there always seems to be someone who can answer technical questions.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/label?lid=3a39191b4249689a&hl=en
It's called "How do I?"
Good luck with solving this because if it happens to one it could happen to all.
Jan
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ReplyDeleteHi Leslie,I found one more link,maybe this one is really helpful.
ReplyDeleteIt is called Bad Beahavior/Bad Beahaviour http://www.bad-beahavior.ioerror.us/
Bye!
Fortunately I haven't had this problem, but thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteLove your collage, especially the pattern and type elements.
Just got rid of a hijacker on my blog. It would redirect my visitors to obnoxious ads with sound, and you couldn't return to the blog.
ReplyDeleteThe addy above for the help forum is organized by topics, so I was able to find an answer quickly.
Best Wishes on finding a solution.