So, yesterday was fun (sarcasm). I tried to pull up my blog only to find it had been hacked. Now I know why the word sounds so ugly...being hacked is an ugly thing.
But, I did learn a few things along the way.
One: There is a way to insert a meta-tag on your home page to track your blog's health. I tried this multiple times and failed.
Two: There is a section called 'spam' that has hundreds of comments that were not published. Some of those were legit, so if you've left a comment on here and it hasn't show up, I really apologize. It would take too long to sort through all of the old ones and mark them 'not spam' so they would show up, and I'm sure most people have long forgotten them anyway. Now I know though, about that section, and I will be checking it regularly to make sure your comments do show up because I appreciate you taking the time to post them.
Some were spam, boy were they.
And a couple were not nice...those can just stay in the spam. ;)
Three: I really like Blogger. It's free, simple to use, effective, and I like the layout, but if you're trying to reach a person to help you, or an e-mail addy for contact purposes, hahahahhahahhahahahhahahahhahahahahahhaha. Okay, that's all I have to say about that one.
Final Thoughts and Questions:
All's well that ends well, but I'm not sure about what to do to prevent it from happening again.
I know a lot of you don't like word capture, so that's out, but what about the check-box verification...does that help? And is that option even available on Blogger?
How about backing your blog up? I've done it once...a few weeks ago, but I don't do it regularly. If you blog, do you back yours up regularly? If so, do you back it up on your computer, Cloud, or an external device?
Last...if you have any other tips, advice, or thoughts, I'd appreciate hearing them. I'm not at all tech savvy though...so if it's a difficult process to fix something, and it's worth it, I try my best, but I'd rather have simple (and protected).
Thanks, all.
I have never backed my blog up - how ridiculous is that?
ReplyDeleteWouldn't even know how to do it Rosey !!!
Talk about the blind leading the blind LOL
Glad you got everything sorted out though -
I hate catcha - but you have to do what you have to do - I don't get a lot of spam at all - xxx
DeleteI'm headed out, but I'll send you what I know (Which isn't much) later on this afternoon or tomorrow.
Oh fun, how horrid!
ReplyDeleteI turned off anonymous commenting and found that really worked. Compared to the couple of legit comments the rest were just spam and it means no captcha
DeleteTotally going to look for that option! T/Y.
I use wordpress, so I have a spam filter that catches everything and won't allow anonymous comments. But that doesn't stop people from putting in a fake email address and leaving nasty comments - although I suppose those people aren't technically hackers.
ReplyDeleteSorry you're going through this and it's weird, but you're the 3rd blogger I know of that got hacked yesterday.
DeleteI saw people talking about it today too. I guess yesterday was pick on blogger day. Maybe the bounced around infecting blogs all at once...pfhtphftpfht I'm done 'phfting' now. I think. :)
Ugh Rosey! That's awful! I, too, recently discovered the spam comments. LOL And on my Pinterest board, Better Blogging, I pinned a tutorial I found on how to back up your entire blog, if you ever need it.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are back in control!
Kristy at Shona Skye Creations
DeleteThanks, Kristy. I'ma take a look later this afternoon. :)
I am sorry you were hacked Rosey! I still have a lot to learn. I use comment moderation. I have gotten a lot of annoying spam. Yesterday I checked spam and found a good comment there. I must check it more often. I would really like to learn more about protecting my Blog. Have a good day.
ReplyDeleteJudy, it's been a super busy weekend so I just checked MY spam and found this, lol. :) I like that filter, but I'm surprised yours got in there!!
DeleteOh my gosh I didn't even realized our blogs could be hacked!!
ReplyDelete
DeleteI've seen it before when I didn't blog, and remember thinking how silly it was to hack the blogs. Now that I blog it's more ridiculous to me, lol.
This is all news to me! I've been blogging only for about a year and have never backed my blog up (didn't know I could and even how to!) and also didn't know a blog could be hacked! You got me worried!!!
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DeleteI'll be checking out things too, hoping to deter at best. I've had my Google hacked before, but it didn't phase me because I wasn't blogging. I guess it's a popular place for hackers to wreak their havoc
I have never backed mine up, suppose I really should. I have saved the template though and such, so at least I'd have that. Yeah, blogger is good at catching the spam comments, you just have to check them because sometimes real ones do get in there. And yeah Blogger are about as helpful as what the cat left in the litterbox when you need fixing. Anything can be hacked though.
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DeleteI agree, anything can be hacked. You'd lose a lot of original work if your site crashed...that'd be more disturbing I think...losing a blog like that...but I don't want to lose mine either. I kinda' like it 'round here. ;)
I'm on Wordpress but I did start out on blogger :) I would definitely back up your blog, at least once a week! Also, getting rid of anonymous comments is a great idea, it should cute "some" of the spam. And I used to check my spam folder at least once daily, to keep it from getting backed up. I guess several blogs, both Wordpress and Blogger, were hacked recently!
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DeleteThanks, Henrietta, for the tips. I saw several bloggers talking about it too. *sigh*
Yikes! Sorry you had to go through that! I do back my blog up, around once a month or so. I do check the spam comment folder and delete those a few times a week. My husband keeps trying to explain meta tags and stuff like that, but I always end up confused and tell him to go do something else lol.
ReplyDeleteI am going to go see about turning off anonymous comments. I didn't know I could do that.
DeleteI'm going to look for that feature too! you're lucky hubby knows such things, you should totally utilize that knowledge in your house, lol.
I can certainly relate Rosey. My blog was flagged yesterday by Google as as dangerous site that potentially contained Malware. Uggg....but in my case, my blog was not technically hacked, it's just that Google didn't recognize the code that was used to fix a problem I was having. So, another case to be cautious! I was going to blog about it too...when I catch up here. I use Back up Buddy to back up my blog. I am due for a back-up. If you run a full back up, the files are huge and it may require paying for cloud services (which is recommended) Back up Buddy is about $65 a year - otherwise I put the back-ups on a thumb drive.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! ;)
That's the message I got when I tried to pull up my home page. And someone else (thank you, Courtney!) sent me a msg. to let me know she was getting that too.
DeleteNo idea how your innocent flag and my hack linked. Lotsa crazy going on yesterday.
I'm on Wordpress so I have a spam filter that I love called Akismet.
ReplyDeleteI back up my blog every couple of months (which reminds me...)
Hackers suck ... sorry girl!
xoxo
Lanaya
www.raising-reagan.com
DeleteThey do suck. You're smart to back up so often!
Ugh! Sorry that happened to you! Been there, done that too. Backing up is so important - it's worth paying for it and to have it backed up external to Blogger. There are plug-ins that do that for you. However, I use Wordpress (I'm self-hosted) - so I can't help you there. Also, remember to change all your passwords. Hacker jerks!
ReplyDelete
DeleteI did change my passwords and check my filter/forwarding msgs. My backup e-mail had been changed to something I've never heard of...but it had *** blocking out a good portion of it, so I couldn't see what it was...not that it matters, I'm sure it was fake anyway.
Thanks for the tips.
What did the hacker do to your blog? How did you get rid of the hacker. What does the spam comments have to do with being hacked.
ReplyDeleteSorry for all the questions...I am new at this stuff.
Holly
DeleteI was locked out, couldn't access it (they changed my password on my blog and email associated with it, both Google).
I wonder if leaving my Google up all of the time was a bad idea (not signing out even when I shut the screens down). I log out now. I'm not sure, honestly, how hackers hack. I hope to go visit some of the other blogs that got hacked and see if they posted about it. I can't remember any but Life of a Home Mom right now...but a quick search should bring some up. I saw several conversations on Twitter and FB where bloggers were talking about it happening to them too.
One suggestion... GET a Mac!!!
ReplyDeleteWorry about all those viruses and etc., etc., helped us decide to switch from Pc, to iMac.
Did you know that there is a history behind that word "Hacker"? Originally "Cracker" was a Bad Guy who did nasty things, with his knowledge of how computers work.
"Hackers" were the GOOD GUYS! Who could do lots of things, on a computer, because of their knowledge. But they did NOT do the bad-guy-stuff.
DeleteHubby has (and loves) his Mac. He's always telling me to switch over too.
I didn't know the history behind the word. Funny how completely turned around that got, isn't it?
Loved your post today! Totally fun!
I use Wordpress so my plugins are different but my comments do the same thing, separate into SPAM sections. I have to check it daily (even though I get hundreds of SPAMs daily because people like to ask me to visit their blog and will link to it in their comment and even though it's a legit comment my filter is calling it SPAM because of the extra link. It's such a pain in the butt but I don't want to miss anyone since I always promise a comment return. Being hacked has got to be my worst nightmare!
ReplyDeleteIt could have been far worse, I'm sure! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteSo many people got hit yesterday. I hope that mess is over!
ReplyDeleteYou and me both, sista!
DeleteYikes! I just started my blog on Jan 1, so I'm still feeling my way around on blogger. I had no idea entire blogs could be hacked - so thanks for this post (and for everyone commenting) - I do have a captcha on my comments simply because I don't know how else to weed out spam on there. As a commenter on blogs, I prefer the "check here if you're human" option, but I don't see how to do that on blogger. I also will start backing up my blog (still figuring out how that works), but I'd hate to wake up one day to find everything hacked and gone!! Good luck and hopefuly this won't happen to you again!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if there is a box to check either, but if I do come across one, I'll be sure to send the info. your way.
DeleteOh no! That sucks. So sorry! I haven't backed up my blog before...maybe I should get on that! And I didn't know about the spam comment folder. I'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteHa, I'm laughing because there were just hundreds of comments in there. If you go through them, some are downright funny! Thank goodness for a spam filter (even though I didn't know I had one until now, haha).
DeleteI feel for you. I've been hacked before to. They closed down my blog, then my whole account! I was freaking out! So glad you are up again.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear it, that really, really stinks. I'm glad to be up too!
DeleteI had about a half-dozen Websites hacked with malware inserted on the home pages. I had to change all of my passwords and restore from backups, which I had.
ReplyDeleteI do not backup my blog on a regular basis. I suppose I should, but . . .
Hurrah for back-ups! Glad you were smart and had it...that will be something I do regularly now, just in case. :)
DeleteHmmm...I'm also looking into cloud...terrible to be hacked...sorry to hear :(
ReplyDeleteCloud's on my radar too... it seems pretty popular. I'm so lax at picking up on newer things...waiting to see if they stick around or get improved upon.
DeleteOh, no! I'm so glad you were able to get it straightened out and aren't sitting in the corner in a bosom position and crying your eyes out (what I would be doing). I use the checkbox thing and you can edit the text...but it is on Wordpress. It keep the spam WAY down so that it's manageable to check every day or so. I have never been on Blogger so I help with that. I think the best tip is just to do regular backups - you never know what the next nut will come up with to wreak virtual havoc!
ReplyDeleteAh...the check box is WordPress. I like that feature, it's way easier than Captcha
DeleteI have backed up my blog many times. I am sorry that you were hacked--how horrible!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting! :)
DeleteThanks for visiting today.
ReplyDeleteI seem to be getting more spam comments. My spam box gets most but not all.
Thanks for visiting back, Michele. :)
DeleteI'm so glad you got your blog back.
ReplyDeleteGoogle is now requiring you give your phone # to reactivate your blog if such a thing happen. I think it's a great idea. It happened to me twice. It was easy to get it back because of my unique phone number.
Blogger doesn't have the box at the bottom to check that you aren't a spammer. That's wordpress self hosted.
I think 99% of bloggers despise captcha. I say if you need to use it, then let the emails come to your email and then permit which you'd prefer to go through, but that too is a personal choice.
I do back up my blog, but I need to do so more often.
Oh yes, it is hard to ever get help from google!! But maybe things are changing with their Gplus group/community.
Good luck honey.
Thanks, Colette. I wish Google had that check box. I won't use captcha...I know a lot of people hate it (and I do sometimes too!).
DeleteI used that phone activation you're talking about this go around. :)
I hate having the captca code but I do it because before I did I got major spammed and 100's of spam comments made it through. I do check the spam filter every day. I recently did a paid post for someone and they found that I was hacked / had virus (dont really remember) but viagra ads were in the code. I had to have someone clean the blog for me. I am lucky,I have friends in my office IT department that help me with all this as well as backing up.
ReplyDeleteThat is nice that you have people right there to help you if you need it!
Deletei'm so so sorry you were hacked!! you shared some great tips. thanks so much - i think it's a great idea to back our blogs up!
ReplyDeletewishing you a wonderful day! <3
maria
Wishing you a wonderful day too, Maria!
DeleteI was hacked before.... not fun. I get a ton of spam too... I try not to let any of it get on... but once in awhile it happens.
ReplyDeleteI haven't checked that folder today and now I'm on my way out. Hope I remember when I get home, it sure adds up. I guess it goes w/talking about products, places, and stuff. :)
Deletehate that you had to deal with that... I would not know what to do... guess I need to get to backing up my site now...
ReplyDeleteI'm going to find time to learn more too, I don't like feeling helpless like that...
DeleteFirst of all, thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving such nice comments. I'm glad to know you now! Secondly, I am so sorry you got hacked. Honestly, I never thought about that happening. Now I have something else to worry about! Will definitely be more diligent about backing up. Thanks so much for your helpful hints.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting back, the pics you have up today are great!
DeleteI don't allow anonymous comments and really don't seem to have too much problem. Every once in a while I will get one person that spams several posts but I just go mark them as spam and them bam they are gone. I get emailed whenever someone comments on my blog so if any old post is spammed I will know.
ReplyDeleteAnd getting hacked isn't a word verification or lack thereof it is a separate you need to change your password and have a better one issue.
It has been a while since I have backed up my blog- need to do that. I do get it printed every year though, so I do always have that.
Glad you got everything straightened out.
Getting it printed is a good idea. I didn't even know that could be done! Thanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteI've never been hacked but woke up one morning to find that my blog has been DELETED with the message "Your blog has been removed"! Yep, it just disappeared from cyber space! Very much later, it appeared again and I learned that there were several attempts to login to my blogger account in some foreign country (I think it was Slovenia) and Google temporarily deleted my account as a security measure until I changed my password!!! It seems that is a standard procedure that is practised by Blogger whenever they think the security of your blogger account has been compromised!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank goodness for the safety measure! Glad your blog was easily restored.
DeleteAfter I really picked up with writing on my blog, I went ahead and invested in a site a squarespace where I wouldn't have to worry about losing anything. Oh that would break my heart. They do all of that stuff and the customer service is excellent. I still need to go in a save them somewhere myself but they promise to have me covered. There was one time that someone hacked godaddy which was big news, and I couldn't access my site and that had nothing to do with squarespace. Then another time with hurricane Sandy that the main something or something in there main office in New York was flooded. I couldn't access my site. I knew it was selfish to this about my all my writing being lost in a flooded basement when so many other people were suffering in another way. Wow I went off on a tangent. I don't think anything is 100% fool proof. I really should print my stuff and put in a fire safe. How about that?
ReplyDeleteI just saw that you could print your blog to save it in hardcopy form and for a blog like yours, I think it's a perfect idea!!! You have a lot of 'aww' posts that your family will enjoy again later.
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