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| In South Cave, East Yorkshire on Friday |
This blogpost will be very boring to most visitors.
In the "Stats" zone connected with this blog and all other blogs hosted by Blogger I had a look at two features that mean very little to me - namely "Referring URLs" and "Referring Sites". I understand that these lists are connected with how visitors arrive at one's blog.
Historically most of Yorkshire Pudding visitors have arrived via Google or via John Gray's blog (Going Gently) or via Mary Moon's blog (Bless Our Hearts). Now I was quite happy when arrivals came from those quarters. It also made some sense.
However, recently something happened that makes me feel uncomfortable - also I didn't really understand what was going on. The top Referring URL and the top Referring Site in the past week was unknown to me. It went by the name "onlinenow.top" and when I nervously investigated this link, I discovered that it was some sort of pornographic site.
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| Last week |
There were several thumbnail pictures of scantily clad or naked women and apparently if I had clicked on any of them it would have taken me to a separate pornographic site. It was as if "onlinenow.top" was some sort of porn hub.
Today I am pleased to say that "onlinenow.top" has disappeared from my "referring sites" list but it bothers me that it was somehow connected with this blog and it may explain the strange presence of Russians and Ukrainians in my "audience" list.
Many of the strange machinations of the internet are mysterious to me and it is saddening that there are cunning, malicious people out there in the big wide world who will happily misuse this wonderful facility that has become so much a part of our everyday lives. We all know about online fraud but what are these bad, greedy and immoral people doing messing around in the blogosphere? Whatever they are doing cannot be good.
Perhaps our lovely German friend Meike can explain more. With her training in data protection and internet security she may be able to clarify what is going on when previously unknown referring sites start heading our lists. If Meike chooses to respond I may add her answer to this blogpost.
I'm just very happy that people find you through me. We are such a nice community. I don't understand how a porn site could possibly become a referring site for your blog. How bizarre. I hope you do get some answers you could share.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Yanks Mary.
DeleteOh golly. I have checked and they are lurking in the background of my little blog too. I feel as though I need a hot bath with lots of soap.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry. I won't tell Peregrine.
DeleteIt's annoying but harmless. Ignore it and it will go away. It is likely to be a spam bot to enhance the search engine rankings of the sender site artificially. There is a google discussion thread with some answers and a link to an informative wikipedia page at https://support.google.com/blogger/thread/19081632?hl=en
ReplyDeletePS Thank you for the 19 referrals from you to me during the last 7 days.
I charge five quid per referral Tasker. Cash only.
DeleteThanks for the earlier advice.
Would that be "Behind the hot water pipes, third cubicle along, gents toilet, platform 6a, Sheffield Midland station?
DeleteAye and use a brown envelope though not too brown if you see what I mean.
DeleteHow much better a place the world would be if the internet fraudsters and pornsters used their amazing talents for the good of the world instead of their own nasty purposes. I suppose it has always been so but it seems so much easier for them to get to people now, they're so clever.
ReplyDeleteI wish we still had village stocks so that we could pelt rotten eggs and fruit at these parasites Jean.
DeleteI agree with what you say, Yorkie. Why there have to be such clowns in the world, sure beats me. And you know I'm not referring to the good, old, harmless circus clowns!
ReplyDeleteI can't remember how I came to find your blog. It must have been through a mutual blogging friend...but I can't, for the life of me, remember.
And, I agree also...village stocks would be the way to go...and I don't mean from the grocery stores! :)
And I can't remember how I found Kitchen Connection. Perhaps God guided me there.
DeleteI'm not sure if God knows where I live, Yorkie....or even if I exist. :)
DeleteWhere ever you are God will sniff you out.
DeleteIgnore. Don't fret. Having said that, how does the saying go, and I may be too relaxed for my own good: "Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you".
ReplyDeleteU
You are so relaxed you are horizontal Ursula.
DeleteI always come via John's blog because if I save your blog to my "favourites" it won't update and stays on the post of the day I saved it.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you need to attend evening classes on "Blogging Basics" at Blackburn College.
DeleteChristina, I believe the problem is that you are saving YP's post to favourites instead of his blog - to save his blog, you need to click on his header rather than on the post title, then save.
DeleteYou are right Jenny.
DeleteThank you, Jenny. Education is always better thanhumiliation.(YP take note!) 😀😀
DeleteThat referring site has been top of my referring list for quite awhile now, too - and when I hover over the world map, it's Ukraine that darkens up, showing the number from that country. Very few from Russia. But I continue to ignore it, because it's just a bot and having found its way in it will probably be there forever. I didn't dare click on it, having naively done so for a couple of "followers" in the early months of my blog, so I'm glad you took a bullet for us all :)
ReplyDeleteThe bullet went right through me and out the other side.
DeleteI haven't checked my "stats" in ages and I'm not sure I ever gave a thought to the "traffic sources". Of course this post made me check - and I found the same source on my list. I guess that explains (hm) the spam comments I had to delete on my last post. I suspect most spam comments are generated by automatic search engines set to always be on the lookout for certain labels and words used. And the list of words that might be twisted completely out of context is probably endless.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you know what you are talking about DT.
DeleteI hate to even think what may be lurking out there in the internet that does not have good intentions. Have you heard about the "Dark Web"? That makes the rest of the internet look like a playground.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't government agencies destroy The Dark Web? What good does it do? Why do they let it continue?
DeleteI don't think it is something they can just destroy. I've only recently learned a little about it. It is far beyond my understanding.
DeleteThey can get men on the moon, they can make wars in foreign lands, they can make submarines and huge skyscrapers so why can't they just knock out The Dark Web? I don't get it Bonnie.
DeleteThat's a very pleasing photo of South Cave.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sue! That wasn't the cave entrance by the way!
DeleteI get to your site through Mary's site because when I had you in my favorites I would get a webroot warning. The same with Steve's blog. I don't want to miss either one.
ReplyDeleteWhat was that song Barbara?..."I don't care how you get here/ Just get here if you can.."
DeleteLove a song reference. You can never go wrong doing that.
DeleteI have the same experience with referring sites as you do...the same crew online now. However , the site is still attached. I asked the help line but they say they don't have any solutions.
ReplyDeleteThat is an unhelpful help line/
DeleteIt has already been said so you won't need my explanation about bots and referrer URLs to genereate clicks.
ReplyDeleteLike almost everyone else here, I have had my share of spam comments, and porn sites appear in the stats for my blog as well.
We've seen it before and we will undoubtedly see it again; it comes and goes in waves, like the escort service you so aptly included in your posts a while ago.
I used to get a bit hysterical about sudden large numbers of Russians/Ukraines//Unknown Region appearing from nowhere but they disappear. And rather fancy the idea of the 'unknown region' being aliens sent to spy on us.
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ReplyDeleteWell at least you've made me look at my stats. Sophy22 was there. I'm not sure that I learned much else of interest.
ReplyDeleteCreepy
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