Blog Content, And Confusion About Blogs Locked After Suspected Account Hacking

One Blogger mystery involves the varying periods of blog unavailability, after hacking activity is detected.

My blog just disappeared from my dashboard - and no, it's not listed under "Deleted blogs"!

When the owner mentions the notice about "suspicious" / "unusual" account activity, or having unlocked the account (by solving a CAPTCHA, receiving a phone message, changing the password) - and is advised to wait "24 to 48 hours" - many ask the obvious.

Is "24 to 48 hours" really accurate?

In reality, the legendary "24 to 48" hour time period is only a ball park figure - and both Blogger / Google, and the blog owner, contribute to the uncertainty.

Comment Spam And Referer Spam Has Various Purposes

One of the most intriguing subjects discussed in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken involves the seemingly purposeless spam which torments us in our comments and our Stats logs.

I see this random garbage on my blog - and the sites advertised are complete junk. Is there any actual reason for this?

Interestingly, both nice blog spam (in our comments), and referer spam (in our Stats logs), have purposes - though with the continually varying content used in both, it all looks very much like random garbage.

If we analyse the content, structure, and volume of the various spam attacks, we can see patterns - and an understanding of the overall purpose of the spam.

When Using Template "Edit HTML", The Edit Window Remains Blank

Since Blogger released their improved Template Editor, blog owners have been reporting a new, transient problem.

I click on "Edit HTML", and the editing display opens - but the HTML window remains blank.

Generally, you may wait a few seconds, and the HTML window will fill with the content. With enough patience, you'll see the content arrive - eventually.

Unfortunately, waiting won't always provide a solution.

The Google Apps "bloggeradmin" Password Reset May Be Broken, For Some Domains

We've been seeing reports from some frustrated blog owners, about problems with the limited access Google Apps accounts.

I've reset my password numerous times and it still doesn't work.

Even given the recently provided "bloggeradmin" username, and the standard Google account reset process, some blog owners still cannot access Google Apps to manage their Blogger custom domain published blogs.

We do have one bit of hope. One such problem report, recently forwarded to Google Apps Support, was noted by a Google Apps Engineer with the advice

We identified a recent change which may have affected the password reset flow for some users. We expect it to either be fixed or rolled out shortly.

So, there is some hope for a few unhappy new domain owners. We'll simply have to be patient. As always, I'll let you know what I find out, when I find it out.

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Abuse Reporting Is Not For Deleting A Blog For Which You Lost Control

Sometimes, people lose control of their blog, with no ability to regain control - and simply want the blog deleted.

How do I have Blogger delete the blog, for me, since I can't prove ownership?

When advised that Blogger does not delete blogs on behalf of former owners, the next thought by the former owner is to have the blog deleted as abuse.

What category of Abuse should I use, to have a previously owned blog, deleted?

While not genuinely fraudulent, the latter approach is misuse of the Abuse reporting process.

The "Create a new blog" Wizard Is Not Prescient

We're seeing some odd problem reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about blog creation.

I entered just the first letter of the name which I wanted, and I immediately saw

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

How am I supposed to create a blog, if all the names are taken?

What intrigues me here is not that people see

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

It's that people don't ask the next question.

How did it know what name I was typing, before I finished?

How do you explain that you have to type the entire name, and have that name checked, before giving up, disappointed?

Confusion About Referer Spam Can Have Unexpected Consequences

As referer spam continues to be reported in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, we see occasional signs of confusion.

Some blog owners, knowing how to use WhoIs lookups and similar online utilities, to their advantage, are looking up the referer spam targets - and are reporting the targets to their registrars and hosts. What these blog owners may not realise is that not all apparent "customers" of referer spam "services" may have actually contracted to be featured in the services.

Why Does Referer Spam Get Reported, Primarily, By New Blog Owners?

One of the details of referer spam, that intrigued me for a while, involved who was reporting the spam.

Most - but not all - referer spam is reported by newbie owners. People who just setup a blog, and are anxiously waiting for their first readers outside their own country, are suddenly astounded

Wow, thousands of people are reading my blog - from China and Russia! I am an international celebrity, in my first week!!

The euphoria quickly vanishes, when told in the forums

Nobody is actually viewing your blog from these sites - and nobody knows about these links but you, since only you can see your Stats logs.

The general response to the cold water, dashed in their faces, is generally acceptance

Thank you for the prompt and informative reply - I'm very relieved to learn that the site is not actually linking to my blog.

The latter is the general response - but not the only response. Nobody should be surprised at that, as not everybody is the same. What is surprising, though, is who is not so accepting of my advice.

The Google Apps "bloggeradmin" Password Reset Uses A Standard Google Account Reset

As Google Apps updates their limited function ("bloggeradmin") account setup process, we see reports from confused Blogger blog owners.

After I reset my password, I still get

The username or password you entered is incorrect

when I try to login, later!

and

I reset my password - and it changed my Blogger and GMail account - but I still can't login to Google Apps!!

The Google Apps password reset uses a standard Google account reset process - and is subject to normal account reset behaviour. If you don't reset the right account, you won't be able to login, later.

Comment Moderation In Blogger Blogs, Using Google+ Comments

With more Blogger blogs being updated to use Google+ Comments, we're seeing a few questions in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, about comment moderation.

How do I moderate comments, with Google+ Comments enabled on my blog?

This is a question for which there is no easy answer - and this is one of the most undesirable feature limitations of Google+ Comments.

Blogger Blogs Redirecting To "opromo . com"

This week, we're seeing a new stream of problem reports, from blog owners whose blogs are, once again, mysteriously redirecting their readers to unknown destinations.

When I open my blog, it automatically directs to another search engine display.

This appears to be yet one more gadget, willingly installed by many Blogger blog owners, which is now redirecting uninterested viewers. The target of the redirection, this week, is a parked domain website (ie, "search engine display") - for a product which was apparently installed, willingly, by the blog owners.