The Real Blogger Status

We are seeing an increasing number of reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , about problems accessing various dashboard features. Recently I have faced a problem on my blogs dashboard. The problem is Invalid Security Token Error 403 How do I solve this? This blog owner faces the latest variant of the long feared monolithic error, "403 Forbidden".

We see the pain, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , of blog owners who do not understand the need for keeping the name of their Blogger account a secret. I forgot the email address that I was using. Why can't Blogger just tell me the address?? and some ask How did this unknown person "xxxxx xxxxx" get control of my blog? Years ago, the local police would have to convince home owners Please, stop leaving a spare key under a rock, near the door! Both many blog owners (today) - like some home owners (years ago) - had the same basic problem - naivete.

Don't get me wrong here. This is, currently, not my problem. But it was once, long ago . I suffered the indignity of solving the Captcha , over and over, for at least a week. And unlike many here, I don't just write a blog post. I write, and rewrite, and rewrite the rewrite. Then I add a couple links, to other posts, and reverse link those posts to my latest post. So each post, for me, would be a dozen (minimum) publishes, and a dozen (minimum) opportunities for me to solve the damn Captcha . Then somebody wrote here about the link, which I had looked at each time I solved the Captcha . My blog is not spam. DOHH. I clicked on the link. Two more clicks, and I was done. I got a bot reply an hour later, and same day, a final reply. I logged out of Blogger and back in, and posted a test. No more Captcha . Unfortunately, not everybody has an easy experience like that. Many people write that they have submitted the request from My blog is not spam. at least once, and they ...

This question has come up a few times this year. If my blog gets deleted (by me or by a Blogger anti-splog bot), or if I move my blog to an external host, how quickly should I setup a stub blog , to replace what I just deleted or moved? How many hours, days, weeks am I safe? I, typically, would assume the worst possible case, and suggest Minutes. Do you think this to be fiction, or perhaps paranoid delusions? Then please read Spammers stole my old URL during transfer to FTP hosting! . Under the right conditions, protecting yourself with a stub blog should take maybe 30 seconds. Go to the Dashboard, and select Create A Blog . Name your blog. What did you just delete? DOHH. Select a template - just pick the first one. Create a stub post . Publish. Done. If you take as much as a minute, and the problem is the computer or network I can probably help you to get the time down to 30 seconds. If you take much more than a minute, though, it's likely that you have a problem. In that ...

I don't know that ghosts exist, but I believe in them. I don't know for sure that splogging bots exist, either. I believe in splogging bots more than I believe in ghosts. At least, I respect the threat that they provide. Ghosts can't hurt you. In Spam Blogs #3 , I discuss the scope of this problem. Here's one very possible scenario. You are tired of having your friends complain about not being able to see your blog, every time Blogspot hiccups. So you setup a folder on your ISPs server, you register a domain name (cool), and you publish your Blogger blog to your new domain. Fine. The next day, one of your friends emails you and says Why are you selling stocks (adult movies, drugs, what have you) now? And you go to your old URL on Blogspot, and look. And lo, you see a big advertisement blog, where your poetry used to be. WTF? So you think I'll fix them. and you back into Blogger and change your blog to publish it back to the Blogspot URL. Get rid of the sp...

Dirty Butter of Blog Village left a comment on my previous article Stolen Computers Our Blogger blogs are hosted on our own domain. Are we at just as much risk as those blogs hosted on blogspot? My immediate answer was "Somewhat". Then I realised that's pretty useless. A useful answer needs qualitative analysis. Then I asked myself how relevant each of these issues are, anyway? So I rewrote the issues, and described them as threats. Some threats you can avoid, others you can't. Threats that you may be able to avoid. Blogger accounts attacked by password guessing . Blogger blogs hijacked when deleted by the owner , and when deleted by a Blogger anti-splog bot . Blogger accounts attacked by identity theft. General unsafe use of personal computer . Unsafe use of personal computer in a public place . Unsafe use of any public computer . Here you are vulnerable to an attack thru your Blogger account, which controls the Blogger database containing your blog, before pub...

If you have a Blogger blog, you (your blog) are under attack . This is a very real problem. You may not even realise it, but you are vulnerable (actually, you're vulnerable because you don't realise it). Every computer security expert knows that there are thousands of computers, worldwide, that are not under the complete control of their legal owners. Computers under the control of a bad guy , after infection from a trojan or virus , are a serious problem.

The popular saying isn't that, but it's close. We all make mistakes. If you just made a big mistake and deleted your blog , or if you're the latest victim of an over sensitive Blogger anti-splog bot , recovering your blog will involve Blogger Support, and the Blogger Support Help Form . But don't start there - start by setting up a stub blog now . Then finish the initial recovery: Recover the template (you did backup the template , at least once, right?). Fill out the Blogger Contact Form . Wait for Blogger Support to recover the blog, from their backup. Optional steps while you wait for Blogger Support to act: Put a post in your blog. (Blog Title) Coming Soon. Admit that you were an idiot (yes, you were - admit it ). (Blog Title) Coming Soon (Sorry - I goofed). For a more complete procedure on blog recovery, see Aurea Martin (aka O.K., O.K.!) Erased your blog by mistake? .

We're hearing that cry of dismay a lot recently. There are many symptoms, and actual problems, involved here. Look more closely at your problem, and at the list. Triage The Problem Deleted Blog Hijacked Blog Corrupted Content Login Problem Blocked By ISP Blocked By Network, or Local, Problem Last Resorts Please! Triage The Problem If you are currently suffering from this symptom, please immediately help to triage the problem , post the results in a forum discussion (follow instructions about any rollup discussion), and participate actively in the diagnostic process. >> Top Deleted Blog You made a mistake, and deleted your own blog , or maybe you or another administrator removed you from the permissions list . DOHH. Mistakes happen. Or the blog may have been removed by Blogger - for just cause - whether falsely or genuinely. Or, did you delete the blog intentionally , without considering possible consequences? >> Top Hijacked Blog The bad guys...

I said earlier DO NOT Delete Your Blog . I will now add to that advice. DO NOT Rename Your Blog. At least, do not rename your blog using the simple Dashboard procedure Settings Publishing Type in new name for "Blog*Spot Address" as suggested by Blogger For Dummies . Why? Redirect Trouble Renaming your blog, without leaving a stub behind, is the same as deleting your blog . The old name is available to the spammers. If you decide, in the future, that the old name was better, you'll likely find that name unavailable. We know the bad guys are actively hijacking deleted blogs, to recycle the search engine visibility that they have gathered. From the problems discovered to date, it's pretty certain that they are using automated techniques - not just searching by hand. It's pretty likely that any computers being used for the searching are hijacked, ie bots. The reliablity of individual bots is pretty low. Bots are Lossy . At any time, a botted computer might be: ...

I suspect that spam blogs, and blogs incorrectly identified as spam blogs, will be a problem forever. Just as spam, and email incorrectly identified as spam, will be a problem forever. It doesn't look like there's any current and consistent problem right now though, at least one that's totally up to Blogger to resolve . But this blog isn't going to go away . Even with no active problem, the material here is still relevant to Bloggers. And I sure as heck won't delete this . EDIT: I wrote the above when I was suffering from an attack of optimism. See Open Blogger Issues , for new problems popping up. Does anybody speak for Blogger ? NOTE : If your blog has been falsely flagged, and you are suffering the pain of the word verification puzzle (aka the Captcha), you can get this resolved. Just do NOT waste time with the Blogger Help Form . There is a special link right next to the Captcha. My blog is not spam Click on the link. THIS procedure is quite painless , an...