The Real Blogger Status

We've been dealing with a minor recent deluge of reports, from blog owners reporting mysterious redirection of their blogs. The original typical report, which started like any report involving a respected Internet service going out of business, was annoying - yet benign. Today, the status changed to malicious. Right now, "w i d g e t s e r v e r . c o m" is redirecting to "l i b o s t u d i o s . com" . Please enter your email address to continue. Many gadgets, long known for redirecting, are again redirecting - recently to "w i d g e t s e r v e r . c o m" - and now to "l i b o s t u d i o s . c o m". As some were diagnosed, a few owners advised that the misbehaving gadget had been installed long ago . We've seen, so far, a few old (not!) friends. M a u k i e , N e o C o u n t e r, and "S u n a n d M o o n P h a s e" can be seen, in some topics . A brief sample of forum topics involving "w i d g e t...

Similar to the need to properly filter cookies in the browser, we have the need to properly filter scripts. Cookies and scripts are completely different elements - but proper filtering of each is essential, to making many Blogger features operate properly . If you have a problem with Blogger - either accessing / using the dashboard, or using / viewing a blog - one of the simplest things to check, complementing cookie filter settings , is the browser script filter settings.

The Blogger dashboard, and blog displays, is less of a pair of websites - and more of an application with code that runs on our computers . The Blogger code on our computers requires cookies and scripts , which are installed as we use the various Blogger dashboard pages. The cookies and scripts are susceptible to interference, from overly restrictive layered security . If you have a problem with Blogger - either accessing / using the dashboard, or using / viewing a blog - one of the simplest things to check, complementing script filter settings , is the browser cookie filter settings.

We've been discussing the problem of email filtering , and missing email, for some time. Some blog members / owners are certain that their missing email isn't caused by filters. I looked in "Bulk" / "Spam"! The email isn't there, either - it simply does not get delivered!! These people are certain that Blogger just is not sending the email. In some cases, the problem is not with "Bulk" / "Spam" filters - it is with anti-spoofing filters - and email detected as spoofed, generally, is "bounced".

One long known mystery, reported from time to time in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , involves the dashboard Reading List, and panic from disappearing entries. Where are the blogs, in my Reading List? Some Blogger blog owners and readers can spend days setting up their Reading List complement - and see their work vanish, in seconds. One of the reasons why this problem has not been solved is that it is not reported in consistently high volume, and has no obvious pattern. Another is that many people who use the Reading List - as opposed to a third party NewsFeed Reader - are not of the highest in technological skill level, and do not have the patience to provide coherent and relevant details about the problem.

Ever since Blogger finally restored the custom domain publishing feature , blog owners have been asking about the addition to the domain setup process - the new "CNAME". Do I really need this? My old blogs don't have it, and they are fine. and My registrar won't let me add a second "CNAME" - they allow one "CNAME" / domain (my "www"). and My registrar won't allow long addresses, such as what you have for "Destination" / "Target" / "Points To". And we are learning that this requirement is going to be a problem for blog owners using some registrars, who can't provide this "CNAME" in their customers domains.

We are seeing a steadily increasing flood of reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , from people who use Norton Safe Web, and who are now seeing some distressing advice. When I try to view any BlogSpot blog, I see This web page is a known fraudulent web page. It is recommended that you do NOT visit this page. For your protection, this web page has been blocked. Visit Symantec to learn more about phishing and internet security. What is Google doing about this false alert? Since Norton (aka Symantec) is not a part of Google, there is not a lot that Blogger or Google can do about this problem.

As Blogger becomes both easier to use, and more full of features, it becomes an application with more code that runs on our computers . The code on our computers requires both cookies and scripts, installed on our computers as we use the various Blogger utilities. The cookies and scripts are increasingly susceptible to damage, from improperly implemented layered security .

I've been helping bloggers maintain their Blogger blogs, and had to remind them of the occasional need to clear browser cache , for many years. One of the challenges, with clearing browser cache, is that each browser - and different versions of each browser - have different menus and wizards, for every maintenance procedure, and for every different setting. What we used to call "cache" and "cookies", so long ago, is now called "private data" - and there are multiple selections, varying by browser, for various components of "private data". It's important to understand why you should not clear cache, indiscriminately - and alternately, why you should clear cache, at the proper time .

I've been advising people about clearing cache and cookies , for a long time. Recently, I realised that terminology is changing - and some browsers refer to "cache" and "cookies" generically as "private data". Some browsers also refer to a third type of "private data", as "active logins" or "authenticated sessions". It's important to understand why you should not clear cache, cookies, and sessions, indiscriminately - and when you should clear cache, cookies, and sessions .

I've been advising people with various problems with accessing and maintaining Blogger blogs, that involve cache and cookies , for a while. Recently, I explored the ongoing problem with Blogger Stats and the "Don't track my pageviews" setting . Besides the known (and widely argued) problem with blocked third party cookies , I discovered a similar problem, with cookies being cleared when the browser is closed . Besides Stats, it appears that the Blogger login process, and authenticated commenting, are also sensitive to blocked cookies / scripts - and to inappropriately cleared content. If regular clearing "cache and cookies" , which is now generally known as "private data", is part of your browser optimisation or security strategy, you may wish to examine your policies carefully. If you have a problem with cookie filtering, clearing cookies won't make your problem go away. If you want to avoid problems with Commenting, Login, and Stats...

The controversy about " third party cookies " in general, and about Google Stats and their use of "third party cookies" in particular, never ends. Some Bloggers do not yet understand the issue. I do not allow third party cookies. I do not believe that third party cookies should be involved, at all. Blogger needs a simple setting in Stats that say "Do not track my visits." And here is another case where people look at a forest, and ignore the trees. Blogger created a simple setting saying "Do not track my visits.". Since the vast majority of your readers have Internet service that provides a dynamic IP address, the setting is stored on your computer, so your computer can be identified. The setting, stored on your computer, has 2 advantages. Even with your computers IP address constantly changing, your computer will be consistently identified as your computer. Since you, reading your blog, contribute but a small amount of traffic against y...

The recently released Stats feature, which competes with well known third party products like SiteMeter and StatCounter , has the option to block your own visits from being counted. This option is required by any serious blog publisher, as anybody who wants to rely upon the accuracy of the visitor meter of choice is certainly going to want to see information about their readers - without the distraction of their own activity .