Why you should turn on comment moderation ASAP!
..because someone may be leaving spammy links in your old post comments area. As I was cruising around some very old posts I noticed some strange comments. They were long and rambling and mostly didn't make any sense whatever and then there was a link at the end of the comment.
Groan.
Spam.
I didn't follow the link. I deleted the comment. I felt violated.
Someone was using my site to promote something and we are not talking nice Mommy blogs either. These spam links can lead to some very unseemly and illegal sites. Where else on my blog (700 posts altogether) are there links like this? I feel the need to go through at least the last 3 years of post comments to see if there is any spam. That is one big job!!
All along I was falsely confident because I was "watching over" the comments day by day. But these spammers don't put their comments on the current posts. They put them on PAST posts so that you don't know they are there. They don't WANT you to find them. They want your unsuspecting visitors to find them. And go to their sites.
Now that I have turned on "comment moderation", here are some of the spammy comments in the comment moderation area of my blog dashboard that I've had to delete. They tend to be complimentary, senseless, and rambling. At the end, there is a link and that's where the problem lies...
"Thank you such a lot for the honorable mention! you're such a method inspiration, it ought to return as no surprise that you just have numerous followers! i actually do not keep in mind what life was like before Interest. For all the explanations you aforementioned, it's such a game changer. I additionally behind on my web log reading, however I simply have to be compelled to say Maine TOO! and affirmative, to everything you aforementioned in your post concerning not needing to get stalled within the monotony of life as a occupy home mommy. it's forever my greatest struggle. As always... you nailed it. cricket shoes"
"I think you've got tons to brag concerning! and that i would not worry about being "overly boastful" as a result of you are tooting your own horn! i prefer to listen to the great stuff that folks do. It's far better than hearing the long list of crap and ailments they're experiencing over ... and over ... and once again. Hearing dangerous stuff all the time is simply not smart. cricket-ball on "
How to turn on Comment Moderation in Blogger:
From your dashboard go to:
Settings ...then click on
Posts and comments
Scroll down to Comment Moderation and you will have a choice of "always or sometimes or never".
Choose "always".
Underneath it says, "email moderation requests to" - enter your email address.
Go up to the top of the page and click on "Save Settings".
You will now get emails that say, the name of your blog and "new comment on - the name of your blog post". You will have 3 choices in the email... Publish, Delete, or Mark as Spam". Choose "mark as spam".
All done.
For Wordpress users, there is Akismet which costs, I believe, $5. a month but which I hear is well worth the money. Their motto is "say goodbye to comment spam".
WORD VERIFICATION
Underneath the "comment moderation" there is a place to select "word verification". I still say "no" to word verification because people (me, too) hate trying to read the letters and numbers. I've been noticing lately that they are all numbers which is infinitely easier. Fortunately, there aren't many bloggers that still use word verification and I don't see the point of it as long as the comments are moderated. I may be wrong, but it is one big fat pain to anyone who wants to leave a comment on your site.
Save yourself a heap of trouble and TURN ON COMMENT MODERATION EARLY ON IN YOUR BLOG so you don't have to do what I have to do... go through years of comments to see if anything was left on the comment areas while I didn't have comment moderation turned ON.
Your friend,
![[zzzzzzC9561C493251B0E7B572C8A863B55985%255B2%255D.png]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0qQxZsOiWr6FcbbAUU6Tu304oxIjQ2KPok_CRXfngM_uGx-pndnAy_dCpZN_botwknRhombc9iI6kDeTc1qp5TUNoNPJ8JLgTrc03yVEq4buF0dgJfkilv435iOM4vA54VGP4CLQVOpz/s1600/zzzzzzC9561C493251B0E7B572C8A863B55985%25255B2%25255D.png)
Consider following on Pinterest and would you like to PIN this? That would be very cool...
I never had it off because I had seen tons of blog posts like that with weird comments, before I started my own blog. It takes a bit of time to read all the comments sometimes, but I like doing that anyways, especially when someone starts scrolling through my old posts!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Diane. Funny thing is that this post was not finished when it got published. Somehow I hit the "update" or "publish" button so I had to quick get with it and finish it and make up a graphic to go with it. If it were not for your comment, I wouldn't even have known it was published! Thanks so much. Linda
DeleteI am very new to blogging. Thanks for the info! I had no idea you could do something like that :)
ReplyDeleteI am very new to blogging. This was really helpful! Thanks for posting this :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Courtney, So glad this was helpful to you. Wish I had known this some years ago. I've been blogging for 5 years. Linda
ReplyDeleteThis is great that you took the time to explain this to newcomers....it is something that that should all know and still a "peeve" of mine when I come across those annoying #'s I have to input before I leave a msg!
ReplyDeleteI will pin to share the post!
Hugs, my friend!
JP
Hi Linda, When I first started on Wordpress I got hundreds of spam EVERY DAY! It's so much nicer now that I have a spam blocker. Hope you can find all your spam without too much trouble. I don't mind typing in a word - if I can see it. Unfortunately, I often can't see the word and can't leave a comment.
ReplyDeleteNoreen
Crafty Journal
I'm curious, do you not get copies of comments in your email inbox? I somehow have my blog set up to send me a copy of any comments to my email, so I see them as they come.
ReplyDelete@A Slice Of Homeschool Pie
I get an email whenever I get a new comment. Usually, if it's spam, by the time I've gone to the post, the comment has disappeared.
ReplyDeleteI have mine set so that anything older than 2 weeks moderates. I also installed a third party comment option (Disqus) that adds a second layer of filterning.
ReplyDeleteLinda, since I am on WordPress, I use Akismet and it has been wonderful. But...I still need to go through all the spam to see if a 'real' comment got through. None of this is ever easy...we always need to be vigilant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your tip at Project Inspire{d}~AnExtraordinaryDay.net.
Best wishes for an Extraordinary week!
~Diane
I'm a fairly new blogger and only have about 60 total posts, but I decline spam comments on a weekly basis. I definitely don't like the idea of random spam comments on any of my posts. This a great tip!
ReplyDeleteSpam always sucks! Fortunately, I have a plugin on my site (I'm Wordpress Self_Hosted) that takes care of it. Additionally, I'm notified via email of all comments on my blog, so even if a spam does get through it will most likely get flagged before posted or I will see it and move it to the trash. For those that don't have a plugin, comment moderation is a good option for keeping an eye of spammy comments.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up at Gingham & Roses!
Hope to see you back next week!
Tenns @ New Mama Diaries
It's so sad that we need to have comment moderation but I agree it's a necessity. I am glad you moderate without captcha! I inevitably get it wrong especially when I am on my phone and it tries to autocorrect the entry.
ReplyDeleteI am on Wordpress and have a free version of Akismet but yes, it's completely worth it even if you pay for it! It's sad but the more traffic I get, the more spam too. Wish it wasn't so.
Thanks for sharing this with Small Victories Sunday linky 9. #10 is now live so hope you stop back by and enter up to 3 more posts, your blog is lovely! Glad to meet you!
http://momssmallvictories.com/small-victories-sunday-linky-10-one-linkies/
Oh definitely I agree! I always know when I get a comment on an older post that it's spam. Since they're moderated I find it funny on occasion to see what they say; it's always ridiculous but sometimes they almost make sense so you have to very careful. I always check the links if I am unsure of who someone is. Yes I hate word verification it drives me nuts! Sometimes I write out a long thoughtful comment and go to a new tab then I go to click off the tab that I commented on only to see that I needed to type in the code, but it's too late. LOL These are great tips!!!! Good luck going through your posts to rid of the ickies!
ReplyDelete