I have set up the comment section on this blog to be run through a rigorous spam filter, and if they pass that, then force all comments to go into moderation. That means before they appear, I see them first and evaluate whether to post them.<\/p>\n
I do that mostly for your protection. Say what?
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\nThat’s right… I refuse to post comments with embedded links. By not allowing comments with embedded links to appear, I am saving my readers from accidentally clicking on a link that may go to a site with malware or could introduce a virus that would take over your device, steal your personal information, or do other bad stuff.<\/p>\n
I am no cybersecurity expert, but I know enough not to click on links that go to websites that I have never heard of, and seem odd or strange. I have read the horror stories from others who have visited websites that appeared on blog comments.<\/p>\n
For grins and giggles, I copied 10 of the links (urls) that were embedded in comments that were in my spam folder. I sent them to a well-regarded cybersecurity specialist who I know. He ran them through a system that evaluates what is really going on with the websites that these links went to. Here are the results:<\/p>\n
7> hosted in the Ukraine, Estonia, or Russia… spyware embedded on the page. All you have to do is visit the page and the spyware would secretly be downloaded. Four of the spyware programs look for personal information (bank account and credit card numbers, social security number, home address, etc.) The spyware sends this data to bad guys who use it to steal identities or money or both. Three of the spyware programs not only did that, they would introduce keylogging software. Keyloggers track each key pressed on a keyboard (or touched on a screen), so even if you do not store a credit card number on your computer\/device, when you enter one to purchase something, your number, expiration date, and CCV number are captured and your account would likely be used fraudulently.<\/p>\n
2> hosted in China. Same situation with spyware and keylogging.<\/p>\n
1> hosted in India by some SEO (search engine optimization) company. This one was legitimate (that is, it did not host malware), but was advertising the company’s services. The only thing wrong here was that the name used by the person writing the comment was “Sam” and so-called “Sam” claimed to be from Salt Lake City, Utah. The site was in India, so “Sam” was an outright liar and was attempting to get me (and others) to use their company’s services. I do not deal with liars. Heck, if they lied about their name and location, why would I ever place trust in their company?<\/p>\n
In summary, I will continue to reject comments with embedded links. If you are one of my regular readers and have a legitimate link that you want me to see and perhaps share with others, write to me<\/a> and let’s discuss. It is easy to tell who is normal and above-board over the weird spammy comments that this blog gets bombarded with.<\/p>\n Life is short: reject malicious intent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have set up the comment section on this blog to be run through a rigorous spam filter, and if they pass that, then force all comments to go into moderation. That means before they appear, I see them first … Continue reading