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Fake Blog Visitors and Referer Spams

       Fellow bloggers, this is something we should all be concerned about.  I was checking my blog stats tonight and was kinda surprised to find out that I'm getting traffic from really strange sources.  Go check the screenshots and see for yourself.

       For this blog, here are the referring URLs and sites today:



     Even my other blog (Show Me Your Look Today) is getting the same treatment.



     My traffic is quite small so I can clearly see all that.  Those strange but valid-looking URLs got me curious so I followed the links and was mystified to find out that the sites did not yield anything.  Thus, I was prompted to investigate further and got the bad news. 

     When I googled about the sites, the info I got about them is that they spam, they bring virus and malware and that they're designed to make you curious so you will click on the link.  They are called REFERER SPAMS that's visible only to the blog administrator as you are the only one who can see your blog's stats.

     Referer spams, also known as log spam or referer bombing, is a kind of spamming that targets search engines.  The technique involves making repeated web site requests using a fake referrer URL that points to the site the spammer wishes to advertise.  Sites that publicize their access logs, including referrer statistics, will then inadvertently link back to the spammer's site.  These links will be indexed by search engines as they crawl the access logs.  (Definition from Wikipedia).


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     Referer bombing is said to be a tactic used by spammers to make webmasters curious so they will research their referrers and visit the specific website.  Anyway, I was a bit worried and checked my previous stats (weekly, monthly and all-time) to find out whether I have more referer spam on my reports.

     As it turned out, I actually do.  So far, I have these on my list:

  • http://www4.savegco-antivir.com
  • http://www3.personal-scanera.com
  • http://www4.safe-vochecker.com
  • http://www4.best-aruchecker.com
  • http://www3.bestbxcleaner.com
  • http://www4.strongdxgsoft.com
  • http://www.googlecorrection.com
  • http://www.justforlaughsgags.tv
  • http://domar.ru

     They were the ones I found weird enough to be giving me so much traffic yet I barely know these sites.  Information about them throughout the web also confirms that they are indeed referer spams.  You can Google about them but no matter what, DON'T CLICK THEIR LINKS if you see them on your stats report.  One way to stop these referer spams is to COMPLETELY IGNORE them.  But if you're bothered that they will show in your Google Analytics Report, here's a SITE with the solution.

     Referer spams will reflect some figure on your stats report but they do not give your blog any actual traffic, thus your stats may fluctuate.  Webmasters are suggesting that you get a third party visitor log to have an accurate pageview count as they are not affected by these annoying referer spams.

     If you have suspicious looking URLs on your stats report, DON'T CLICK THEM.  Google about them instead just to be sure.  Other bloggers might've encountered them in the past, and the info you will get will save you some headache later.  By the way, if you have additional spam referer to add on this list, tell me so on the comments' section below.

     Be safe everybody and see you on my next wandering!

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13 comments:

  1. Hay naku, Myke. I have the same problem. Notorious yang domar.ru na yan. Talagang top notcher pa yan sa stats ko :( Anyway, thanks for sharing the link on how to solve those etchoserong spammers. Will look into it when I find the time to go back to blogging ;) Take care!

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  2. Thx for info. Got to check mine!

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  3. You're an angel to share this Myke, this one goes to my bookmarked post :)
    Suki ko yang domar.ru. dapat jan i-spam back or hack back lol

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  4. Naku! I was clicking on them last time Kasi nga top referrer sila din ng mga blogs ko. Thanks for sharing. I am really having the feeling too that they're spam or maybe hackers. Frightening! Thanks for the warning.

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  5. Hi Myke!
    Thank you for this info..Glad to know we are on same boat at may simpatiya sa bawat isa..Maraming salamat po and will check very soon my accts. but sad to say naging viewer and follower ko na rin yan si domar.ru at biglang nawala... Salamat na lng at nawala siya at hndi nakatira sa site ko :)..God bless you more Myke.

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  6. Thanks for this Myke, very helpful. I've never checked my blog traffic before.

    www.1sthappyfamily.com

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  7. wow I have a couple of similar links. thanks for the heads-up!

    : )

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  8. ay, yun pala! salamat ulit ;)

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  9. pareng myke..iba ka talaga...maraming salamat sa entry na ito.. may natutunan na naman ako mula sa'yo.. tiningnan ko mga blogs ko, nandon nga yong mga lang yang mga site na sinabi mo.. hehe, patalsikin yang mga yan.. hehe

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  10. You're welcome everybody! Remember, just IGNORE them and DON'T CLICK on their link. Thanks for the visit! ☺

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  11. hy myke, thanks for ur info. i've to check mine too. alert. he...3x
    thanks for visiting, please come back again :-D

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  12. i am still wondering what's the purpose of all these spams.

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  13. Ang dami ring ganyan sa stats ko. Di ko na nga pinapansin eh.

    http://thewalrus.cotton-candy.net/

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