Fix this Message - Fake Warning

Another Spam Scam – Fix this Message

“If you are the owner of the site, you can fix this message by publishing…” is appearing all over blog comment forms. The spammer would have the blogger believe there is an error message somewhere on the site, and publishing the contents of the comment will some-how fix the supposed problem…

Mysteriously fix the Error Message

Publish the comment and the problem with the site is gone! Wow – as easy as that. No checking code files or testing plugins, all your problems are solved if you are the owner of the site…  Publish the comment and you can fix this message. So simple.

Of course this is a spammer trying to get the link to some trash site published, hoping to attract click-throughs to the site, hoping to sell some rubbish product like cheap black-market Viagra or install malware on the visitor’s computer, steal personal information such as your banking details. Are we really that naïve – I don’t think so.

Spam & Malware Linked

There is a strong correlation between malware and spam comments (and spam e-mail), a trend that is increasing. If you value your visitors and followers, be careful what comments you approve – always check the links and even check the site (domain and IP) for known bad content. (Project Honeypot is a useful tool for this).

Tooth Fairy

If you are the owner of the site, and believe you can fix this message by publishing some spammers comment, then you may as well believe in the toth fairy or the Loch Ness Monster. Well maybe “Lochy” is not so outrageous – but fixing an error by publishing some trash? For that matter, at least the tooth fairy won’t hack information or cause your followers to get viruses in their computers.

Sorry people, there is no way to fix anything by publishing anything – there never will be!

+Mike Otgaar

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