Jan 21, 2008
Dear Spammers: Please Die.
I’d just like to dedicate a few words to the evil fucktards whose ceaseless web activity in pursuit of valuable cents of revenue causes misery and irritation to normal web creators and users through its clumsiness, intrusion and pervasiveness.
This one goes out to the crumulous nork-handlers who figured out that they could somehow break into my wordpress installation and invisibly place hundreds – no, thousands - of links to medication and (ahem) “enhancement” sites in the footer section of every page.
Because of them, every page on this site has now been removed from Google’s database. [Update: looks like it's back, but who knows how long that'll last] [Further Update: ...aaaaand I'm gone again]
This doesn’t just mean people won’t find my nine years of inane wittering – they can probably manage without, I’m sure – but it does mean that anyone using Google to look for, say, anti-valentine cards this February, which I wrote about only the other day, won’t find them here. They’ll be here alright, but they won’t be findable via Google.
Furthermore, and unrelated except in idiocy, I’d like to offer a few words to the skull-felching twuntbadgers who have, over the last few months but especially the last two weeks, been spoofing variations on my meish.org domain as a “sent from” address on spam for products and containing viruses and more. This has had the twin effect of
1) making mail from meish.org pretty much blacklisted all over the web, which
1a) has a knock on effect for sending out the VD cards, as you might imagine
and
2) causing me to have to deal with an average of 6000 bounced/out of office replies per day which
2a) meant that google actually stopped accepting mail for me at one point.
Of these effects, by for the most irritating is the first, because it basically means I can’t email anyone using the meish.org domain anymore.
So basically, due to the cent-hungry fucktitude of a growing army of hackers, SEO spammers, mail fraudsters and antisocial buffoons, this site is pretty much dead.
Thanks. Please die – quickly or slowly, I don’t mind which, as long as it results in your swift removal from the planet. You’re taking up space and wasting resources which are precious enough to begin with.
Meanwhile, I may move.
Not sure if you’ve done anything since you posted this, but you’re still Google number 1 for [anti valentine] here: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=anti valentine
Having a catch-all at a domain can be quite annoying nowadays. I just resolve never to ever spell someone’s email address wrong and bin all bounces and OoOs ;)
May I just thank you for broadening my vocabulary and my imagination both at the same time due to the onomatopoeic nature of the term ‘skull-felching’ ;-) Yuk!
Anyway – that really sounds like a drag.
FWIW, I’ve just tried “meish”, “meg pickard” and “anti valentine” on google.com and google.co.uk, and you’re coming up fine.
…then I’ve been restored since Friday when I had to do mad late-night-from-hotel-conference-centre ftping.
Still, though.
…and, and, how THE SKULL FELCHING HELL did they do this to you, Meg?
I know Pete had someone tell him there were a few of these links on his pages, and I did check mine (and change logins). But how do they get in?
And what do we do? Giles: don’t just scoff, man! Advice, please. Ta.
Someone told me this came from a “sponsored” plugin or theme, not a hack, and there’s certainly talk on wordpress.com about them.
Rather than identify the bastard I tried making the footer.php template file (into which the bad code was appearing) read only since I never really need to edit it. So far it seems to be working.
No promises though.
(And yes, Giles, don’t you go calling Meg an idiot. She towers above you in every way.)
Fucktards. I hate when spammers destroy cool stuff for the rest of us. If you move, please advise us all. I’ve only been following along with your wibbles and witters since the not-so-soft days.
And you lost not-so-soft due to spammers as well didn’t you?
I have a terrible suspicion I know what one of the next waves of spam is going to be, but I refuse to mention it anywhere in case one of the fucktards sees it.
brendadada – sorry, I should have said.
As Pete discovered, it looks like an exploitation of WP via a plugin or theme, though it’s possible that it might be possible to take advantage of something else within the php/wp interface.
In any case, your best defence is to
– check for any new users on the site. I had one and I haven’t the foggiest where “she” sprung from
– modify the permissions of the template files to 444 or similar so they can’t be written to
– remove plugins you’re not using or not sure about
– update your WP install
– change passwords for WP and ftp (and database, if you want to be belt-and-braces about the whole thing).
None of this is any guarantee that it won’t happen again, mind.
Youre too polite.
Allow me.
Mother-fucking cunting low-life reprobate dont-give-a-shit-destructive-mutha-fuckin-cunts.
Some of that will hopefully reach the said people, but the sad fact is it largely just reaches bots, servers, whatever-the-fuck computers.
Althought I have to say, dear Meg, if you are head of Guardian Unlimited community whatever, you are full of Left Wing shit. The G is one of the most vile community spaces there is in terms of its Lefty bigoted censorship.
Dear Joe, thank you for
a) your vitriol (most acerbic!) and
b) your kind words about my employer
It may tickle you to realise that I have only joined the organisation fairly recently, and as such, I’m looking forward to making a difference however, and wherever I can.
It doesn’t tickle me in the slightest.
You will no make difference whatsoever as a mere cog in a big Lefty bigoted machine that supports Palestinian terrorists and Muslim sympathisers spouting their bile, which the G thinks is all part of some kind of right-on moral crusade whereas its paradoxically opposed to what they supposedly support: tolerance, free speech, and let’s be friends attitudes. Like much of the Left, they now support an extreme (theological) Right because its merely anti establishment, like they are.
The term Loony Left has never been more apposite since 9/11; the G never more ignorant and disgraceful.
Righty-ho, Joe.
I’m going to let that comment stand, for now, but with a reminder to you and anyone else that this is my personal site, which existed long before my employment with the Guardian.
I don’t want to enter into any debate about my employer and its policies or approach, on this site – not least because it’s nearly midnight and I’m no longer at work, but also because it’s inappropriate: I’m not my employer.
Any more comments like that will be deleted: this isn’t the place for them.
Thanks Meg & Pete.
*Goes off to change permissions*
Btw, ‘Joe’ there will take any opportunity to publish his angry comments on any sites I frequent. I now have him blocked.
“skull-felching twuntbadgers” – I like it very much.
I had an infestation of malware a few months ago. It blackballed me with google and caused problems for visitors. All clear now. I think it came from a free host for my podcasts which I’ve never done again for fear of the same.
Good luck. I like your site. Also the G section.
Oh gosh. Only just now caught up with this. What scum! Sorry you’ve had such a rough experience with the spamming fucks. Unbelievable what they do, just unbelievable.
Chill out, B.
I’ve known about Meg for many years, going back to when she was allegedly not so soft and having little soirees with the likes of Tom Coates et al when blogging was relatively new. Know what I’m alluding to?
My posting here has nothing to do with you and its quite strange that you decide to “block” me on that basis, here. Anyway, c’est la vie, c’est l’internet.
I’m a robust defender of decency and humanitarian humanistic values, and post accordingly, robustly. Simple as that.
Oh yeah, and the ***** that are ******* with Meg’s site can go **** themselves with something barbed, spiked, and anointed with vindaloo curry powder.
Meg ‘Leftie’ Pickard, you stand accused of the vile crime of “soirées”. By virtue of the powers invested in me by the blogosphere, I sentence you to suffer from small pricked men called Joe making nasty comments on your personal blog out of the blue.
And you make very poor mince pies.
May Google have mercy on your pages. Take her down…
I realise I’m quite late to the game, but bravo on the imaginative insults! Truly an inspiration.