A Little Blog Comment Tip

So, someone or some group is attacking your blog with hateful or spammy comments. What do you do?

You might be tempted to respond and argue.
Don't.

Instead, try shutting the comments off for the post temporarily. When things cool down, you can turn the comments back on.

5 Safety Tips From ProBlogger

A post on ProBlogger from last year recommends some blog security tips. Here is the list of to-dos to stay safe:

1. Update your Blog Software
2. Keep an Eye on Dead Blogs
3. Backup your Blog
4. Protect Your Passwords
5. Choose Your Host Carefully

Read the whole post for explanations >>

3 Imortant Steps In Blog Security

MajorKong wrote a great article at 2k Bloggers about blog security. He recommends three things:

1. Back it Up: Make sure you back up your blog regularly. Keep the back-ups in a safe place and do not share them with others.
   
2. Choose a Secure Password: The longer, the better. Use capital letters, lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. Try to make long phrases instead of short words.
   
3. Learn to love .htaccess: Add a second layer of protection to your blog.

You can read the whole article here >>

How Not To Get Scammed By A Blogging Ponzi Scheme

1. If the it seems too good to be true, it probably is
2. Beware of "get rich quick" marketing
   
3. Do your research before you invest
4. Make sure you fully understand the investment
   
5. If you are required to bring in other investors, watch out!
   
6. Independently verify the legitimacy of any blogger revenue program
   
7. Beware of references if they're given by the marketer, find your own referals

For more information about protecting yourself from Internet scams, check out the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

How To Deal With Spam

• Don't open spam. Delete it unread.
• Never respond to spam as this will confirm to the sender that it is a "live" email address.
• Have a primary and secondary email address - one for people you know and one for all other purposes.
• Avoid giving out your email address unless you know how it will be used.
• Never purchase anything advertised through an unsolicited email.

These tips are suggested by the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

5 Ways To Prevent Phishing

The Internet Crime Complaint Center offers some advice for dealing with phishing:

1. Be suspicious of any unsolicited email that requests personal information.
2. Avoid filling out forms that ask for personal information.
3. Always compare the link in email to the web address that you are directed to.
4. Open a new browser window/ tab and log on to the official website, instead of clicking on a link from an unsolicited email.
5. Contact the business that supposedly sent the email to verify if the email is genuine.

3 Easy Ways to Secure Your WordPress Blog

Simple Help offers 9 Easy Ways to Secure Your WordPress Blog. Three methods described are:

1. Remove the tag in your header file that displays the version of WordPress you're using
2. Always use the latest version of WordPress
3. Read Blog Security
   

Go read the other six methods >>

How To Respond To Mean & Hateful Comments

If you receive mean comments on your blog, remember you do not have to publish them. It is your blog. You can choose to mark them as spam and have them deleted.

If you choose to leave them up, Lorelle on WordPress suggests some things to think about before you reply to them:

Before responding, seriously consider the following:

• Get past the emotional response that comes up when first reading the comment or post. In other words, don’t respond emotionally.
• Carefully re-examine the words and what they are saying. Is there a measure of truth or criticism that is warranted?
• Does the comment add to the conversation? Does it invite more conversation, even if it is not in agreement with your opinion and the way they put it reads badly?
• Will your response add to the conversation?
• Re-read your post. Did you say something that might have inspired or inflamed such a response? Did you invite this response?
• Put the comment in moderation and think about it for a few hours or a day or two before responding or taking action.
• Write out a response in a word processor or text editor. Hit the save button with the same energy you would click “Submit”. How does it feel? Now, re-read your response and see if you still feel the same way. Consider saving the response and then waiting a day to re-read it before posting to your blog.
• Do you think they are being nasty because of you personally, what you say, or is this an attempt to sensationalize the issue to attract attention to themselves? Are they responding from jealousy or some misguided assumptions? Is the person trying to get you to do something you don’t really want to do? Are they trying to “call your bluff” or direct the content of your site? It’s your blog. You control it. Consider their motives in your response.
• Take your time. There are no rules and regulations that say every comment must be released to the public immediately, nor responded to immediately.

Comments Can Be Traps

Comment carefully.

When you leave comments on blogs of people you don’t know and trust, use an anonymizer.

Or better yet, leave your comment on your own blog and ping the other blogger with a linkback.

Old Software Is A Hacker's Dream

Keep your software up to date.

Update the software on your computer.

If you’re using an old version of AIM or an old version of Internet Explorer, upgrade to the newer versions. Old software often has security problems. If you run old software, it makes it easier for crackers to exploit your system and give your computer a virus or steal your private information.

Update your blogware if you host your own blog.

That means, use the newest version of WordPress. Make sure your blog’s theme is up-to-date and secure as well.