Train Security Products, And Keep Your Blog Clean

Everybody who uses a computer - and expects to use their computer for any amount of time - has one or more protective products on their computer.

Anybody who publishes a blog, with an audience that has any need for security, is going to receive occasional reports from would be readers.

I can't read your blog! My computer displays an "Unsafe website!" warning!

All computer security products, unfortunately, will occasionally generate false positives. Analysing false positive malware reports is as much a part of every security product, as identifying the actual malware.

If you publish a blog, you need to know how to handle reader malware alert reports.

Know online tools, for researching reported problems.

Google provides 2 websites, for analysis of blog / website malware alerts. Both Google SafeBrowsing, and VirusTotal, are Google products that can help to identify actual problems with blogs and websites.

Besides the two Google products above, I use 3 security analysis websites, which can identify specific security problems in blog / website code. Quttera Online Website Malware Scanner, and Sucuri SiteCheck, and Trend Micro SIte Safety Center, have been useful at various times, when a security problem is reported.

You may, from time to time, use all of these - and possibly others - in identifying and verifying a security problem with your blog, or with blogs and websites that you link. For best results, always specify the canonical blog URL, when requesting security analysis - and when sharing the blog, or individual posts.

Specify the canonical URL.

Not a country local domain.



Know what you need to do, to keep your blog healthy.

As a blog publisher, you will occasionally have 2 jobs to do, when receiving a malware alert report which references your blog.

1. Verify / identify / remove any actual malicious content.
2. Report false positives, to the protective service displaying a false positive.

Everybody who publishes a blog, with any reader audience, has seen this advice, or something similar, when surfing their blog.



Know how to keep your blog clean - and your reputation clean.

You have to use online malware analysis services, to identify any problem which you may have created, by installing the latest "gotta have this!" accessory on your blog. And, you have to report any false positive alert, to the owners of any security product, that falsely identifies your blog as a problem.

You do both, to support your readers. You do not want your readers computers hacked, through your inappropriately accessorising your blog - but at the same time,you want your readers to be able to read your blog.

1. Keep your blog content clean.
2. Keep your blog reputation clean.

Do both - or you may not have readers, to read your blog.

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Any #Blogger blog owner needs to support the blog readers, by publishing a blog clean of any malware, and with a good reputation with the various security products that prevent malicious action by dangerous blogs and websites. Your readers need the ability to use their computers to read your blog - and they need their security to not falsely identify your blog as a problem.

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Use A Canonical URL, With Page URL Conditionals

Not all blog owners can successfully add a conditional display of a template object, to their blog.

Some owners carefully copy the conditional code that I provide, add it to their blogs - and it does not work (for them). In some cases, it may work, for me, when I check their work.

Conditional code, that involves people in countries subject to the country specific domain redirect, won't always be comparing against "blogspot.com". People in the UK may see their blog as "blogspot.co.uk", for instance.

People in the USA, right now, will always see BlogSpot blogs, as "blogspot.com".

This blog, and other blogs published to custom domains, will always be viewed under their domain URLs - so there is no worry about country specific domain redirect.

How do you compare a blog URL, with country specific domain redirects in use?

But what of blogs published to "blogspot.com", outside the USA? How do they conditionally display objects, with the conditional URL varying according to the country specific code of each reader?

When you do a URL comparison, to conditionally display a template object - and the blog is published to "blogspot.com" - check against the canonical URL.

Use the canonical URL, for conditional comparisons in BlogSpot blogs.

Since your blog could be read by readers in any country, if your blog is published to "blogspot.com", you will want to base any URL comparison against the Canonical URL.

• Compare "data:blog.canonicalUrl" - not "data:blog.url".
• Compare against the URL, ending in "blogspot.com".

Your readers could be in any country - either the same as you, and subject to your country local domain - if one applies. Or, they could be different from you, and subject to a different country local domain - again, if one applies.

<b:if cond='data:blog.canonicalUrl != "http://mypersonalblog.blogspot.com"'>
<style>
#Text1 {display: none !important;}
</style>
</b:if>

or possibly

<b:if cond='data:blog.canonicalUrl != data:blog.homepageUrl'>
<style>
#Text1 {display: none !important;}
</style>
</b:if>

Just avoid using

<b:if cond='data:blog.url != "http://mypersonalblog.blogspot.com"'>
<style>
#Text1 {display: none !important;}
</style>
</b:if>

and

<b:if cond='data:blog.url != data:blog.homepageUrl'>
<style>
#Text1 {display: none !important;}
</style>
</b:if>

This way, everybody in every different country can see the gadgets only when necessary, as you design. And maybe, you can check your blog using a service like GeoPeeker.

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Blogger blog owners, in some countries outside the USA, occasionally observe that they cannot conditionally display template objects, in BlogSpot published blogs, as people in the USA can do.

Owners who live in the USA may not realise that people outside the USA may not see their blogs properly, with conditionals added. If you want your blog gadgets to display properly, in BlogSpot published blogs, use a canonical URL in the comparisons.

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