Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Did You Know?


Humans generate only 49% of all Internet traffic.



So where does all the other traffic come from ?






According to Incapsula, a cloud-based security service, 51% of internet activity is created by bots.
These bots include search engines like Google 
and represent 20 percent of internet traffic. 
These are the good guys.










 Then there are the bad guy bots... 31% of all internet traffic. 
They work relentlessly to worm their way into our computers. 








Here's the breakdown on the bad guys:



 

Hacking tools 5%
software that visits a site to crash it or steal data













Scrapers 5% 
  pull info from one site and publish it to another to pillage search-engine traffic

Comment spammers 2%
  post malware and other annoying content to bog down a site 

Spyware 19% 
 covertly gathers info from your site








  Who knew?


As I said in my last post...

It's a crazy world out there. 

♦  ♦  ♦ 

So what can you do to protect yourself? 



1. Make sure your passwords are strong and updated often.  
This is most important!
Follow the guidelines I linked to in my previous post.





2. Disable the "right-click" feature on your blog.
Google to find options to add a gadget that disables "right-click"
I picked one that I'm most comfortable with and installed it.  
None of my content can be right-clicked to copy now. 
There are other ways to steal content, but it requires more work than a simple right-click.





3. Enable a spam filter for your comments. 
I use blogspots, (find it in your comment settings) it does the job extremely well.  
Once every few weeks I delete the spam comments in the filter 
and rescue an occasional sweet comment that got lost in there.




It's interesting to note that web site analytics record what real people do on a site
 but most web site traffic comes from other computers often with malicious intent. 


Stats overview in blogger also lists the bots traffic. 
Interesting to know, but don't let your curiosity entice you to follow their link... 



you just may be opening 
a can of nasty worms.  


Applause and gratitude to the following major players in this post:

The seashore off the coast of Carlsbad, CA.
I spent some quality time with my honey 
walking those beaches last week.

 The Pelicans of San Diego... 
they make a fine substitute for bots, don't ya think?

The Seagulls on the shore
whose reflections appear to be copies. 
(Ok maybe that was a long shot here.) 

The cliffs of Point Loma
They did a great job at representing 
clear and present danger.  

  And to YOU... my Dear Readers
 Don't forget to leave your URL 
when you leave a comment.
  
  
Welcome to my gardens!
Your visit here is cherished
and your comments the sweet nectar that keeps me posting!
Please leave your Blog URL so I can return the visit.

30 comments:

  1. Interesting, yet scary information. I'm just finding out about all my photos people have pinned on Pinterest that I didn't know about.

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  2. Good information. I need to take this stuff more seriously. Beautiful pictures, too.

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  3. Elizabeth StetenfeldMarch 6, 2013 at 8:34 PM

    It's scary. And it's a crazy new world out there! Just another reason to turn off all the gadgets and unplug occasionally. Thanks for all the great tips, Carolyn!

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  4. It's sad that people have so little to do but spam others. I would never buy from an email spammer either. I do like your photos.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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  5. Thank you for your good information. By the way...you are becoming an excellent photographer. I really love visiting your site to see your pictures. (Especially the ones of the people we BOTH love!)

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  6. I'm trying out the right click disable code for that very reason... for now, I have no complaints.

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  7. As do I, Jason. Working on passwords today.

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  8. Seriously. We should start a National Unplug Day. I sure enjoyed being gadget free last week... well almost gadget free... maybe should of turned off my cell phone.

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  9. I like them, too... reminds me of a dreamy week. :)

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  10. Thank you, Janet. It's so nice to share grand-kiddos with you. We just welcomed our newest grandson while on our trip last week. I usually don't post pics of the little ones here... too many scary stories.

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  11. I enjoyed looking at your photos they look so professional . As I'm still learning about blogging I'm never quite sure when I'm posting info on my blog or comments on someone else's whether I'm giving too much info about myself. I now feel very unsure!

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  12. Wow! That's a lot of bots! It is a scary world out there indeed! Thanks bunches for the information... hmmm, I've been thinking about that right-click thing...
    Hugs,
    Beth P

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  13. Sad, but a way of life on the internet. WP is really good about catching spam and the other stuff, well not much can be done for those that are not informed. # 2 only requires a screen save. I really do dislike having images displayed so small though, especially when they are beautiful. I don't know too many professional photographers that do not use decent size images, and many allow the right click. At 72 dpi, the images can only be used on the web anyway. When they are stolen for printed use, they look terrible. I had that happen to one of mine. When I confronted the thief, they had to pay $500 for a one time use, and the product they made was really blurry. So guess who really lost?

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  14. Donna@Gardens Eye ViewMarch 7, 2013 at 6:08 PM

    Wonderful pictures and hope you enjoyed yourself...wonderful info...I will check out the right click option.

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  15. As a reader, I find the 'right-click disabled' disabling. If I want to follow your links I have to jump thru hoops. With your photos I see you have gone further than other blogs. Even when I open a single image, I cannot copy it (just testing ...)
    I sense no melancholy here. Wish you well!
    I am still feeling my way with Analytics. Since I cannot use a blocking cookie against my own visits, those stats are skewed in a different way ;~((

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  16. Hmm... no hoop jumping required to follow links... just click on them to go. Only right-click is disabled. Links don't require right-click... use left click as always. Sorry about Disqus. They are making big changes soon. Not sure I will be using them much longer. I feel no need to moderate comments as the filter catches the spam. So far, so good. No time to come here daily.
    Thanks for your comments, Diana. Analytics is not my favorite, but I use it along with others as well. I really don't check my stats often so it's no worry. Melancholy is on the horizon... just haven't set the date yet.

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  17. I read a blog who found her family's picture on a billboard in a foreign country advertising a grocery store. She must not re-size her pics for the web. At first she was flattered they chose her family. Crazy.

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  18. Use your best judgement... I try to be careful, too.

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  19. I don't worry about having my photos stolen because I"m a fairly rotten photographer. But I do worry about plagiarism. But the only way to prevent that is to never publish what I write. I took off my word verification because it was so hard to read. I really love your pics. I'm a California native and really miss the coastline. Looks like a great trip! :)

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  20. Removing the right-click option disables copying everything on my website. Sometimes that's a pain because there are times I want to right-click my content and copy. Have to go into the draft to do this now. I'm pleased to share my content as long as visitors are kind enough to request... right-click disabling simply reminds them to ask first, then I can share with them.

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  21. Great info. Thank you. I didn't know about the disable right click feature. Wonderful.~~Dee

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  22. Hrm, this post really made me think... Thank you - I wonder how I can disable this right click feature...? Have to find out.

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  23. Very interesting statistics, and beautiful photos!

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  24. Beautiful Site! Ready for spring in our neck of the woods. So far it's coming in like a lion!

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  25. Google "right-click disable". Chose the one you're comfortable with. Install as a gadget. Quite simple.

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  26. Same here... a very gray day so far. Thank you for coming!

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