Pay Per Click Advertising and SEOComments Boards - Pay Per Click Advertising and SEO

Hackers hit jackpot of discussion forum personal data

Matt Thomas — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 07:39:27 +0000

The BBC has reported that a glitch in the software which is used to power discussion forums online enables hackers to obtain and process large amounts of personal information about online chatters.

The vBulletin software, which drives a number of online chat and discussion forum sites, has the function for people to easily access the administrative details for sites, obtaining passwords and usernames with minimal hacking. From this, malicious hackers can then access personal data including email addresses, and use their log-in information to edit and change the site in any way they see fit.

Internet Brands, who own the software, admitted there was an issue with hackers potentially illegally retrieving database credentials, and issued a patch to fix the problem a couple of days ago. Despite this fix no being available, many sites are still vulnerable to attack as they test the patch prior to launching it on their discussion forums. The flaw relates to version 3.8.6 of vBulletin, which was issued this month.

vBulletin is the software behind most discussion forums and message boards online. It was sold to Internet Brands in 2007.

Graham Cluley, security expert, commented: “If the provider of the software says there is an issue with it, they have flagged it up to the entire internet. If this is a piece of software running on your company website then it is good practice to test it before it goes live to make sure you’re not introducing more problems. However, firms should plug the flaw as soon as possible. If the provider of the software says there is an issue with it, they have flagged it up to the entire internet. That means that criminals will be looking at it to see if there is there anything they can exploit.”

The Guardian Website Ditches JavaScript for SEO Reasons

James Oliver — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:00:48 +0000

The debate surrounding the relative SEO benefits or hindrances of Java script for SEO rages on with the news that the Guardian website has dropped all JavaScript on its comments board. Apparently the decision was taken, at least partly in order to enhance its search engine performance. So, will this help?

Well, quite possibly. The pages will probably load quicker, which it’s pretty widely agreed has an effect, also having just one type of code on the page should make the pages easier for the spiders from Google and Bing to crawl. These SEO benefits may be marginal, but even a small improvement over the number of indexable pages that the Guardian has should make a serious difference.

However, in my opinion, the really useful changes will be in terms of user experience. The lack of Javscript on page will mean that the pages will be easily viewable on mobile devices such as iPhones, etc. Also, comments will be more accessible to users.

However, there is also the counter argument that the Guardian is essentially taking a backwards step by doing this, that browsers are increasingly optimising towards JavaScript enabled content. Also, it could be argued that a page constantly refreshing as a site updates its comments board is just as annoying as a slightly overlong load time.

Only time will tell the results of this move. It is however, an interesting test case.

Trolls force smaller Sites to re think their Comments Boards

Matt Thomas — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:24:16 +0000

Having a comment function on a website has long been seen as a great way to enhance engagement with your viewers. Recently however, smaller sites with fewer personnel have struggled to deal with the downside of allowing anonymous comments. Namely, trolls.

A troll is a user who personally or profanely attacks an individual or group using a message board or is wilfully controversial in order to provoke a response. Often these users wish to start an argument or simply needle the regular commenters, safe in the anonymity of the internet.

The name troll can also refer to somebody who is trying to surreptitiously promote their site through a message board by posting links, regardless of whether their website is relevant to the discussion. This is a growing trend and can be seen, to some extent, across many popular message boards.

Numerous sites, including popular Boston blog, Universal Hub, have now forced users to register before leaving responses. This doesn’t stop the problem entirely, though it does throw up an extra boundary to people who just want to link to their own site. It also forces Trolls to take some degree of responsibility for their words, since they now have an account, which can be banned or, in some instances, messaged by the site administrators.

Other sites have become so annoyed with irrelevant or offensive content that they have simply discontinued comments altogether.