WordPress.com Forums » Topic: SPAM GRAVATARS AND MALICIOUS BLOGS http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/spam-gravatars-and-malicious-blogs WordPress.com Forums » Topic: SPAM GRAVATARS AND MALICIOUS BLOGS en Sat, 25 May 2013 15:22:10 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.1-alpha-2539 jmnartsy on "SPAM GRAVATARS AND MALICIOUS BLOGS" http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/spam-gravatars-and-malicious-blogs#post-1015575 Wed, 19 Sep 2012 12:05:20 +0000 jmnartsy 1015575@http://en.forums.wordpress.com/ Recently I had received some Likes on both my blogs and a Follow on one blog from a certain WordPress blogger. As I like to check out new Likers/Followers of my posts/blogs, I clicked onto his gravatar which brought up the usual information including a link to his WordPress blog. I clicked onto that particular link (ie open in a new tab) and after a few nanoseconds received a message from my security software with the usual message that this was a malicious website and dangerous page and has been reported as an online scammer and not to proceed, which I didn't. I use an HTTPS connection for both blogs.

I made a private Support request via the online page re how to remove gravatars and Likes from such WordPress bloggers, and eventually received a reply from one of the engineers saying they thought it might be a false-positive, and asking for a screenshot of the message. I have not sent it and reply here instead:

I have been using my security software for nearly two years. It is corporate-strength, bank-strength software which has zapped out of existence some viruses and many spywares. No false-positives so far. I trust this software. Knowing its name is not relevant.

Since receiving the email from the WordPress engineer, all the other strange things that I have posted about tonight have been happening. That malcious website person is still Liking my images; however, now all that appears in the gravatar is a picture of him and some text, nothing else any more!

I have noticed on my frequent other visits to WordPress blogs many such spam gravatars and wonder:

a) How can they remain in force without any verification, or any other obvious information re who they are?
and
b) WordPress needs to institute a way of removing such spam gravatars and Likes from such 'people'. Pronto.
and
c) Where do they come from? I.E. do they become part of a spambot ring targeting particular blogs?

I am a fervent supporter of WordPress and also a paying customer, for both my blogs.

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