Some of you probably seen this thread already. Recently, Harvard spyware researcher Benjamin Edelman made public his recent findings that many of the blogs found on Blogger.com, a Google company, are fastly becoming havens for spyware distributions to unsuspecting visitors. See the following stories:
[*]eWeek -
Google Blogger and Unwanted Software
[ulist]
"Dozens of blogs hosted by Google Inc.'s Blogger service can install programs that are widely considered to be spyware and adware onto visitors' computers, warn users and spyware researchers. In many cases, users are discovering the offending sites as they browse among blogs through Blogger's navigation bar."[/ulist]
[*]Benjamin Edelman's
homepage[/*]
Regards,
Clement
was only a matter of time....
Joined on 01-10-2002
TechSoup Member
I am looking for a blog site or a diary site for our organization, so I definitely want a virus-free one. We have a person wanting to do some fundraising for us and we want to be able to provide information about him - but at another site than our organization site. Any suggestions for blog sites/diary sites or similar suggestions?
Thanks!
(I realize this may not be the best place for this post, but the virus/spyware possibility is indeed a concern about the blogger site, which I was seriously considering using!)
Another popular one is typepad.com.
Note that those sites offer specific "blogging" capability. There are numerous other free hosting services that will host a web page for you, if you're looking for something different.
Hi,
For free blog services, you may want to check out the following:
Blogger.com
Livejournal.com
Spaces.msn.com
You may want to sign up for these services, play around with it and determine which one suits your needs best. It would also help you determine whether you'll need something more robust that a paid service like Typepad can provide.
I came across a really good comparison between Blogger and Typepad
here.
Good luck,
Clement
Joined on 01-10-2002
TechSoup Member
Thanks for the ideas! I've looked into livejournal and am pleased with what I'm seeing there (esp. cost!)
Joined on 03-09-2005
TechSoup Member
Thanks, Clement, for recommending my
article comparing Blogger vs Typepad! I hope others find it helpful, as well! For those who want to do their own comparison, you can get a free 90 day trial of typepad by entering the code 'movable' when signing up.
------------------
Check out
How to Blog for blogging tutorials, weblog tips and tricks, and unbiased blog software comparisons written by someone documenting their own experiences with learning to blog.
Emily,
Welcome to our Techsoup community. Your article is comprehensive yet concise, and I'm sure others will find it very useful and informative as I did. Also, you may want to check out our other message boards such as Virtual Communtiy and Web Building where you can share your expertise on blogging and web publishing.
Lastly, just fyi I referenced your comments on the Virtual Community forum about the Typepad trial offer you mentioned.
Cheers,
Clement
Joined on 03-09-2005
TechSoup Member
Hi Clement,
Thanks for the welcome! I look forward to exploring TechSoup and checking out the message boards (as well as helping out with blogging questions whenever I can)
Smiles,
Emily
Joined on 07-29-2002
TechSoup Member
Let's back-up a bit... the blog provider (i.e. Blogger) bears no fault here; blaming Blogger (or any blog host) is missing the point. Blog writers have posted links within their blogs, or created fake navigation bars, that when clicked yield pop-up's that (again) when clicked download malware.
In other words, Blogger did nothing to cause and likely can do nothing to stop this - a user installed a link that a reader clicked on, then the reader clicked to download something and THEN their computer was infected.
We remain free to use Blogger (or any blog host) with impunity- the service is as safe as any web host on the net. User beware hoever- as always watch what you link to and watch what you click on! :tongue;