If you want content, I’ll give you content

This was the first instance of all out scraping I had experienced, so also was the first opportunity to try out a Wordpress plugin that has been collecting dust for some time. Antileech is a plugin by Owen Winkler that replaces the content within your RSS feed – and posts – with a definable or generated message, but only for user-agents or IP addresses you specify.

The plugin adds a small, non-intrusive image to your RSS feed content that enables it to record the location and user-agent of anyone accessing the feed. These user-agents are then listed in the plugin’s settings page, each with a check-box for you to select which ones are to receive the alternative content. The default is to send normal content to all user-agents, so who sees what, is entirely under your control.

The message that counts

Some bloggers choose the default generated message – that encourages anyone reading the alternative content to visit the originating site – while others choose their own messages – some including profanity and obscene/illegal messages to increase the chances of the scraper site being shut down due to inappropriate content. I have chosen a simple message that clearly states the site is stealing content from elsewhere. Most scrapers are automated and once the site owner has set the RSS scraper to work, they rarely look at the incoming content again.

The plugin does not prevent your content from being scraped, of course, and some has to be scraped for you to discover the illegal site in the first place. But once discovered, it offers a very simple and immediate means of ensuring they get no further benefit from future posts from your site. Meanwhile, you can take measures with the site’s hosting company to formally make a complaint to have your stolen content removed.

How to know when you’re being scraped

Another plugin helps to detect scrapers. There are several that do similar jobs, but I choose to use Digital Fingerprint by Kirk Montgomery. This places a user defined string of text at the end of the first paragraph of each post in your RSS feed. Make this string unique and you can create a Google Alert for that particular string. The Alert will let you know whenever and wherever that string turns up. Most will be legitimate syndication, but now and then, you’ll probably discover someone is up to no good.

A never ending battle

Scraper sites (or “splogs”) are never going to be eradicated, and their numbers are growing. Tools like these offer the blogger a viable and effective means to retaliate without losing hours scouring the net or duplicates of their content and struggling to contact those responsible to have the content removed.

Author : SpoomiDibebot (IP: 194.165.42.49 , 194.165.42.49)
E-mail : babader@mymail-in.net
URL    :
Whois  : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=194.165.42.49
Comment:
to: Admin – If You want to delete your site from my spam list, please sent url of your domain to my e-mail: stop.spam.today@gmail.com
And I will remove your site from my base within 24 hours
webmastegz

The comment did not get through, of course, because I always have comment moderation applied to blogs. (I have no reason to believe this spam comment is related to the above mentioned ethical spammers.)

I give this spammer 10 bonus points for such an original means to harvest genuine email addresses from blog owners to add to his other (email) spam list. Nice work, Mr. SpoomiDibebot (I’m guessing that is not his real name).

I wonder if such emails will also open up the possibility of unmoderated posting on the relevant blogs, too. I guess most web users will have a primary contact email address, the same one they might have attached to a blog’s admin account. The spammer then has the admin’s email plus its associated blog address. Comment moderation on bogs tends to revolve around the email address of the commenter – bingo! the spammer has a pre-approved email address which might by-pass the moderation process.

Loathe them as we do, I have to admire this one for such a (rare) original idea.