We've been dealing with a minor recent deluge of reports, from blog owners reporting mysterious redirection of their blogs.
The original typical report, which started like any report involving a respected Internet service going out of business, was annoying - yet benign.
Today, the status changed to malicious.
Right now, "w i d g e t s e r v e r . c o m" is redirecting to "l i b o s t u d i o s . com".
Please enter your email address to continue.
Many gadgets, long known for redirecting, are again redirecting - recently to "w i d g e t s e r v e r . c o m" - and now to "l i b o s t u d i o s . c o m". As some were diagnosed, a few owners advised that the misbehaving gadget had been installed long ago.
We've seen, so far, a few old (not!) friends. M a u k i e , N e o C o u n t e r, and "S u n a n d M o o n P h a s e" can be seen, in some topics.
A brief sample of forum topics involving "w i d g e t s e r v e r . c o m" mention gadgets previously installed by Blogger, using the "Add a Gadget" wizard. Recently, Blogger cleared out the third party gadgets from "Add a Gadget" - and the gadgets rejected by Blogger are now hosted by ""w i d g e t s e r v e r . c o m". And they are malicious.
We will not sell, rent, or share, your email address. Your privacy is important to us!
Yeah, right.
And what will you do, with my email address?
What more should be said?
For a week, we've been dealing with #Blogger blog owners reporting mysterious redirecting by their blogs. Many helpers have dismissed the issue, as another popular third party gadget publisher gone out of business.
Today, the redirection changed - to an email mining op.
Similar to the need to properly filter cookies in the browser, we have the need to properly filter scripts.
Cookies and scripts are completely different elements - but proper filtering of each is essential, to making many Blogger features operate properly.
If you have a problem with Blogger - either accessing / using the dashboard, or using / viewing a blog - one of the simplest things to check, complementing cookie filter settings, is the browser script filter settings.
The browser is the most important component, when setting up security - and scripts, like cookies, are a common challenge.
Script filters are adjusted differently, for each browser. Consider the multiple domains used by Blogger / Google - and layered security, on any computer, used by the owner and readers of any blog.
- Chrome.
- Firefox.
- Edge / Internet Explorer.
- Opera.
- Safari.
Setting the script filters in Chrome.
With Chrome, you enable scripts, using Settings ("Customize and control Google Chrome") - aka the 3 bar toolbar icon.
In Settings, if necessary, click on "Show advanced settings" at the very bottom of the page.
Under Privacy, click on "Content settings", which gives you the "Content Settings" wizard. Here, you have selections for Cookies and Javascript - including "Manage exceptions" for each section. Select the recommendation.
- JavaScript: Allow all sites to run JavaScript
Hit "Done" - and close the Settings tab.
From "Privacy", hit "Content settings".
Under "JavaScript", select "Allow all sites to run JavaScript (recommended)".
Alternately, you may select "Do not allow any site to run JavaScript" - then use "Manage exceptions", and allow all blog(s) that you publish, and the many Blogger and Google domains, to run JavaScript. Make your exceptions complete, for best results.
Setting the script filters in Firefox.
Firefox does not contain any native script filters. The most popular add-on for Firefox is NoScript - and this is how most Firefox users filter scripts.
You'll need to designate "blogger.com", "google.com", and any Google domain excepting "blogspot.com", as trusted - when you load any display for the domain in question. An untrusted domain will show a "NoScript Untrusted" icon in the status area at the bottom of the window. To enable each domain, you position the cursor over the NoScript icon and select "Allow (domain URL)" in the popup menu.
Setting the script filters in Edge / Internet Explorer.
With Internet Explorer, you enable security settings - both cookies and scripts - from the browser menu, using Tools - Internet Options. Optionally, you may access the "Internet Options" applet directly from the Windows Control Panel.
- IE uses a zone defense setting, where you designate "blogger.com" and "google.com", in Security, as being in the Trusted zone. Please note that "blogspot.com", in general should not be in the Trusted zone - .
- You will want the published URL of your blog(s) - including any country local domain URLs, in the Trusted zone.
- Default settings for the Trusted zone will allow proper filtering of scripts.
- Verify proper settings, with "Trusted sites" selected, and the Security level slider control set to "Medium". Hit "Custom level", and examine the Settings list.
- Look for the "Scripting" section, 3/4 of the way to the bottom of the list.
- You will observe 6 options under "Scripting". Default settings will have all options Enabled, except "Allow Programmatic clipboard access"; you may wish to Enable this to allow easy use of Post Editor.
- Hit "OK", and "Yes" if necessary, then "OK" again.
Setting the script filters in Opera.
With Opera, you enable cookies and scripts from the Advanced tab, in the Preferences wizard. The Content menu contains selections for scripting.
Setting the script filters in Safari.
With Safari, you enable scripts, using the Preferences wizard. The Privacy wizard, in Preferences, contains selections for scripts ("Cookies and website data”).
Script filters cause problems with Stats "Don't track ..." and other Blogger features.
Many problems, reported in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, with various Blogger features - and the Blogger dashboard - involve script filters.
Stats and the "Don't track ..." option used to involve third party cookies, for many years. In March 2016, the "Don't track" wizard was rewritten to run under the URL of the blog, when being set - and now requires enabling scripts from the blog URL.
Consider how your blog is published.
If your blog is published to "blogspot.com", consider the non "blogspot.com" alias that may be relevant to your country. If your blog is published to a custom domain, consider the custom domain URL.
Many computers have other relevant settings, which block scripts.
Many blog owners and readers will have computers, and networks, with additional protection. Scripts, in the browser, may not be the only filter that needs to be checked - but this is a start, to learning how to control the script filters.
Having checked and corrected your script filters, continue by checking browser cookie filters - then check cookie and script filters, outside the browser. Also check settings on any ad blocker add-on - which may be an app, or a browser extension.
Be aware that many settings may not be obvious - and that both obvious and obscure settings may be updated, without your intention or knowledge.
Many #Blogger problems are cause by overly restrictive script filters. If you, a blog owner or reader, are going to use Blogger successfully, you need to configure your browser properly - for both cookies and scripts.
The Blogger dashboard, and blog displays, is less of a pair of websites - and more of an application with code that runs on our computers.
The Blogger code on our computers requires cookies and scripts, which are installed as we use the various Blogger dashboard pages. The cookies and scripts are susceptible to interference, from overly restrictive layered security.
If you have a problem with Blogger - either accessing / using the dashboard, or using / viewing a blog - one of the simplest things to check, complementing script filter settings, is the browser cookie filter settings.
The browser is the most important component, when setting up security - and cookies are a common challenge.
Cookie filters are adjusted differently, for each browser. Consider the multiple domains used by Blogger / Google - and layered security, on any computer, used by the owner and readers of any blog.
- Chrome.
- Firefox.
- Edge / Internet Explorer.
- Opera.
- Safari.
Setting the cookie filters in Chrome.
With Chrome, you enable cookies, using Settings ("Customize and control Google Chrome") - aka the 3 bar toolbar icon.
In Settings, if necessary, click on "Show advanced settings" at the very bottom of the page. Under Privacy, click on "Content settings", which gives you the "Content Settings" wizard.
Here, you have selections for Cookies and Javascript - including "Manage exceptions" for each section. Select the recommendation.
- Cookies: Allow local data to be set
Hit "Done" - and close the Settings tab.
From "Privacy", hit "Content settings".
Under "Cookies", select "Allow local data to be set".
If you want to enable cookies selectively, select "Block third-party cookies and site data". Then use "Manage exceptions", and add "blogger.com", "google.com", and any addresses which apply to your blog.
Setting the cookie filters in Firefox.
With Firefox, you enable cookies, from the browser menu - aka the 3 bar toolbar icon, using Preferences - Privacy.
- Under History, select that "Firefox will:" is set to "Remember history" then "Use custom settings for history". That will give you an array of settings.
- Check "Accept cookies from sites".
- Close Preferences. Settings will be saved.
- Note that any Firefox add-ons which filter cookies, and offer more detailed options, will have to be dealt with, separately.
Select "Remember history", then "Use custom settings for history".
Check "Accept cookies from sites".
If you want to enable cookies selectively, change "Always" to "Never". Then use "Exceptions", and add "blogger.com", "google.com", and any addresses which apply to your blog.
Setting the cookie filters in Edge / Internet Explorer.
With Edge / Internet Explorer, you enable cookies, using the browser menu, selecting Tools - Internet Options. Optionally, you may access the "Internet Options" applet directly from the Windows Control Panel.
- Edge / IE uses a zone defense setting, where you designate "blogger.com" and "google.com", in Security, as being in the Trusted zone. Please note that "blogspot.com" should not be in the Trusted zone.
- Default settings for the Trusted zone will allow proper filtering of scripts.
- Verify proper settings, with "Trusted sites" selected, and the Security level slider control set to "Medium". Hit "Custom level", and examine the Settings list.
- You enable Cookies under the "Privacy" tab.
- Move the Privacy slider to the bottom, to allow all cookies.
- Click "OK".
Setting the cookie filters in Opera.
With Opera, you enable cookies, using the Advanced tab, in the Preferences wizard. Select "Accept", to accept cookies from all sites.
Setting the cookie filters in Safari.
With Safari, you enable cookies, using the Preferences wizard. The Privacy wizard, in Preferences, contains selections for cookies ("Cookies and website data”). Select "Always allow", to enable third party cookie access.
Cookie filters cause half of the problems reported, with many Blogger features.
Maybe 50% of the problems, reported in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, with many Blogger features involve cookie filters.
- Comments.
- The Cookie Advice Banner.
- Post/Page/Template Preview.
- Reading List.
- Template Designer.
Stats and the "Don't track ..." option used to involve third party cookies, for many years. In March 2016, "Don't track" was rewritten to run under the URL of the blog, when being set - and now requires enabling scripts from the blog URL.
Consider how your blog is published.
If your blog is published to "blogspot.com", consider the non "blogspot.com" alias that may be relevant to your country. If your blog is published to a custom domain, consider the custom domain URL.
Many computers have other relevant settings, which block cookies.
Many blog owners and readers will have computers, and networks, with additional protection. Cookies, in the browser, may not be the only filter that needs to be checked - but this is a start, to learning how to control the cookie filters.
Having checked and corrected your cookie filters, continue by checking browser script filters - then check cookie and script filters, outside the browser. Be aware that many settings may not be obvious - and that both obvious and obscure settings may be updated, without your intention or knowledge.
Learn more.
Many #Blogger problems are cause by overly restrictive cookie filters. If you, a blog owner or reader, are going to use Blogger successfully, you need to configure your browser properly.
One long known mystery, reported from time to time in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, involves the dashboard Reading List, and panic from disappearing entries.Where are the blogs, in my Reading List?
Some Blogger blog owners and readers can spend days setting up their Reading List complement - and see their work vanish, in seconds.
One of the reasons why this problem has not been solved is that it is not reported in consistently high volume, and has no obvious pattern. Another is that many people who use the Reading List - as opposed to a third party NewsFeed Reader - are not of the highest in technological skill level, and do not have the patience to provide coherent and relevant details about the problem.
From my observation of forum problem reports, I suspect that there are at least 3 different problems, which cause this intermittent Reading List scenario.
It's likely that each problem is caused in part by the people, who depend upon the Reading List to follow blogs published by them, and by other people. Some people also publish their own blogs, while others only read blogs, using their own Reading List - and this can complicate both the diagnosis, and resolution, of the problems.
At least some of the reports of "My Reading List has disappeared!" involve three long known problems - each problem caused, in part, by the Blogger account owners who use the Reading List.- Cookie / Script Filters, which prevent the Reading List code from identifying the reader, and displaying the personal Reading List.
- Multiple Blogger accounts, where an account owner sets up their personal Reading List while logged in to one account, and later uses a different Blogger account, with no personal Reading List setup for that account.
- Load Timeout is a problem with the Reading List assembly process, similar to timeout by the Dynamic Template assembly process.
The cookie / script filtering issue is similar to another long standing problem - Blogger Comments, particularly using the Embedded comment form. Third party cookies, which carry the identity of the person logged in to Blogger, being filtered and unavailable to the Reading List generation code, lead to the empty Reading List display. The Blogger Comments problem, like the Reading List problem, seems more common to people with lower tech skills set.
The cookie / script filters issue may also involve people who access the Internet through countries subject to country code alias redirection. People who live in the UK may not consistently update their security filters to permit cookies or scripts from "blogspot.co.uk", as they do for "blogspot.com". People who live close to international boundaries may not be aware of the vagaries of geolocation, and how their country code alias redirection may be affected, from day to day.
Another filter issue may involve recently updated filters. Thanks to ever changing security needs, and frequent unannounced updates by many security product vendors, a filter which worked yesterday may not work today. People unaware of the intrusive nature of security updates won't think to check the update log for any security product.
The empty Reading List problem can be caused by aggressive cookie / script filters, as is a similar problem - inability to remove specific blogs from the Reading List.
The multiple accounts issue is common to almost every Blogger feature. Ever since Blogger added the "Create an account" link to the Blogger / Google login screen, people have been setting up multiple Blogger accounts. Some people setup multiple accounts accidentally, and others do so on purpose.
If you combine the "Create an account" link with the ease of setting up a non GMail based Blogger account, you see that many people who don't use GMail can easily setup a new Blogger account without realising what they are doing. The owner of a new account, newly able to login, finds an empty dashboard. People who use the Reading List, purely to Follow other peoples blogs, will not be interested in the empty "My blogs" list, and will simply observe the lack of entries in the Reading List.
Other people setup additional Blogger accounts intentionally, to host different blogs under different accounts. People who intentionally segregate their blogs may not understand the similar personal nature of the Reading List.
Cookie / script filters can also block the contents of the Google "One Account" display from being properly generated - and may similarly contribute to creation of multiple accounts. The "reflexive action" design of the "One Account" display also contributes to use of the wrong account, in multiple account situations.
Both aggressive cookie / script filtering, and use of multiple Blogger accounts, can lead to lack of proper identification of the Blogger account owner - and to an empty Reading List.
The load timeout issue is similar to Dynamic Template load timeout. If you have any interesting assortment of feeds, in your Reading List, clear cache, cookies, and sessions, restart the browser, and login to Blogger. Immediately, scroll to the bottom of the screen, and watch the Reading List on your dashboard.
The list will, initially, be completely empty - then suddenly, it will fill with some number of posts, instantaneously. This is the same way a blog displays, in a dynamic view.
The various feeds in the Reading List have to be merged, so the individual posts can be displayed in proper sequence - in the same way that the components of a dynamic template display are assembled. This will make the Reading List display vulnerable to intermittent local and network problems, as the dynamic templates are vulnerable.
Different client computers will be differently vulnerable to load timeout, because of details like differing reading list content, individual network problems, and individual local computer problems. Reading List load timeout will have the same effect as Dynamic View load timeout - no display. This will be a truly intermittent problem.
Besides the inconsistent and intermittent load timeout, we'll see consistent errors, like the empty Reading List - and the mysterious lack of ability to remove Reading List entries.
All of the above issues are caused, in part, by the Blogger account owners. Blogger Engineering has worked for many years to solve the problem of cookie filtering and commenting, in vain. I suspect that they have also worked on the Reading List display problem, with similar result.
As long as people use their own computers, with security components of their own choosing - and neglect to consistently use the same Blogger account - Blogger is never going to solve the problem of the empty Reading List. The panic will never go away.
Thanks to the Google "One account" login, as Blogger is made a way of life to more of a reader population who have no interest in maintaining security on their computer, these issues will become more problematic.
