For the past month, I have talked to many webmasters with far more experience than I. By looking at the above search results in google, you can see that there are URLs that redirects to my site. Why? I can't believe they are doing it to help out my traffic, but on the surface that would seem to be the case. Here are some possible theories:
1. This is being used for a proxy list in some way -- another webmaster tried to explain this to me but not sure I grasp it. If I understood, it means that my IP is being used as a proxy. I'm talking to my host about moving.
2. Phishing or spamming -- are they using it to cause havoc or steal from me or other sites? When I look at the google cache, it is not my data. However, if you click the link it goes to my site. I'm trying to add it up, but I can't come up with how they would be using it for phishing but I'm far from an expert.
3. Stats -- I come to the conclusion it is somehow messing up my stats/log. For example if my logs show 85,000 visitors, I need to divide it by ??? This is the question, by how many. Above I show you two, but there are more. So far I have found 4 sites. If there are only 4, than I would divide 85,000 by 4 to get a more accurate number .. I think? I'm going by another webmaster's advise on how to do this. I also installed another independent analysis program which is not on my server. I use code on my pages but the analysis program resides on a server with a different IP address. Independent programs are not always that accurate, but at least it gives me an idea if my numbers are being mis-construed in some way. One webmaster said it may be accurate since I have 4 other sites sending me traffic. Hell, I don't know. It is more confusing than IMBRA.
4. Other Sites. In my search to find answers, I found out there were other sites with the same problem. I emailed them to let them know. I also notified my host and google. I found some common data amongst the sites: (1) All were online dating sites with asian and russian being their primary members (2) they all used adsense and adwords (3) they were all established sites with a pr3 or above (4) The webmasters I talked to were not aware of this until I pointed it out to them. They all said at one time they experienced connection or site slow downs. We are still talking and comparing more data. Some webmasters said they were not concerned. To each their own. I know I'm at least curious of what, how and who. It could be that the above common gound is only because my research was focused on my site and I only found other sites with the same problem that had the same similar features as my site. Consequently, it doesn't mean other sites with different features are not experiencing similar problems.
5. Has it hurt my site: As far as I can tell it has not. I'm trying to figure out if it somehow was related with any slowdowns or connection problems I was experiencing. I just don't get what the purpose is. Unless they want to inflate my numbers to mislead me or are indeed using it for a proxy to do some dirty work. I can't believe they are doing out of the goodness of their heart unless their is something to gain from it. Yet, it could be some kids having fun or my competition trying to throw me off hoping I'm satisfied with my numbers and rest on my laurels. I had some heavy hitters help me out and we came up with all kinds of theories, but nothing written in stone. Most believe it is not causing any harm (look at google's cache) except for the possible slow down and connection problems. But hell, how can you know if there is a problem when you are not sure why they are doing it. The other dating sites I found with the same problem, the webmasters didn't have a clue either. They too said they are not aware of any harm to their site except the connection and slow down thing.
6. How long? I have no idea how long it existed. My guess is that it has been there for a while but I only discovered it a month ago (beginning of sept). I can't go by googles cache according to one webmaster. He could be switching up. One month it is my site and the next month he switches to another site. Hell, who knows.
7. How to check your site. I wish I had a definite formula. It was by accident I found it. Granted I was digging for some other related problems when discovered, but once I did, I spent countless hours this past month looking for clues -- that is when I discovered other sites with the same problem. Your best bet is to look at your logs and check out anything that seems suspicious. If you have any type of members accounts, you may find some clues there. I did find some proxy related issues, but nothing alarming (proxies are pretty normal these days). My host was a great help and I owe a thank you to other webmasters who helped out.
If you own an Asian or Russian dating site, you may want to do some research. Look at your error logs -- that is where I found some evidence in my search. Also recommend installing an independent analysis program so you can compare numbers. Granted, most independent analysis programs are not accurate in the first place, but it may help. You could also look for a tool to search for any redirects or hops to your site's home page. Another webmaster helped me out here and that is how I discovered there was more than two -- so far I have found 4. There are also some DNS tools online you can use to check out your server. I doubt if this is related in any way to a virus or trojan. If it is, you won't find it on your local computer -- get your host to scan your server or have them check it out. If you reside on a shared server (which most do), make sure another domain is not causing a problem. I'm now discussing with my host about migrating to another IP address, but I hate the thought of moving. Recently there was another domain that resided on the same host as I did, and was spamming. Shortly after my site was black listed by hotmail as was the case for all who lived on the same shared server. A call to my host straighten it out. So having a good host may be your best weapon in combating any problems. Do all the normal whois checks to be sure all is in order. Check out any broken links -- they may not be your links? etc, etc, etc.
There are so many ways to check things that one way may work for me and not work for you. If your site has been consistently having problems, get your host to move you to another IP address. There is a way to check how many share your account's IP for your server, but I forget the tool. You can google for it and you should find the tool. At last check, there were 400 other domains on my server. There are also tons of tool on www.hotscripts.com.
A lot of webmasters check their local computer when they are having problems. A virus scan of your local computer is not going to find problems on your server. That is where hotscripts can help. They have more server tools than I can count.
That is it for now. I didn't post this earlier while I was researching -- didn't want to give a heads up to the culprit. Now after countless hours of research and talking to other webmasters, they recommend I post to give a heads up in case other dating sites want to check out their site. It may be nothing.....it may simply be someone playing around........I don't know. But in case it is something please post or email me if you don't want to post your url on a public forum. If I find out anything note worthy, I will post it here. Cheers.
Posted on Sept 21, 2007
| 
