'Blishing'-how can I block unwanted followers?

  • Unknown's avatar
    subodai213 · Member ·

    I’ve received three emails in the last month that are doing what I call ‘Blishing’..blogging in an attempt to phish. I get the standard WP notification that so and so is now a follower and I should check out their blog to see ‘what they’re up to’. Each time the so called ‘follower’ posts NO content but has pictures (obviously clipped from the ‘Net). Disturbingly, I look at my stats and see that some have a sexual URL and/or come from Russia, the Balkans, etc…and I know NO one from anywhere there.
    How can I block these URL’s without actually clicking on them?

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • Unknown's avatar
    timethief · Member ·

    What I will post below applies only to wordpress.COM hosted sites, regardless of upgrades.

    We cannot totally block or delete subscribers from public WordPress.COM hosted blogs. Anyone and everyone with internet access can view and read public blogs and that’s indeed what the public designation means.

    To change blog visibility to Private go to > Settings > Reading scroll to Blog Visibility and choose option 3. See the guide here http://en.support.wordpress.com/settings/privacy-settings

    Also, read this about public blogs that become private blogs > Blog Privacy and Subscribers > http://wpcommaven.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/blog-privacy-and-subscribers/

    To change blog visibility to Private go to Dashboard > Settings > Reading scroll to Site Visibility and choose option 3
    http://en.support.wordpress.com/settings/privacy-settings/

    You don’t need an upgrade of any kind at all to invite multiple people to contribute to a private blog. See:
    adding users http://en.support.wordpress.com/adding-users/
    user roles http://en.support.wordpress.com/user-roles/
    Note that you have complete control over everything that’s posted to your blog via comment moderation
    http://en.support.wordpress.com/settings/discussion-settings/#comment-moderation

    For trolls, you can “blacklist” them at Settings > Discussion toward the bottom of that page. Enter their email address, their username, and if they included it, their website URL. That will automatically send them to moderation so that their comments do not appear on the blog. Do note though that if they are determined, they can use a different email address or username to get around that. See comment blacklist https://en.support.wordpress.com/settings/discussion-settings/#comment-blacklist

    Also, do not put their IP address in the blacklist. IP addresses are no longer unique, and you might end up blocking legitimate visitors. All the blocked person would have to do is go to a wi-fi hot spot, or connect via a different ISP and they could get around that.

    Additional information:
    Our reality is that if the ability to remove or followers existed our time would be squandered on removing unwanted followers because anyone can get a new email address and or a new IP in seconds flat and then they can subscribe again to any public blog they were removed from.

    If someone has an inappropriate rating for a Gravatar image, please log into to Gravatar and use the “Report Abuse” link on their Gravatar profile bottom right-hand corner to let Staff know.

    Also, note that on this page > Settings > Discussion if you scroll down you will find you can set a Maximum Rating for gravatar display on your blog.

    G — Suitable for all audiences
    PG — Possibly offensive, usually for audiences 13 and above
    R — Intended for adult audiences above 17
    X — Even more mature than above

    If the follower has an inappropriate blog hosted here at WordPress.com, you can also report that to us so we can deal with that: Report Mature or Spam Blogs http://en.support.wordpress.com/report-blogs/

    re: removing inactive subscribers
    Please note that deleting an email address does NOT prevent the same person from subscribing again under the same email address or under a new email address.

    Therefore, the process of removing subscriber’s email addresses is aimed for use when we have subscribers who want to unsubscribe and who have failed to click the “unsubscribe” link on the bottom of the email updates of our posts they receive. Alternatively, it is aimed for use when email subscribers are “inactive”.

    https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/how-to-unsubscribe-someone-from-my-blog?replies=3#post-2486958
    https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/how-to-unsubscribe-someone-from-my-blog?replies=3#post-2487279

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