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Stopping b2evolution footer spam (v241 - v310)
Every version of b2evolution since v2.4.1 ("Nevada", 2008-03-16) has had spam in the footer, and every version since has been fixable by adding a little bit of code to your hacks.php file. Since we're now seeing the release of the third generation ... and the second generation to have footer spam it makes sense to upgrade this fix. This time we add "nofollow" to the replacement linkback 
Follow up:
If you don't have that file don't worry: upload this one and b2evolution will read it. If you already have a hacks.php file edit both and add these bits to yours.
Footer spam, to me, is the links in the footer that go to something at b2evolution.net other than the root domain. Typically you'll have 2 of them, and typically one is about either cheap hosting or how to make money using your blog.
Download it, unzip it, and upload it to your installation following the path structure in the unzipped package. THIS WILL ADD or OVER-WRITE ONE FILE IN ONE FOLDER!!!
Done! No more footer spam on your blog ... until b2evo gets tired of this fix fucking up their wet dreams and tries a new tactic. And they will because spammers don't give up. Spammers are after a quick buck. They think "I need to make money and I know how to push my links onto someone else's website so I will", which is what an open source application is doing to everyone who downloads it. Then when their efforts fail they get pissed at us for blocking them! Instead of just giving up and joining the human race again they come up with new ways to be assholes. No worries: when that happens we'll knock 'em down again 
By the way this version of the footer spam blocker also contains a really cool trick that lets you put your blog into maintenance mode without locking you out of it. Kinda neat eh? Like, everyone else sees a "503" page but you can still visit the blog and the back office. Like let's say you're working on a skin or something and don't want visitors right now. Edit your hacks.php file, change a false to true, and there you go!
7 comments
Bollocks, I forgot all about it being naked day, if only there was a cool hack or plugin or summat that'd remember for me :-S/me runs off to get naked
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WTF? you ask for a switch to turn off the links, I put it into 3.0.0 and you call me/us a... what?You have issues man and I really think it's unfair to take them up on me and/or b2evolution or whatever.
Asked for a switch? No actually I said it needs to go. Where do you tell people about this switch? Certainly not on your 310 announcement page. Maybe one day I'd have found that switch but 310 sucked so bad on initial trial for me that I totally gave up on it.Francois you're a genius. No doubt in my mind about that. This software you created is freaking awesome. Sure there's bad in it. Always is. By far and away though it is freaking awesome. You're also a good man to know.
But you're a spammer and I don't cut spammers any slack. I'm pretty sure you know that right? So get over the spam phase. Make a 247 and a 311 right now that has no footer spam and no spyware. It shouldn't take a year, and it wouldn't if you were the one being spammed.
Wait a sec... I seem to recall saying you shouldn't collect information without identifying what you are collecting and asking for permission. That would be "opt-in" to the data collection that precedes getting update info regarding releases on the dasboard.That is not the footer spam. Footer spam needs to be removed from the core - no switches, no waiting a year: spam is evil and must be stopped.
Thanks for this Ed.Question...is it still worth installing if you've otherwise removed the footer spam from your skin? Ive uploaded it hoping it would get rid of the links on my login page but it hasnt.
Recently (14/05/09) Author wrote So far this holiday... at Gigabob's web. Check it out!
I hardly ever go to that page, but wow there sure is a lot of mostly useless links there 
Of 8 links only one goes to a page in the installation's domain. 5 to b2evolution, and 2 to the main developer. What a bunch of crap. Seems to me ONE to the open source app is enough eh? One to the installation's home, one to the "lost password" page. The rest can go.Sounds like a simple upgrade
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