EGM
04-08-2006, 05:04 PM
I've been digging deep into my log files lately. I noticed something suspicious, but I can't figure out why someone would do this. It feels like a spamming technique, but I can't see the payoff.
If you go to either of these sites, you get a custom 404 page with the same 404 image on it. WHOIS data indicates a relationship between these sites in that they share the same host, registrar etc. One is listed to a Russian. The other to someone in the US. My guess is that they are both phony.
If you view the source of these pages, you can see the following text:
From there on out, it follows the format of an image using the SRC, <identifying URL removed> style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">HEIGHT</a>, WIDTH, and ALT commands to define the size and alternative text. You can set the BORDER to any number you want, however "0" loses any blue border.
And one of the nice side effects of this format is that there is no hand cursor when the mouse passes over.
If you do a Google search of just <the search term> by itself, you see this URL showing up in the "Top referrer" sections of a bunch of sites (these are automated scripts). So, I'm not alone in seeing this pattern of activity apparently.
So what's the game here? I can't figure it out. These sites get a lot of link love from these automated top referrer scripts I believe, but there is no payoff when the sites are just 404 pages.
Anybody have an idea what this is all about? I searched for any conversation on the topic but all I saw was more references to these sites in other site's top referrer scripts. Frankly, I'm stumped.
If you go to either of these sites, you get a custom 404 page with the same 404 image on it. WHOIS data indicates a relationship between these sites in that they share the same host, registrar etc. One is listed to a Russian. The other to someone in the US. My guess is that they are both phony.
If you view the source of these pages, you can see the following text:
From there on out, it follows the format of an image using the SRC, <identifying URL removed> style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">HEIGHT</a>, WIDTH, and ALT commands to define the size and alternative text. You can set the BORDER to any number you want, however "0" loses any blue border.
And one of the nice side effects of this format is that there is no hand cursor when the mouse passes over.
If you do a Google search of just <the search term> by itself, you see this URL showing up in the "Top referrer" sections of a bunch of sites (these are automated scripts). So, I'm not alone in seeing this pattern of activity apparently.
So what's the game here? I can't figure it out. These sites get a lot of link love from these automated top referrer scripts I believe, but there is no payoff when the sites are just 404 pages.
Anybody have an idea what this is all about? I searched for any conversation on the topic but all I saw was more references to these sites in other site's top referrer scripts. Frankly, I'm stumped.