The last three days? Insane.
The attack started on Wednesday and continued through yesterday. The techs at my host assured me that kind of attack isn’t personal – it’s done by a bot with some sort of script and they just keep at it. And at it. Anyone with a blog has been on the receiving end of a hacking attempt – they might not know it’s going on, but it is. Usually, they are a few hours long. But this one was a whole new thing. By Thursday, I decided to add another level of security, even though I really didn’t want to spend the money.
My blogs mean a lot to me and feeling peace of mind about any future attacks makes the expense worth it. Unfortunately, these DDoS attacks and Brute Force attacks are becoming more and more common. You’d think these idiots could find something better to do with their time.
When I was on Blogger, my blog was hacked four times. That’s why I moved to WordPress. On Blogger, getting any tech help is next to impossible and after the first hacking attempt, no one answered my questions. Not one person. I felt helpless. And as I scrolled through the Blogger Help Forums, I saw lots and lots of unanswered pleas for help. Some people had lost their blogs, some were hacked, sometimes Blogger just deleted a blog for some reason or another. Very disheartening. At least with WordPress, I can get help. I can add security. I have a host that will answer my questions and solve the problem. I have my security company that, I have to say, worked overtime yesterday to get everything in working order. But there were lots of hiccups on the way, which is why you saw 403 and 404 errors.
My body was so tense from hours of sitting hunched over my laptop that I went outside and mowed part of the lawn just to get some sort of physical release.
Anyway, all is well.
And, once again, I am reminded that I have the best readers in the world. The best friends in the world. Thank you for your support and for the emails alerting me to problems. Thank you for responding to my test posts. Bless your hearts. I am so, so grateful for your presence in my life.
Unfortunately, I ended up the day feeling feverish and achy. I’m not feeling much better today. I have a lot of congestion – maybe a sinus infection? I’m not sure. So I’m going to be laying low for the rest of the day.
These ladies are The Cupcakes. They are extremely talented and I really love their work. They are based out of Woodstock, NY. The area I live in is full of musicians. Somehow, the Hudson Valley, including Woodstock, attracts musicians and there’s always lots of music going on. This is their new CD. The title song? A song written by my husband.
I’m busting my buttons with pride. Don is a very talented songwriter and musician. The Cupcakes have been singing their version of Trouble and Joy for a couple of years now and they decided to use it as the title song. Isn’t that neat?
You can go to their site on ReverbNation to hear Trouble and Joy.
Tonight is their CD Release Party. I hope I’m feeling better so I can go!
Oh, and in case you missed it, there was a new post on Just Let Me Finish This Page yesterday.
Oh and Bloglovin’ is somehow showing that I have a new post up, but when you click on it the text is blank. Don’t know why that is happening and, frankly, I find it sort of a pain in the tush. So do me a favor: if you see I have a new post up, just come on over directly to the blog. That’s the way I’d like you to read the posts anyway…I work hard at my blog design and the look of a post and readers don’t really show any of that. I’ll try to figure it all out at some point, but now? I’m tired.
Happy Saturday.
A great song. Congratulations to Don!
Thank you so much, Doris.
Sorry about the blogging problems. This is so far out of my ken, but I can imagine it must be awfully frustrating, not to mention expensive.
But Congrats!! to Don for the use of his wonderful song which manages to be sad but encouraging at the same time. I think you had a video of him singing it on your blog a while back. I loved it–hearing the Cupcakes’ version enriches the experience.
I wish our culture rewarded truly talented people more than just pop icons.
Did I mention how much I love acoustic music??? Thanks for making my day, as is so often the case.
Oh, so do I. But pop icons seem to be the thing – and most of them are sort of talented but no great shakes. You know what I mean?
Glad your back up and running :) Just wanted to let you know you post shows in bloglovin but when I click on it the post is blank :(
You know, someone wrote me yesterday and said my post was up and readable on Bloglovin’ but when I looked it was blank. Bloglovin, quite frankly, is a pain in the tush. I sort of think it’s more trouble than it’s worth. I might deal with it down the road, but, hopefully, people will see that a new post is up and click on over to the actual blog – and I’ll earn more money!
Love The Cupcakes! Don’s song is terrific! I am so glad for all the work that you do on this blog-I enjoy it so much. Thank you!
Oh, thank you, Laura. That means a lot to me.
Claudia – thank you for working so hard to keep your blog going. I really enjoy it.
You are welcome, Cindy.
Hope you’re feeling better soon. I’m going to go check out The Cupcakes!
They’re pretty cool, Kathy.
Hackers. I would hate to live my life being a leech on other people’s lives. They get the same life we get but they choose to be trouble. What a waste! So glad you are up and running again. Congratulations to Don too! Going to check out the music soon.
I know, what is with these people? This is what they choose to do with their lives?
Glad it all worked out Claudia…I have had these types of attacks and it is nerve racking…you have earned some rest, relaxation and peace of mind. And how cool that this group is using Don’s song. Great news all around.
It makes you crazy, doesn’t it?
It does Claudia…very stressful as you are at the mercy of the techs who are helping waiting on pins and needles hoping for the best…meanwhile you cannot communicate with your readers to let them know what is happening.
Exactly. Adds more than a few gray hairs to our heads! xo
Glad you are getting the blog problems fixed…such a pain. Thanks for the intro to the Cupcakes! I loved listening to them, and Don’s song is wonderful! Pamper yourself a little…hope you are feeling better soon.
I’m taking it easy today and reading blogs and taking care of myself, Linda. Thanks!
Great song…great lyrics…major congrats to Don! Sorry you are under the weather…I’m sure yesterday didn’t help! Laying low today sounds like the best medicine! ;)
It is the only medicine. I have no energy to do anything else!
So glad things got worked out. I couldn’t get on your blog yesterday but didn’t have time to figure out why. Today I just came directly here and that’s what I’ll continue to do! I’m going to go listen to that song! Hope you feel better. It’s a rainy weekend here, so I’m going to just rest and do some stuff around my home.
hugs,
Linda
Have a wonderful, restful weekend, Linda. xo
Glad all is well again, Claudia. What a major headache dealing with these issues must be! And how can a company just refuse to answer questions or help when there are problems with their “product?” You are a much nicer [and more patient] than I am. would have jettisoned that Blogger tout suite. Hope you feel better soon. PS – think about megadosing some vitamin C if you have it. My doctor might be right and it’s just psychological, but it ALWAYS helps me with sinus issues. Happy weekend!
I did jettison it. Almost immediately, I signed up for WP and once I designed my blog and learned the new format, the blog was gone from Blogger.
Here’s the thing about Blogger. It’s free. And lots of people use it. I think all of the support staff are volunteers. I don’t think they can keep up with things. WP has to have a host, like Bluehost, and costs money. If you’re paying for something, you much more likely to get customer service.
Happy to hear that your blog is all healed. Now you just have to rest and get yourself feeling better. xo Laura
Feeling pretty yucky. I had a fever last night and during the night.
Sorry to hear about all of this Claudia..I was gone out of town all day yesterday..hope you feel better soon..Congrats to Don..it must be an honor to have someone want to record your music..AND use it for their title song..I’m going to watch now..
Listened and loved it Don!
I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with blog issues Claudia. I have no idea what I’d do with that kind of trouble, my techie abilities are minimal at best! :-/
Congratulations to Don! How exciting it must be to have others love your music so much that they would want to record it!
I hope you’re feeling better soon.
Thanks, Debbie!
So glad to hear the mess is straightened out. So sorry to hear that you’re now not feeling to well. Take care of yourself – you’ve earned a good rest!
I’ve never had this happen and blogger has been good to date, but wondered, after reading your post, if moving to WordPress is worth the time? Can I keep my template? What happens to my previous posts?
Last question! Is there a way to “capture” my blog to store, so that if it ever did get hacked, at least I wouldn’t have lost years of posts? Can I move it to my external hard drive? Put it on a cd?
I don’t know the answers, Chy. But you can have Blogger posts made into a book through sites like Blurb.com. I did that for my first year of posts and I have the second year ready to go. Unfortunately, for me, it’s sort of impossible to do it on WordPress.org.
Thanks Claudia. I’ll look in to that! I’m intrigued to try to switch just for the security piece. I’d be devastated if I lost all this work!
Just remember that what happened to me most likely won’t happen to you!
No, you can’t keep your template and you would have to migrate all your posts, which is a long and sometimes tricky process. If you’re happy at Blogger, you should stay there, Chy.
I WAS a little sad when I got the message saying (something like) I wasn’t allowed to access your blog……. I was happy when it worked again today when I went in!! :-)