Web Page Design - LESSON 1 - email and SPY BOTS

I am definitely not an expert web designer. But, I am learning and seriously working on my new web page for the writer in me.

Just this week, I was told by my web holders, something I already knew and something new. First, my email link, on my web page was the victim of a SPY BOT that trolls the internet and steals your email address, then uses it for SPAM.

I knew this was happening, because I was getting SPAM from my own website and I wrote my friendly and knowledgeable Web “host” Gold Rush Hosting Solutions. These guys are literally on duty 24/7. They are friendly, to boot. I am not so cheerful after 10:00 pm, but these guys are all smiles.

Anyway, AOL has actually requested that they shut off my email forwarding to my AOL account because I am sending out SPAM. It’s a bit inconvenient but not that much. The main thing is, I am not sending out SPAM.

So, if anyone has gotten SPAM from http://www.vanvleckstudio.com/ , trust me; I did not send it out. My web page may be rather messed up now because the new design is not ready and yet I had to take off all the email links to stop the SPY BOT idiots. I also deleted some of the pages that were not valid and so it is all a mess. I don’t know if it will stop those who have already stolen my email but I hope so.

SO, the lesson for today in web design is the second thing I learned from my Host: Do not be nice to your viewers and link to your email or the SPY BOTS will get you and one day you will be, along with a million other people, receiving spam from your own web page.

My Web Host suggests I either just write the email address, without a link, for contact, or use a form for contact. It may be a little more work for you to be checking the form, but it keeps your web page fresh anyway with constant use. This is a good thing for the search engines as one thing they look at is use on the web page.