YJL

Just read this post of Mozilla Security Blog, it's no surprise to hear such fraud, though I've never seen such website in my own eyes.

The posts says:

Subscription trap websites prey on users who are trying to download legitimate free software. These sites trick users into paying for expensive subscriptions for otherwise free software.

I guess I am smart enough to recognize this type of bad website from search engine results, which I believe that's how people get touched with the websites.

It continues to describe the crime:

Some even go as far as threatening users with collection efforts to compel payment.

Isn't that terrible? You know there are some conman who cons people already in trouble, they use victim's desperation to squeeze the last penny from victim. In this case of fraud website, they use fear to push the users.

But to my surprise,

Such sites have long been a cause for complaint among Firefox users, particularly in Germany.

I didn't expect to hear Germany, but maybe that only means German people report the fraud more than people from other countries, not all German are victims or create fraud websites.

It's good to see cases have been bring to court, but we all know this is like spams, it will never end. And one part of this kind of fraud fuels this kind of operation is search engine. The fraud websites manage to achieve high ranking in search engine results, that's how they can get some victims who look for good or popular programs.

Hopefully, search engine providers would also notice the issue.

I had this idea in the end of September 2010 when I was playing with Google Analytics' tracking code. I wrote some code for rating blog posts using the option value, the code did stay on my blog for a day or two before I took it down, it wasn't too useful for me. But a function allows visitor to report page issue could be very helpful if someone is willing to click on some buttons.

I have finished a simple code and it's at bottom of this blog:


Well, it doesn't look pretty. Here is the code in that HTML/JavaScript gadget:

<script src="https://gist.github.com/raw/1713067/ga-wr.js"></script>
<script>
function init_page() {
  var gawr_options = {
    target: 'ga-wr',
    UA: 'UA-XXXXXXXX-X',
    report_options: [
      {
        title: 'Image is not loaded'
      },
      {
        title: 'Link is broken'
      },
      {
        title: 'Other'
      }
      ]
    };
  new GAWR(gawr_options);
}
$(init_page);
</script>
<div id="ga-wr"></div>

For report of issues report, I can write my own program to get daily report using my current daily report as base. But I don't think I will trouble myself, not yet anyway. Right now, I can see the report with custom report in Google Analytics:


It works great for me for now. Note that, you need to use Alert/Total Events instead of Pageviews. It's event not page. The report does get updated very quick, probably a few minutes after reported. I will say that's instant almost.

Now a little technical background of this script. Basically, you should use different profile. It will track page when a report is being submit and the report is recorded as Event. Event action is the issue name and option label is the additional information as you seen in the image above.

Option value can only accept integer, custom value probably can do the trick, but I put the data in option label. There is another way to record is to rewrite the page URL when tracking the page, but I don't like that. But this could be a benefit, rewriting url to be /original-page-url/issue and still send the event. This way, if you watch Real-time tab, you can see there is a report just comes in if you don't use separate profile.

And remember when visitor reports, page URL is recorded by page tracking, also user's browser and system and everything Google Analytics collects by default is already in the data. Isn't this awesome and brilliant? I don't even need to code for collecting such data if I need to check visitor's browser, they are just there for me to read.

Google Analytics API can do more than just website access statistics, you can set up a poll or some thing more. Imagine you let people to vote and you use visitors metric or something to prevent some degree of voting spam.

Only the data isn't public without coding and they require process.

Stackoverflow had been down for about an hours, now it's back but still not functioning. I was bored, then I noticed the address, you can see at the bottom of the screenshot:

http://stackoverflow.com/error?aspxerrorpath=/

So? Windows? or via Mono on Unix-like system? (I have no idea if Mono can do that or not)

Well, actually it doesn't matter.

Hurry come back, Stackoverflow! Stop being overflow! :D

(Right after posted, it now says "Stack Overflow is currently offline for maintenance")

I have just been using Wakoopa 1.1.1 on Linux. It works very well. I have wanted to try it when it was not ready for Linux. I do know how long it has started supporting Linux, it surely does it great because it also have a 64-bit client. The packages only are for DEB and RPM package managements, but the binary tarball is easy to use.



The only problem I have is it is not able to detect the CLI/TUI programs, simply because it has no easy way to determine which CLI/TUI program you are currently using. As in X, we have many different terminal emulator, then few terminal window managers. It is nearly impossible that you could tell which is running by a code. We also still have virtual consoles, but this probably not the case to talk because Wakoopa is a GUI program. Not many people will use X and switch to virtual console to work.



The web tracking works normally with Firefox 3.5.5. But I am not satisfied with it, it uses CrunchBase as the website database. But as I checked up on CrunchBase, it is really a company-oriented. I don't see gnu.org or kernel.org in it.



I may be using Wakoopa for a little longer. It really couldn't fully reflect my use on computer. I stay a lot of time in terminal. I know I can use gvim instead of vim, but I rather not to. I think Wakoopa is better for Windows and OS X users, because the normal users of theirs are stuck to GUI programs.

First, do you know what is "index.html"? If you don't, please read Index.htm on Wikipedia, that will only take your few minutes. Basically or formerly, it's a directory of that website. I still remember when I was a student, I got a gig to design a web page of  a office of my school. The head of the office asked me why "index.html", what does that mean? If I recall my answer correctly, that would be: It's the first page that Internet users would be checking up for a new website to them.

I chose to create a Google Sites (will refer as GS as follows) as my index.html website, which means I use GS' service as my personal directory website. I think the infrastructure of GS is great. For a directory, you don't need it to be fancy when you are not a designer. You only need to show the information of you in a formal way or just spreading it out. Simple, quick, and easy is the only requirements that we should have to focus on.

Actually, I have a GS before this index.html website. However, that one is private, I am the only one can access to it. I put my to-do list, ideas, thoughts on it. That do help a lot.

Few days ago, I think it's in this week, I created my second GS. The name of it is "Yu-Jie Lin", that is the same as my name. I created some pages to list my favorites of things and projects, which I am currently working on. I also list what social network websites I am using or I had used. And a contact information, of course. "About me" page isn't created yet, but I will.

I guess creating a page with List is my favorite feature of GS. You can add fields, you can sort the list as the way like, you can add and delete items easily. Besides List feature, you can store files  and/or embed some gadgets. The pages are created in hierarchical method, which is a great way to organize.

I believe that we all need a website but definitely not meaning a blog. They are different. Blog is a specific website, you need a general website to represent you. Yes, you can create page in a blog as if you can do in a WordPress blog. But, that is just a page in blog, not in your website.

I had used a social network website (FriendFeed) as my website link in many social network websites. I then realized that is not quite a good idea to do, because not everyone who happens to be interested in you and are like to read stuff in social networks, at least not in that one you link to. More over, a social network website has very narrow purpose, the functionality is limited. Social network website would never be perfect as your website.

Go signing up for GS and create one for your own.