Yet another popunder software website is engaging in referral spamming tactics, and this time it’s Webmonetizer.
How To Block Webmonetizer.net Spam: Filter Method
I created the instructions below using both images and text to make it easier for you to understand and follow the guide. The important parts of the page that you need to click or interact with are marked with a red circle.
1. Go To The Google Analytics Website And Log Into Your Account
You can visit the website by clicking the URL in the heading or by clicking here.
2. Go To Your “Admin” Tab
The admin tab is right next to the ‘Customisation’ tab to the far right of the Google Analytics logo.
3. Click On “Filters” Under The “View” Section
Once you’re on the admin page, go to the 3rd column called “View” and click on “Filters”.
4. Click On “+New Filter”
There’s a big red button on the page that says “+New Filter”. It’s pretty hard to miss, so click it.
5. Enter The Information In The Image Below And Save
If you’ve read my other articles about referral spam, then you already know the drill:
- Click on ‘Create New Filter‘
- Under ‘Filter Information‘, click on ‘Custom‘
- Click the “Exclude‘ button
- Under ‘Filter Field‘, select ‘Campaign Source‘ from the drop-down list.
- Under Filter Pattern, enter ‘Webmonetizer.net‘
- Click on ‘Save‘.
Wait about an hour for the filter changes to take effect and you should be able to see your real Google Analytics data without the referrer spam in it.
How To Block Webmonetizer.net Spam: Htaccess Method
In every article I’ve written about ghost referrer spam, I never recommended using this method or the following method if the referrer spam is indeed ghost referrer spam that never actually visits your site as this method and the subsequent method are more suited for protecting your site from any possible sessions in the future from these sources. If you find that the traffic is taking up your server resources or you think that it may be malicious, then try using thie following code in your htaccess.
## SITE REFERRER BANNING
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} Webmonetizer.net [NC,OR] RewriteRule .* – [F]
How To Block Webmonetizer.net Spam: Deflecting Method
This is not also not a recommended method, but you can create a text file called “deflector.map” and add the following code to it:
#
## deflector.map
##
##referer –> redirect target
http://Webmonetizer.net http://Webmonetizer.net
After that, you’re going to want to add the following code to your .htaccess
RewriteMap deflector txt:/path/to/deflector.map
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !=””
RewriteCond ${deflector:%{HTTP_REFERER}} =-
RewriteRule ^ %{HTTP_REFERER} [R,L]
Why Does Webmonetizer Referrer Spam Occur?
Since I was unable to view the website through my browser (it resulted in a malware warning) or through the Wayback Machine (no archived page), I can only assume that the purpose of Webmonetizer’s referral spam campaigns is to get webmasters to download their popunder software, to infect their computers, or both.