It is because I block all clients from accessing my images without proper “referer” (sic) information being transmitted to the server. This “referer” (sic) information is logged to find out “where you came from.” It helps figure out the bad links people are sending my way. It helps to discover what people are “searching for” when they click on in, and it identifies theft of bandwidth.
Why do I do this? It is to avoid other sites stealing my images and my bandwidth by “inlining” images on their domains. Of course, for every security measure, there is always a casualty to the actions.
- Search engines are denied access to the images while viewing “cached” content. I may reconsider this in the future.
- If your browser or “anti-spy/trojan/ad” software is not sending that information to the server, you will not be allowed to view my image content, even if you are surfing my domain. However, browsers that do not send “anything” work just fine.
Outpost Firewall:
An example of this is “Outpost” by . The user of this software has the ability to “block” the outgoing “referer” (sic) information. Why anyone would want to do this is beyond me as it helps every web master maintain the server and fight back against abuse. The funny thing is, even though “Outpost” will block the “referer” (sic) information, the clients IP address is still sent. An example log entry follows:
[Sun Mar 16 15:35:54 2003] [error] [client xyz.xyz.xyz.xyz] client denied by server configuration: !BVEDIT!/services2_small.JPG, referer: Field blocked by Outpost )
Even though I “xyz’ed” the IP address, your privacy is “not” secure. Please reconsider what information you send out and legit webmasters around the world will thank you.
This is how to fix the problem, directly from Agnitum Outpost FAQ:
Why do I see ‘Field blocked by Outpost’ in my web server logs?
If you see ‘Field blocked by Outpost’ in your site statistics, it means those visitors have Outpost Firewall installed on their own computers. They have set Outpost to block ‘referrers’ to protect their privacy and not disclose the site they visited prior to yours. Please note that these users still will be able to browse your web site. You can ask your visitors to enable Referrers in their Active Content plug-in to see how they arrived at your site.
You may also be able to access all of my content by placing this domain in the “Trusted Zone” in your browser options.
I am currently unaware of any more instances of this happening. Please contact me if you are unable to view my content “legitimately” and I will attempt to fix it as soon as possible.