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The Real Blogger Status

What Blogger won't tell you


The Layout Template "Edit HTML" Wizard And "Expand Widget Templates"Today
Sometimes, when we're working on a problem that requires editing the HTML in a layout template, we need to understand the need to expand (or not expand) the widget templates. This month, for instance, we have hundreds of blogs containing malicious code, unknowingly installed by the blog owners. The malicious code must be removed, but the installed code aggressively prevents use of the "Page Elements" wizard, and the "Remove" button.

When the "Page Elements" wizard can't be used to remove code, you have to use the "Edit HTML" wizard, and remove the individual gadget entries, one by one.

Here's what the unexpanded line entry for one problem gadget looks like

<div class='widget Gadget' id='Gadget1' />

That's easy enough to find - and to delete.

Here's what that entry looks like, expanded.

<div class='widget Gadget' id='Gadget1'>
<h2 class='title'>Maukie - the virtual cat</h2>

<div class='widget-content'>
<script type="text/javascript">
if (!window.gadgets || !gadgets.rpc) {
document.write('<script type="text/javascript"' +





















Loss Of Comments After Publishing Blog To A Custom DomainYesterday
Recently, we've started to see a number of reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken of comments being lost after a blog is newly published to a Google Custom Domain. Like many problems involving comments and / or custom domain problems, this problem warrants further investigation.

To start with, there are a few questions which are relevant, which may help us diagnose where the problem originates.
  • Where are the comments being lost - can you find them still inventoried in "Edit Posts", for instance?
  • From how many different browsers and / or computers have you observed the comments lost?
    • Your computer / your readers computers?
    • Any affinity as to browser or computer operating system?
    • Does your blog have any cultural, geographical, or linguistic affinity of readers?
    • Do you observe this problem with just this one blog, or with other blogs too?
  • What type of comment display does your blog use - Embedded, Popup Window, or Separate Page?
  • Did you buy the domain through Blogger ("Buy A Domain"), or directly from a registrar?
  • When you observe the lost comments, is the blog "


Editing The Blog TemplateMarch 6
The template is like the skeleton of your body - you can't see it (easily), but the success of the blog depends upon its being there, and being structured properly. If you're going to have a blog, and publish it effectively, eventually the "Fonts and Colors" and "Page Elements" wizards won't do enough for you. You're going to want to get to the details, underneath the GUI processes.

With a Classic template, the "Customise" link from the navbar, or the "Template" link in the dashboard, will put you right into "Edit HTML".

With a Layout template, you'll have two options.
  • Generally, you use the "Customise" link in the navbar, or the "Layout" link in the dashboard, to put you into "Page Elements". Then, you select "Edit HTML".
  • In extreme cases, you will want to access "Edit HTML" directly.


With a classic template, you have just one major activity when you're in "Edit HTML" - and that's what the name suggests, you edit the HTML. You'll have some CSS code, but no XML - so it's all relatively straightforward.

With a layout template, you'll have a few minor options.
  • Backup ("








Some Hijack Malware Is Being Claimed To Be Blogger ProvidedMarch 5
As the ongoing investigations into the nature of the latest malware based blog hijacks continues, some victims are claiming that the malware that they installed, unwittingly, was possibly part of a Blogger provided gadget, installed using the Blogger "Add a Gadget" wizard in "Page Elements".

If you find this as you clean your blog, will you please report your finding here. Please state, in a comment below, as completely as possible
  • The title of the offending gadget.
  • The author of the offending gadget - this detail is very useful, as many popular gadgets are provided by multiple authors!
  • Any specific selections or settings that you made, when installing the gadget.
What you find, and what you provide here, will be passed on to Blogger Support, at all possible speed, for their verification.

All responsible bloggers thank you, for your honest contributions.

>> Top






Identifying And Removing HTML / JavaScript / XML Based Malware From Your BlogMarch 5
Occasionally, in the recently discovered social engineering blog attacks that involve shiny blog accessories, we've seen reports of aggressively protected malware, that's being installed on some blogs.

If you can't remove a recently installed gadget, because you get redirected when trying to use the "Layout" button from the dashboard, or the "Remove" button from the "Page Elements" wizard, you may have to be imaginative.
  • Use a hardened browser - minimally, one which blocks scripts from any non Blogger / Google domain, to clean your blog. This is the simplest possibility here.
  • Remove the code manually.
    1. Use a protected browser or proxy server to access the blog, and "View Source".
    2. Look in the source, and find the offending gadget / module. If it was installed as an "HTML / JavaScript" or Blogger "Add a Gadget" (XML) gadget, look at the code carefully, and look for "Gadgetnn" and "HTMLnn", where "nn" will be the sequential number for that HTML / XML gadget. This is important.
    3. Manually access