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The Podjacker Threat

Posted by Zonk on from the save-the-children dept.

Schlemphfer writes "As everyone knows by now, podcasting has taken off in a big way. But over the past week, several tech journals and The Daily Source Code have reported on the threat of 'podjacking,' the creation of an alternate RSS feed without the consent of the podcast's owner. I'm the host of a podcast, which has the dubious distinction of being the first widely-publicized victim of a podjacking. To teach others from my experiences I have posted an article entitled Preventing and Surviving a Podjacking (also available in PDF). So far this story has attracted widespread but generally inept media and blogger coverage. This article sets the record straight on what really happened, and shows the simple steps every podcaster should take to protect their shows from podjacking."

8 of 354 comments (clear)

  1. PLEASE, enough with the words! by RPoet · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do we HAVE to invent new contorted words for every variation of everything these days? Podjacking? Webinar? Blogosphere, podosphere? Vlog? Moblogging? I'm in pain here!

    --
    "Oppression and harassment is a small price to pay to live in the land of the free." -- Montgomery Burns.
  2. uh, uh, uh, uh, by everphilski · · Score: 5, Funny

    uh, uh, uh, uh, ooooh baby....

    er.... sorry, you caught me at a bad time, I was podjacking...

    -everphilski-

  3. Same as hotlinking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Please, for the love of God, stop making up these stupid blog/pod mashup words for insignificant events. Someone made a metadata file that points to your content. This is the same as hotlinking (where someone makes an HTML file that points to your content). Who cares?

  4. This is funny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "I could see at a glance the danger posed by this incorrect listing"

    Yes, imagine the danger of people listening to the wrong inconsequential ramblings of somebody with no life.

    The consequences are beyond words!

  5. Re:*Gnashes Teeth* by xnderxnder · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hey, it could be worse.. he could have called it podsquatting.

    Eew!

    --
    hooked up funny
  6. Lesson by okjeff · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let this be a lesson to the podcastees: Meat is the greatest thing ever.

  7. Close, but read the full article. by bigtallmofo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Someone else found his material via other means, for which he isn't able to track site visitors, and this upset him.

    You're right on here, but read a little further in the article and you realize he asked for the listings directly from the "Podjacker"! After he admits this, he says that they didn't do it how he assumed they would have done it. Then he goes on to still label them a "Podjacker".

    I responded to an email somebody sent me about podkeyword.com, and I gave the site a visit and submitted my URL for a few listings. When I launched my show in October of 2004 I went everywhere I could to post its URL, and I quickly forgot all about my five minute visit to podkeyword.

    I guess the only remaining comment I have on this topic is that I'd like the 5 minutes I spent reading the article back. Total waste of time - there literally is nothing to see here.

    --
    I'm a big tall mofo.
  8. Re:Slashdot overrun by old fogies by mzwaterski · · Score: 5, Informative
    You need to re-read.

    1st dude told 2nd dude to stop directing traffic through their URL to 1st dude's site. (Pretty sure it was more of a redirect than a mirror of an RSS file).

    2nd dude complied.

    1st dude realized that iTunes had used 2nd dude's URL for 1st dude's listing.

    1st dude is sad because all iTunes people who signed up with 2nd dude's URL are lost.

    1st dude tells 2nd dude to put URL directing traffic to 1st dude's podcast backup. 2nd dude decides to capitalize and ask for money.

    1st dude not happy.