Purge Information from domain tools and aboutus.org?

[doni]

Hello everybody

I'm a total noob to this forum, and to be honest I'm not super tech saavy but I do my best to get by... on to the issue:

Is there anyway to remove/purge your info from a site like domain tools or aboutus.org?

I've found another post on the site made by IncrediBill which showed me how to block the perpetrators IP Addresses... but I'm not sure if we can take it to the next level and get rid of all their stolen information.

I'm a musician, but I don't make enough money yet to be free from the employment world. The problem is these sites make it dam near impossible for me to have clean google results for my first+lastname. I am making a general assumption that in a tough job market, employers would choose somebody who does not have any other extra-curricular activities that they work on over somebody who does; especially when it comes to music, because let's face it, all musicians are peace pipe smoking liabilities (totally not true, but I believe this is the stigma...)

Another thought, am I the only one who finds these domain tools type websites horrible offensive and a huge breach of privacy laws? I actually feel sick that some rouge company would publish my backend information so they can create more advertising revenue.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work everyone

[edited by: incrediBILL at 10:23 am (utc) on Mar. 10, 2009]
[edit reason] fixed filter issue [/edit]

[MarkK]

Agreed. Not impressed at all.

I just found this lovely bit: [domain-history.#*$!...] They actually charge to block your own information on a per day basis?

[dstiles]

Woz - I posted earlier in this thread about a) being able to sign up with NO challenge as to whether I was the site owner/manager; b) the same as you, they reversed my deletion and blocked my editing access.

It took ages for them to react to my complaints and I don't think they would have done without this public forum exposure. A bunch of mercenary scrapers with no scruples.

The problem is: how do you detect the scrapers in the first place? At some point along the line I must have blocked aboutus but some scrapers emulate real browsers. The only way I've found is to block the IP range of every hosting data centre I can find. That includes amazon and the msn and google non-bot hosting ranges.

I received a google alert for one of my domains a couple of days ago - they come in fits and starts, months apart, and are almost never useful and usually irrelevant - not my site at all! This one was similar to aboutus.org but from Romania: no data about my domain/site but an invitation to post about it to (presumably) anyone who wants to. All this, again, under the guise of providing DNS/Whois information that's available to anyone anyway with a simple lookup tool such as Sam Spade or 'nix Network Tools.

If anyone from google et al is reading this: please stop these scraper-spammers! Google particularly seems to list hundreds of them. It's getting difficult to find any real information on domains, sites and companies.

Google: your spammer-friendly search engine. :(

[MarkK]

dstiles. Would you mind sharing the blocklist/ip ranges for those datacentres?

[dstiles]

MarkK - I'd be happy to send you a list of the current set, but they would include non-DC ranges based on dynamic IPs that persistently cause me grief plus some I've picked up from security forums for US and Russian/Ukrainian ranges.

Since they are in a simple text file I haven't tagged each range. MySql is the next move, when they will be tagged, but that's some time away at the moment.

[MarkDilley]

MarkK: I messaged over to a contact at domain tools and they were concerned and wanted to know what domain this was effecting.

Woz: What domain are you talking about? The reason we revert page wipes is that someone could come in and wipe all their competitors wiki pages. We couldn't let that stand - so we ask if you would like bot generated information removed - you contact us, please contact me at [e-mail]

[dstiles]

We've been through this before, Mark. If you allow just anyone to modify details then of course you will get competitors killing their rivals (assuming they thought it worth while to do so). They could do it with just a few words, no need to wipe everything (This site is (not) the best site for...). And then you become liable for libel and/or other legal action, yes? Which you are probably liable for anyway if you disregard a site's T&C.

Make sure the only person allowed to alter site details OWNS the site. Then they can add, remove or delete content themselves instead of being frustrated at trying to and failing and then going through VERY difficult online contact procedures. And publicise your bot and its IP so we can block it.

[edited by: incrediBILL at 3:29 am (utc) on July 21, 2009]
[edit reason] Edit for TOS# 4 and #26 [/edit]

[Leosghost]

@mark dilley

Make sure the only person allowed to alter site details OWNS the site.

better yet ..

Make sure the only person allowed to originally post site details OWNS the site.

even better yet ..

change your sites name to ..
aboutthem.org

[edited by: incrediBILL at 2:21 am (utc) on July 21, 2009]
[edit reason] Edit for TOS# 4 and #26 [/edit]

[incrediBILL]

<modhat>
Just thought I'd drop a note reminding people to keep the thread civil and be respectful of all WebmasterWorld members.

I know this topic brings up great emotions in many webmasters, but let's discuss the problem and not the people nor make accusations regarding any company.

Thanks.
</modhat>