Preventing Spam on the Horse Finder Network

There has been an increasing amount of SPAM and FRAUD in the online equestrian community that spawns from online horse classified sites like the Horse Finder. This increase requires us to combat spam and protect our users privacy by adding new levels of security. We have done just that. We recently added a CAPTCHA image to help reduce the amount of computerized attacks. I would like to tell you about the new layer that we have recently deployed.

We now restrict anonymous users from submitting multiple buyer inquiries. This was a decission that we spent a bunch of time thinking about. We didn't want to completly restrict anonymous users from contacting our members. There are studies that have identified that requiring users to create an account to contact a buyer would tend to reduce the amoun of potential traffic as many users won't want to create a new account.

We still allow anonymous users to contact our members. We simply restrict them to a certain number of submissions. We have an automated tool that tracks the IP address of each submission and limits the number of posting from a single user. This tracking system also allows us to report fraud to the authorities once we determine a SCAM has been initiated against our users. If you feel you received a fraudulent email that spawed from our site, please let us know so we can take appropriate action.

Horse Finder Network -- Free Image Horse Classifieds on the Horse Finder Network. Let Sherlock help you find or sell your next horse.

Equine Articles on the Horse Finder

We recently added equine articles on the Horse Finder Network. Along with Horse Classifieds, you can now read articles written by equestrian professionals regarding riding or caring for your horse.

This new articles section is another step forard in the creation of the Horse Finder Community. If you would like to be part of the Horse Finder Community, you can start by submitting equine articles that you find of particular interest from the internet.

HorseFinder Network -- Free Image Horse Classifieds on the Horse Finder Network. Let Sherlock help you find or sell your next horse.

FRAUD ALERT! -- New Security Measures are in Place

It has come to our attention that a small portion of our listings were targeted in a potential scam. An email was sent using our contact owner form which talked about having an offshore buyer for their horse. PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THESE EMAILS.

We have taken immediate steps towards eliminating this from occurring in the future. Since the attempt, the Horse Finder has implemented what is called a CAPTCHA image on all forms that allow visitors to submit email to others. This will help by slowing down the process for a human to submit spam, plus prevent computerized attacks. We have also made plans to further increase our security against these scam artists. I will blog these new features as they are released.

HorseFinder Network -- Free Image Horse Classifieds on the Horse Finder Network. Let Sherlock help you find or sell your next horse.

HorseFinder Network Syndication

We are now allowing users to sydicate their listings from the HorseFinder Network to their own website. Now Barns, Stables, or just anyone who wants to list their horses for sale can integrate with the Horse Finder.

We have made it easy to integrate with us. Simply login to the HorseFinder Network and click the Share Listings link. We provide the HTML code you need to simply copy and paste in to your very own website. When a user visits your website, the code will automatically request your listings from the Horse Finder and show them on your website.

Later I will talk about how to use CSS / Stylesheets to customize the listing syndication.

HorseFinder Network -- Free Image Horse Classifieds on the Horse Finder Network. Let Sherlock help you find or sell your next horse.

Help Advertise the HorseFinder Network

Are you interested in helping us get the HorseFinder Network name out? We now have a print ad that you can download from our website. We ask that you post this flyer on your barn or store walls and help us spread the word.

In doing so, please let me know and I will return the favor and upgrade your listing to the Preferred Status.

Another great way to get the word out is by emailing all your friends. We currently don't automate upgrade process, but if you simply ask I will probably upgrade your listing for doing this as well.

HorseFinder Network -- Free Image Horse Classifieds on the Horse Finder Network. Let Sherlock help you find or sell your next horse.

Browse Listings by State

As a new feature on the HorseFinder Network, we now allow users to browse listings on our site based on their state. This powerful new feature enables our users to quickly and easily locate listings with a click of their mouse.

As an added benefit, you can link to our site and navigate users directly to listings within your own state. Simply use the following example:

http://www.horsefinder.net/horses-for-sale-in-maryland.html

You would simply replace the state name with your state name or abbreviation.

HorseFinder Network -- Free Image Horse Classifieds on the Horse Finder Network. Let Sherlock help you find or sell your next horse.

New Email Verification Process

In the latest release of the HorseFinder Network, we've added an extra step in the log in process. This new step will require that all new users must first verify their email addresses. This validation process will help make sure that new users don't accidentally enter wrong information restricting potential buyers from contacting the owner by email. Considering that we have thousands of accounts in our database that have never been verified, we will likely ask users who have not already done so to verify their email address upon signing on in the near future.

On a similar note and in the journey of cleaning out the database, user accounts that have been inactive for over a year will expire and be removed from the HorseFinder Network. By doing so, we hope to keep our system lean and efficient for all of our active users.

HorseFinder Network -- Free Image Horse Classifieds on the Horse Finder Network. Let Sherlock help you find or sell your next horse.