Making Blogger Run Properly, On Our Computers

One of the biggest problems with Blogger, right now, is how we allow Blogger to run, on our computers.

We protect our computers from threats - known and unknown - using layered security. Right now, some of us are protecting ourselves too carefully - and we are seeing the results, with problems in Blogger.

The Blogger application, which we use to maintain and publish our blogs, runs on our computers.

We get Blogger program code from the Blogger servers, and we run the Blogger code on our computers. The Blogger code includes two essential components - cookies (settings, which control how the programs run), and scripts (the programs themselves).

If we want to run the Blogger code on our computers, we have to let Blogger and Google load cookies, and run scripts, on our computers.

If we can trust Blogger to host our blogs - on their computers, we need to trust them to run their code - on our computers. We need to configure our cookie and script filters, on our computers and networks, to trust Blogger and Google.

• In our browsers.
• On our computers.
• On our networks.

Cookie and script filters are found in many places - and all filters must be configured, properly. Click here for instructions on configuring your browser filters.

If Blogger Engineering is to spend their time, developing and maintaining Blogger, we have to support their efforts. We have to setup our computers properly - so Blogger will run, properly.

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Stats And The "Don't track your own pageviews" Option On Mobile Computers

As mobile computing becomes more popular, we're starting to see questions about use of the Blogger dashboard on mobile computers (iPhone / iPod, PDA, smart phone), in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken. Most recently, we're seeing people trying to use Stats, and the "Don't track my own pageviews" option, with Blogger on mobile computers.

Problems with Stats and the "Don't track ..." option are not unknown, in the past. We've helped many blog owners with this setting, which is sensitive to cookie and script filtering in general - and to "third party cookies" in particular. "Third party cookies" may be filtered in any of several places, any which will interfere with "Don't track ...".

The "Don't track ..." option, when seen as a problem with "full size" computers (desktop, laptop / notebook), may involve any of various "layered security" settings. In general "full size" computers use a somewhat standard software infrastructure. While any of several operating systems (Apple / Macintosh, Chrome, Linux, Microsoft Windows), and various browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari) make use of Blogger an occasional challenge on "full size" computers, there is some common features between the various operating systems and browsers.

With the various "operating systems" and browsers on mobile computers, we're seeing more discrepancies in features offered. In particular, not all "mobile computers" have explicit settings to allow / disallow "third party cookies" - or even cookies and scripts, in general. If these settings are not present, it's likely that these computers do not support such details as "third party cookies".

Without the availability of "third party cookies", Blogger can't support the "Don't track ..." option. Here, I'll note that this option is specific to each individual browser, on each individual computer. One must set the option - and browse the specific Blogger blog - using the same browser, for the option to work. This is not an option that can be set on a per user basis, and apply to all browsers used by a specific user.

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