If you’ve noticed anomalous referrer spam originating from ophcsale.xyz within your Google Analytics data, it’s crucial to take swift action to block it before it irreversibly alters the integrity of your account. Ophcsale.xyz represents one of the newest additions to the roster of domain names employed to inundate Google Analytics with fabricated referral traffic, all aimed at promoting services offered on semalt.com. Semalt, a self-professed SEO website, has long been associated with the utilization of unethical tactics, including the dissemination of referrer spam, to bolster its services.
According to whois information (https://www.whois.com/whois/ophcsale.xyz), ophcsale.xyz was created 021-10-05 along with other similar domain names used to promote Semalt. Furthermore, the owner of the domain name has chosen to keep their information private which is unethical for a legitimate “business” to do. Additionally, the domain name’s A record (https://viewdns.info/reverseip/?host=ASSISTORE.XYZ&t=1) shows that the IP address is shared with other websites, some of which are flagged for spamming the same online services. Most, if not all domain names on the same server forward to https://semalt.com/?ref=plant.
Is ophcsale.xyz dangerous?
While referrer spam may not be commonly perceived as a cyber threat akin to malware, its impact on Google Analytics data is nonetheless significant. Unlike malware, the presence of referrer spam in your Google Analytics doesn’t necessarily indicate that your website has been infected or targeted by malicious actors. Instead, referrer spam campaigns typically operate randomly, affecting numerous websites simultaneously.
Despite not posing a direct security risk, referrer spam remains problematic because it has the potential to irreversibly alter Google Analytics data. Take, for instance, the case of ophcsale.xyz: every visitor attributed to this domain appears as a new and unique visitor in Google Analytics. Consequently, their metrics, such as bounce rate, page sessions, and session duration, are distorted, often showing unrealistic values such as 0%. If left unaddressed, this inaccurate data can skew a website’s analytics over time, leading to misleading insights unless the spam source is filtered or identified by Google as spam.
How to block ophcsale.xyz spam
Follow these instructions to block ophcsale.xyz referrer spam in Google Analytics by creating a filter:
- Open your Google Analytics account and go to Admin > Filters.
- Click the + ADD FILTER button.
- Create a Filter Name such as “ophcsale.xyz” or “Referrer Spam.”
- Select the Custom Filter Type.
- In Filter Field, find and select Campaign Source.
- In the Filter Pattern text box, add ophcsale.xyz and click the blue Save button on the bottom of the web page.
To add multiple domain names to the same filter you make a Filter Pattern similar to: “ophcsale.xyz | apkara.com | example\.com” (include the “|” between each URL)
