How to block semalt.com from visiting your WordPress website…

I have also been hit by the semalt spam. Can you please tell me where I find the .htaccess file? Do I find it if I go to “edit” in wordpress?
Sorry, I am new to adding code etc. I have the fifteen plus theme. Thanks

It’s not in WordPress, it’s a file on your server. You’ll need to use a tool like Cyberduck to access it.

Check with your host to see their directions on using FTP

Additionaly, you could also try their removal tool. Hope it helps.

More info here: https://logorrhoea.net/2014/01/how-to-block-semalt-com-referrer-traffic-using-htaccess/ Seems like this is a problem everywhere!

Hello,
I have this same problem with semalt.com and would like to block them. I have very little knowledge of how to edit code, however. Is there an easy way I can do this without jeopardizing my site if I make an error? I’ve already crashed my site a few times when I’ve tried to edit things myself, so I’ve been relying on plugins.

Thanks so much for any help and please excuse my lack of coding knowledge.

You will need to know how to edit your site’s .htaccess file. I’m afraid there is no easier way.

nmmartin928,

You can try this route, I know several people have said that it has worked with no repercussions. I just added my web address yesterday to see if they will honor my request: https://semalt.com/project_crawler.php

I did just go to that website and filled the form out to remove my website. Has anyone tried this? Does it work? What do they mean by not counting each subdomain?

I hope this fixes the problem and I never see their name in my stats again.

Thanks for the responses!

I hope it works for you.

Will Seath’s lines also work as is for semalt.semalt.com or do I need to add a SetEnvIfNoCase Referer semalt.semalt.com spammer=yes? line to my .htaccess file?

My site stats reported a referrer from semalt.semalt.com/crawler.php at the exact same moment that my security log showed a failed login attempt.

Hi there,, I have a wordpress site hosted on godaddy, with Semalt, not only are they messing with my stats, but they have been trying to login using my wp-admin. I have a plugin which locks them out after three unsuccessful attempts. This has happened a few times now, I have reported their ip, but it is still happening. I called godaddy to see what they had available to help. 1. solution is to add ssl, ( which is a paid product and I only enact when I create a commerce site) or.. or get google recaptcha and have it on my login page so a crawler cannot even attempt to login, nor any other kinda bot.. Yeah!! added and now we will see, just wanted to let peeps know there are tools that can help. ?

Re my Q about blocking semalt.semalt.com from visiting our sites, I added Seath’s semalt.com line as is to my .htaccess file. It’s been four days, and semalt.semalt.com no longer visits my site. It used to visit once or twice a day.

I’m interested in hearing how the Google Captcha (recaptcha) plugin works for this problem. More referers pop up every day; I’d rather not have to update this spammer list in my .htaccess weekly.

I added SSL to my sites, not for commerce, but to protect login info. It’s my understanding that the logins to our WorPress sites are unencrypted unless we, individually, do something to encrypt them. Should some miscreant decide to eavesdrop or sniff unencrypted data, our logins would be there for the taking, especially if we login in a public wifi hotspot.

nmmartin928 and MRomine

Did using the removal tool work OK for you with no problems?

Secretfocus, yes so far it is working with no known repercussions. It seems that they honor the request. I have not had any traffic from semalt.com or semalt.semalt.com in the last 8-9 days.