Welcome to CoSoDo
CoSoDo offers PAD site owners and software authors an innovative PAD Site Software, Management and Tools based on the ASP PADKit and PADGen software. Users have the option of storing XML PAD files as well as software downloads on the CoSoDo server. It is also the home of the CoSoDo spider which visits PAD submitted software and authenticates its validity, security and safety for other download sites.
Smarter PAD Kit and an end to SPAM for download sites, a better opportunity for software owners!
If you like what we do, please pass the word round and recommend the CoSoDo link, it's a non-profit initiative to cut SPAM dead on its tracks!
Some software owners might have noticed our CoSoDo spider hitting their software links, that's one of our tests to eliminate SPAM submissions. If you are not a spammer, you should rejoice as we intend to release the Kit on a GNU License as soon as we finished the testing and adding to the project, hence genuine software owners will benefit in the long run by having their software not mixed with SPAM submissions and download sites will have an easier time in promoting your software.
Be careful not to block the spider as it is serving hundreds of sites by feeding them (soon) with clean and SPAM free software PAD Links. Spammers of course can block it as it'll put the piece of software or PAD file in the suspect list as there is no way of authenticating it.
To start with, let me thank the guys at the ASP for their endless commitment to the PAD project and extend my deep felt disgust at those who are trying to ruin their effort by countless SPAM methods.
We are currently at that stage where we are finishing the last loose ends to have a complete redesigned PAD Site Software that includes:
- Spider every piece of software
- Extract headers, content type and code and other info from the files links as well as the sites themselves
- Screen PAD files for any Blacklisted domains (1000s in the blacklist)
- The Kit will only allow the order URL to be from an external domain in the PADs File (as some owners have third parties handling their orders, paypal, nochecks, Element 5, regnow etc)
- Powerful no nonsense Capcha, so far unbeatable
- Different additional scripts on a cron job to periodically spider download links
- Eliminate dangerous redirects to Spammy or viral sites
- Eliminates PAD files hijacked for "Affiliate Submissions", having regnow or other affiliate IDs for spammers to make money
- Automatic member registration, usernames and passwords created as soon as the PAD file is submitted and info emailed to the PAD file owner before the submission is made active, using the email address in the PAD file. If logged in and authenticated, the submission is made active, if not, well delete or leave in the paddata_temp table
- Smart Spider software to visit software sites and extract binary files links and meta tags etc and insert into the database
- Additional database tables, such as the temp pad data table holding submissions awaiting validation
.....and many other features (forums, news...)
We tried to leave as much of the old PAD Kit structure in place to make it easier for those sites already established, but with new additional database tables, code, scripts and of course a different approach, screening, submission etc.
Having a blacklist is not enough as spammers can always spoof the domains used or just buy other domains, our method is to cut the spam by verifying owners, sites, software, IPs, locations, redirects, http codes returned header types etc. Furthermore, PAD owners will have to authenticate themselves before any submission is validated and made live.
In addition to the above and this only applies to our site, we intend to download every software title, screen it for viruses and spyware / adware and have it downloaded from our server not from the download link (the download will update and screen files periodically). After that, there will be a grading system, same as Tucows and Cnet. We have some spare terabytes and if Cnet download.com can do it, why not CoSoDo. I have already discussed the option of having some partner sites link directly and download the scanned files from our server to save them hassle for hosting, scanning and maintaining them, however, we'll have to agree on server costs and of course this will have to be a collective effort just like the open directory except for software files only.
I invite any committed coder/ developer/ webmaster to help out if they have any spare time, please use the support form. We intend to have a small list of dedicated anti-pad-spam busters to work together.