The person who maintains the Sharon Marshall MySpace profile contacted me because a spammer had left a comment on her page that she wanted to delete. This particular spammer was also a bit of a clever hacker: the comment HTML code was designed such that MySpace's "Delete My Comment" link does not appear when you edit your profile and select "Edit Comments".

Javascript call method

The OctalForty.com site documents a method for deleting any comment using a URL that directly executes what appears to be MySpace's own command for deleting a comment. You can see that method at:

http://www.octalforty.com/octalified-guide/octalified-guide-how-to-delete-myspace-tracker-comment

This method worked for me when I did the following:

• go to my profile page and click "View/edit all" to see all comments


• enter the octalforty code by first copying the first line and pasting it into my URL box, then copying the second line and pasting it into my URL box right next to the first section

In other words, you can't just cut and paste the entire two lines on the octalforty page. You have to merge them into a single line in your URL box at the top of your browser, then press the "Enter" key while your cursor is still inside the URL box (or click the browser "Go" button).

MySpace Safe Mode Method

But there is an easier method, that was soon discovered by the person who maintains Sharon Marshall's profile:

• Edit your profile


• Click "Safe Edit Mode" in the upper right


• Click the "Comments" tab in the middle of the tab group

Now you'll see a list of comments in text boxes with "Delete" links beneath each comment. Since this page is maintained by MySpace and all HTML code is stripped from the comments themselves, the code the spammer/hacker entered to disable deleting the comment in normal edit mode has no effect.

Now you can just scroll down to the offensive comment, click "Delete", and it will be gone.

And while you're at it...

But I wouldn't stop there. This person's goal is to use your profile for posting their spam. I would delete the person from your friend list and block them. It might also be a good time to change your password, since this kind of spammer obviously knows a few things about web scripting.