s p a m message from the list

ahujudybear · Post by **ahujudybear** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 5:42 pm

Sorry. I didn't know where to post this.

I just received a message from this list that was nothing but SPAM written over and over. I just thought the owners should know about it

- JB

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 5:53 pm

That was just done to warn whoever sees the thread that the previous post was spam and not to click on it.

ahujudybear · Post by **ahujudybear** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 6:08 pm

U-huh.

Ric · Post by **Ric** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 8:34 pm

I believe guest #1 above is correct. It is just a warning.

ahujudybear wrote:Sorry. I didn't know where to post this.

The efficient way to notify the forum deities is to log in as yourself and push the little "REPORT SPAM" button (right up there next to the little "QUOTE" button).

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 6:19 am

I would suggest that someone in authority here do SOMETHING to take some action, if there is something that can be done, to combat what is happening to this poor site. It seems some days, the greater percentage of the new posts are just spam. It's like someone is out to deliberately target this site to make it user-unfriendly lately and it's starting to become very annoying. I'm not giving up, but I can't imagine that other newer people or people with less patience won't. It is truly getting out of control. Whoever is doing this is doing one hell of a job transforming a great web site into their destruction project.

yardbird · Post by **yardbird** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:32 am

I run a message board myself and the only thing that can really be done is to prohibit guests from posting. You have to register to post. You can READ my forums as a guest but you can't post at all.

That's really the only way I know of to stop the spam.

Now... that brings in another small problem. Do you make it so as soon as someone registers they can post? Or do you make it so the system send an email confirmation to whatever email they used to register and they have to click a link in that email to "activate" their new registered status? OR...do you make it so the admin has to approve registrations (can really delay ability to post if the admin is busy with other things.)

One way or another, it's the guest posters spamming. Hate to se anyone not get information but ya gotta do what ya gotta do...

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:13 pm

yardbird wrote:Now... that brings in another small problem. Do you make it so as soon as someone registers they can post? Or do you make it so the system send an email confirmation to whatever email they used to register and they have to click a link in that email to "activate" their new registered status?

That is the answer right there, but you will have a large percentage of people on this site that will argue that no one should have to register to post. So unless the administrators here decide the spam is really that much of a deterent to the people who want to use this site in peace, then it's not going to happen. I used to be pro-registration because of rude and hurtful people who would hide behind their anonymity and get flack from others who totally disagreed. But this is a different story and I really feel like this is going to turn people away because it really is becoming a huge part of the message boards. I know I don't enjoy getting a link via email to a thread only to open it and find the usual BS that has been happening here with spam, not to mention checking out the new topics to, once again, find spam. But don't hold your breath waiting for mandatory registration before posting here on this site. It's not going to happen.

LilBuckaroo · Post by **LilBuckaroo** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:32 pm

I agree 100% with registering idea. Spammers have killed many message boards. Don't allow it to happen to this one

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:36 pm

As I mentioned in another thread, there are lots of "registered" spammers and virus generators on this forum. I counted (yes, I took the time to count them) in excess of 106 "registered members" from Kiev (I assume Russia) alone. Add in another (estimated) 50 or more porn-type sites and you have a whole lot of "registered members" that are trying to make trouble.
I don't think REGISTERING users is the complete answer......IMHO.

Have a good one.

Den

yardbird · Post by **yardbird** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:49 pm

part of the problem may be the message boards themselves. phpBB is notorious for being hacked. Not because it's a bad message board. But because it's a popular one.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 8:55 pm

harikarishimari wrote:There are lots of strategies for dealing with spam on phpbb forums (like this one), including IP masks (that would get rid of the .ru russian spammers), premoderation (someone reviews all or selected posts), adding more forum moderators (regulars here could share the workload), adding a waiting period and a certain minimum number of posts before being allowed to put active URLs in a post, prequalifying registrants before being allowed to post (verifying an email address for example,), etc.

A very simple and effective method is to add an easy question that can be answered by anyone, and which changes frequently, and is never the same twice (like what letter resembles an upside-down W?, or how many eggs in a dozen?) The reason this is effective is that most of the spam that appears on this (and other forums) is generated by a spam-bot, not a person, except for the first few times for the spammer to register, sign on, and learn the rules and write a rule-engine / script. Notice how many of the SPAMS on this forum appear in duplicate. That is a clue that a spambot script is being used. This won't deter a determined spammer willing to sign on and post SPAM, but it is not cost-effective for the average spammer to write complex scripts to log in and post with such a deterrent. Simple sign-ons and registration (as I see mentioned earlier) won't defeat spam bots. Complex ones can be a good deterrent. Registration is just as easy to script as guest posting. Even if just the registration process were more complex, that would help defeat scripting.

There are php scripts for many of the above strategies, but not necessarily easy to implement. And there are are more sophistocated forum scripts than phpbb. It takes a degree of time and determination to fight back. My observation is that this forum is a sitting duck. Rotsa Ruck.

Mask