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View Full Version : Recent influx of SPAMBOTS



Robert Kosek
06-10-2006, 01:39 AM
HA! The recent influx of members are SPAMBOTS masquerading as humans by posting "real" topics. There isn't a single username with TOM in it here (at least since I've been around!), and there's no "unmoderated" section. NUKES AWAY! :P

JernejL
06-10-2006, 12:24 PM
HA! The recent influx of members are SPAMBOTS masquerading as humans by posting "real" topics. There isn't a single username with TOM in it here (at least since I've been around!), and there's no "unmoderated" section. NUKES AWAY! :P

seems so, this is just so awful, add some captcha authorization at signup form!

jasonf
06-10-2006, 12:32 PM
I've been on another forum which was completely killed by Spam Bots. (and a lack of moderation)

There are none on the motorbike forum I'm a member of because members have to validate an image on the account screen. That uses PHPbb too.

WILL
06-10-2006, 04:54 PM
Yeah, it seems that there is a whole batch of new users that are harder to discern from fake and real.

I've nailed down a few methods of catching these guys, but it would seem that either the spambots are getting smarter or we're getting more lax.

Then again... since the time of the big hack back in Feb, PGD has really only been moderated by both Dom and I.

Maybe it would help to have a few folks help us out and help keep the forums clean of these guys. Any takers?


IMPORTANT: Please do note that you'll need to be a regular on these forums, or else you won't be very effective in helping to keep the forums in good health.

Robert Kosek
06-10-2006, 06:03 PM
I would volunteer, but I'm moving in 2 weeks. Sorry.

WILL
06-10-2006, 06:06 PM
Well it's not a one time offer. :) If you feel like helping out after you have moved, let us know. Dom can set you up as a moderator for whatever forums you think you could handle then.

Robert Kosek
06-10-2006, 06:39 PM
Well, I'll let you know after the move. I dunno exactly where I'm going, or when I'll have internet access. Or even my computer. Heh. 2nd move in 6 months too! And I ain't even military... :roll:

savage
06-10-2006, 07:19 PM
I've given Traveller moderator rights, so that he can nip these posts when he sees them.

WILL
06-10-2006, 11:36 PM
Excellent. Does he have the ability to nuke the spam accounts too or just the posts?

No worries Robert. Being as you are indeed a regular here, I'm sure things will work it's self out.

I do hope your move goes smoothly though. Being a former military member, believe me, I know what you mean about moving. ;)

Traveler
07-10-2006, 12:28 PM
Savage has granted me the option to eliminate spam accounts as well as the option to remove posts made by those accounts.

Legolas
07-10-2006, 12:35 PM
Faster, Traveler! Kill! Kill! :twisted: :rambo:

Traveler
08-10-2006, 12:03 PM
Faster, Traveler! Kill! Kill! :twisted: :rambo:

I am only going to focus on accounts that are actually posting.
Check the members section and you'll see that, on a daily basis, around 10 accounts are created. Removing these accounts is a tedious job.
If we want to figth these accounts off, we need to start at the basis. Which is the registration part of PGD.

Extra varification measures, upon creating an account might help, but that is something savage and/or WILL should look into.

Legolas
08-10-2006, 06:13 PM
Faster, Traveler! Kill! Kill! :twisted: :rambo:

I am only going to focus on accounts that are actually posting.
Check the members section and you'll see that, on a daily basis, around 10 accounts are created. Removing these accounts is a tedious job.
If we want to figth these accounts off, we need to start at the basis. Which is the registration part of PGD.

Extra varification measures, upon creating an account might help, but that is something savage and/or WILL should look into.

phpBB board has captcha support, so should be easy to add this feature to pgd. :think:

Maybe you don't know Russ Meyer's "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" movie :mrgreen:

savage
08-10-2006, 07:36 PM
Extra varification measures, upon creating an account might help, but that is something savage and/or WILL should look into.

I turned on bitmap verification just after the last lot of spam a few months ago. I assume it's still working.

Edit : It's definitely there. So they must be using something else to get around it.

WILL
08-10-2006, 07:53 PM
New measures are in place now like Savage, just said. And I am working on a little script that will enable 'caretakers', if you will, to clean these guys out after registration.

We'll have to see about any pre-registration measures with the upgrade of the phpBB component of the site soon enough though.

tanffn
08-10-2006, 08:02 PM
Correct me if im wrong but so far I’ve only seen 2 spamers, I think that with the image verification + additional moderators (including the one that will be known as the great spam nuker, tanffn :D ) everything should run fairly smooth..

WILL
08-10-2006, 08:55 PM
so far I’ve only seen 2 spamers

I know... I'm good aren't I? ;)

Posting spammers probably in the last week or so, but as far as accounts go, take a look at some of the recently registered 'members'. We mostly nuke them before we activate them, which is a part of our whole current process, but the amount of spam accounts keeps getting higher. That is really the problem as it adds unnessissary dead/harmful accounts and makes for more work for the site admins to clean out.

Another aspect to this is not about max size of the site's DB (I don't think we have a limit), but the bigger the DB the longer it takes for it to sort through all the data to get the content that real members want. So it also needlessly slows down the site.

tanffn
08-10-2006, 09:44 PM
Ok how about some mandatory participation filter? Something like if you have less then MIN_POST_LEVEL posts you have to be logged in for at least MIN_MINUTES per months, if not you’re in ‘suspension’ (reactivation needed).

Or have a post / read ratio, for every n minutes you’re logged in you can post 1 message.

Any other automated idea?