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Grahzmann
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17 May 2016, 12:31 pm

I Have notice the spam getting worse lately...

Seems like multiple boards are getting flooded multiple times a day now.



HCHCHC
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17 May 2016, 3:42 pm

Yeah it's getting worse. But, in all fairness, what can the moderators do? They work a lot removing the spam but in terms of preventing it there isn't much they can do.
Solutions might be:
less glitchy CAPTCHA
Harder to register
Cannot post until member for x days
Cap on number of topics per day



xenocity
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18 May 2016, 12:55 am

Kiprobalhato wrote:
xenocity wrote:
They could move captcha to log in to prevent bots from logging in instead of using it to verify new threads and posts (which is doesn't work half the time).

They could also do like most other forums, require a minimum unique post minimum in a certain time frame before being allowed to post a thread like many sites do.
Some do 300 unique posts that have substance and minimum character count before being able to post a thread.
But you have to hit that in a few months to before being able to post.


i have suggested moving captcha to login and thread creation and it would work.

browsing posts for "substance" must take up a lot of time though, and we don't have a real guideline as to what counts. but it shouldn't be too hard, hopefully.

xenocity wrote:
They could also do blanket ISP bans from Korea, China, and India (where most of the bots come from).
Though they would need a system for those who genuinely wish to become members, to be able to get verified for an account.


yes, we would. i can recall one current user off the top of my head who is from that area. i don't think this forum software supports that verification feature you propose, which is just another argument for switching to a new one...again.

i have already done some IP lookups on the massive amounts of spam threads and have blocked several that match. it's the most i can do, but i'm reluctant do do it since a lot of them point towards brisbane, which actually is home to a few WP members, i think.

naturalplastic wrote:
No robot as ever participated in an existing thread, nor as any robot ever quoted another post, nor has any robot ever entered an existing thread to make any kind of nonoriginal post, nor has any robot ever pm'd anyone (as far as I know). Yet in every one of those actions we have to prove to the captchas that we "are not robots".


no, spammers are indeed fully capable of screwing up existing threads. it's just this particular "breed" we have now that doesn't do it. trust me, i had a hell of a time last year trying to clean up the nightly spam from many existing threads in practically all of the subforums. it was worse when other users posted after the spammer, forcing us to use a totally different process to avoid deleting the innocent posts. in a way, these spammers are actually easier to deal with.

the "babaji love solution" bots don't send out PMs, but once in a blue moon we get other ones that do.



Literally when new accounts are created, set up so they are sent a verification alphanumeric code that must be handed typed in to verify they are human.
You could also add Capatcha to that page too.

There is no reason why you guys can't do that via automation.
If you can't, you can do it by hand.
I highly doubt there is a huge amount of actual people wanting accounts.

Or better yet do this like other sites do when creating a new user account:

Make users input their city, state/district/whatever, postal code (every country in the world uses some form of a postal code).
The Postal codes will confirm whether or not that person lives in that city and state/district/whatever

Also make a box that forces them to type a short essay into why they want to join (yes I have had to fill these out for other sites) you can set a minimum and maximum character limit.

It's really not that hard to fix the key issue which is simplistic automatic account registration.

Also do a bulk reverification of accounts to kill spam bots for good.
Send out a notice to all users, requiring their next log in after the set date to input their email (which is unique to all users) and their birthdate and capatcha.
This would only reverify the accounts to the actual remaining users, while scrubbing the site of all the dead and spam accounts.

Add this to new registration form as I've stated above, you would be able to turn off all the new security measures and never have to deal with another amount of spam from a spam bot.

Also you guys should fully to a new server and new site layout/theme.

The constant capatcha and site crashing are equally as maddening.


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HCHCHC
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22 May 2016, 7:52 am

They appear to be getting less frequent thankfully. It appears they are getting bored and will hopefully move on. I just checked on the web and they appear to do their rounds on just about every forum, posting exactly the same things.
You'd have thought that if they were really serious about this business they'd at least put some effort into what they post, instead of just nonsensical rubbish. It's a terrible attempt at marketing, not one of their posts makes you want to call the number or email them.



HCHCHC
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06 Jun 2016, 10:45 am

A new wave has appeared. Any thoughts on if this has any connection to the babaji spam?



xenocity
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06 Jun 2016, 8:53 pm

HCHCHC wrote:
A new wave has appeared. Any thoughts on if this has any connection to the babaji spam?


Could be or it could be many other reasons including CloudFlare issues and WP issues.


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HCHCHC
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08 Jun 2016, 2:24 pm

No more spammers for now :)



HCHCHC
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11 Jun 2016, 4:11 am

Spoke too soon. This is ridiculous: 5 entire pages of spam. We really need a 'you must be a member for x days to post and must have y posts to start new topics, of which the first z must be approved by a moderator' rule.
I know it sounds like a lot, but it's the only way I can see these spammers being stopped.



Joe90
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19 Jun 2016, 1:57 am

This spam s**t is ruining WP. Lately people haven't hardly been posting at all. I miss the days when each time I logged in there was a whole load of new threads or new posts been added to existing threads. I suppose I don't blame new members being detered when seeing pages of spam nearly every day. Or any member. I'm only hanging on here because it's what I've gotten used to.

By the way there's about 3 pages of spam on the GAD now.


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DataB4
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19 Jun 2016, 10:37 am

How difficult would it be to:
1. Limit brand new members to five posts until moderator-approved.
2. Implement Captcha and email address verification at registration.
3. Prevent long strings of numbers from being posted in subject lines.
4. Fix Captcha so that quoting posts isn't such a big problem.

Since I am not familiar with the intricacies of PHP forums, I really have no idea how difficult this would be. I also have no idea how difficult it would be to upgrade the system, or why there haven't been any upgrades for a while.



HCHCHC
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20 Jun 2016, 11:43 am

If alex wanted to he probably could do these things, the site needs it. It's not like we're asking for the earth, we're asking for what is necessary.



drlaugh
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20 Jun 2016, 11:48 am

I guess this is not a Monty Python musical thread

Spam seems to be at certain times.


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Kiprobalhato
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23 Jun 2016, 1:00 am

i really, really wish i could do something about this. :?


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drlaugh
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23 Jun 2016, 6:08 am

They're BACK.

Perhaps I will right a blues tune for my harmonica and me.

Anyone suggest the opening line?


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