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Sneaky spamming attacks and posting eligibility


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Hey guys,

 

I know NOTHING about how to run a website or forum, but I'm sure this sort of thing can be stopped? I could name quite a few forums that don't have these problems - what is different about ours? :?

 

Can someone shed some light on this... cause it's really getting out of hand.

 

Cheers

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Hey guys,

 

I know NOTHING about how to run a website or forum, but I'm sure this sort of thing can be stopped? I could name quite a few forums that don't have these problems - what is different about ours? :?

 

Can someone shed some light on this... cause it's really getting out of hand.

 

Cheers

This is true. I'm not aware of this problem at Aussiefrogs, for example. I'll PM their admin and see what I can find out.

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Hey guys,

 

I know NOTHING about how to run a website or forum, but I'm sure this sort of thing can be stopped? I could name quite a few forums that don't have these problems - what is different about ours? :?

 

Can someone shed some light on this... cause it's really getting out of hand.

 

Cheers

 

Many forums require new members to be vetted by an admin before they can join

and even then a 'fake' member can still get through the system. The forums you've

not seen any of this problem with have probably got some seriously dedicated admins

who spend a lot of time cleaning these out. I reckon its great our members are on the

hunt for these buggers, saves us heaps of time looking for them.

 

Cheers, :D

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Hey guys,

 

I know NOTHING about how to run a website or forum, but I'm sure this sort of thing can be stopped? I could name quite a few forums that don't have these problems - what is different about ours? :?

 

Can someone shed some light on this... cause it's really getting out of hand.

 

Cheers

 

Many forums require new members to be vetted by an admin before they can join

and even then a 'fake' member can still get through the system. The forums you've

not seen any of this problem with have probably got some seriously dedicated admins

who spend a lot of time cleaning these out. I reckon its great our members are on the

hunt for these buggers, saves us heaps of time looking for them.

 

Cheers, :D

 

Are you sure though?

 

Almost certain NO forum has a 24 hour admin/mod on the web deleting posts. We are constantly getting spamming about sexual orientations, positions and then technological software advances (apparently). I don't think other forums get quite so much spam!

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Think you have this misunderstood Teki.

 

What a lot of other forums have is an admin/moderator vetting NEW memberships, and guests are not permitted to post. Thus, the bots apply, and are refused membership by the admin when he/she logs on. The system is not foolproof, and causes a delay for new members, but it would stop most bots.

 

anyways, we have another one:

 

BestMusics

 

with a post in off-topic.

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http://www.ozrenaultsport.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=783

 

Have a look at what the original post has been changed to! :lol:

 

If thats a bot, thats hell cool. (in an uncool sort of way)

 

 

I believe of lot of the "bots" that don't post have been caught out by the email verification process, as even if you join up, but then don't verify you are still listed as a member.

 

The ones that are managing to post, are real freaking smart.

 

while I doubt other forums have mods onboard 24hours, I also doubt that a lot of them have members that stare at the memberlist 24hours a day.

 

I know a lot of the Rcdrift sites I am affiliated with, Admin receives your registration, but has to manually authourise it ( I believe this is an option that comes up with logged into the admin section of the forum, so it is accesible by all admins)

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Hi Admin folks (and others that might be interested!),

 

 

I dont know if phpbb has any kind of facility to implement this scheme, but I signed up to another forum recently that had a good spam-proofing method...

 

Basically, you had to achieve a post count of 10 before you could post to any forum section except one. The way it works is that people with a post count of 10 or less are restricted to a single forum section. There's a forum section just for newbies that has 10 threads in it, and no new threads can be started there... New members just click each one, post 'test' or some other bit of junk, and do the same for each one. When their post count reaches 10, they're able to post anywhere. That way, no spam bots can get through. Any interest in that? I reckon maybe reduce it to 5 or something becuause 10 was a bit of a pain. They also organise it so you cant post twice in less than 10 minutes to the same thread, or it joins your last few posts into one, which is also a pain in the a***.

 

They also have some really nice forum software called Invision Power Board (v2.1.7).

 

If anyone is interested in checking it out, it's the Australian Digital TV Forums: http://www.dtvforum.info/

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Thanks for the info Scott :wink: Don't need Viagra at the moment, but I may need some painkillers after I pummel these spammers...

 

I had already deleted that first post by this new "member". When I get a chance later I will delete the dozen or so spammers that have joined recently.

 

 

Anyways, as Groucho Marx once wrote: "I sent the club a wire stating, PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION. I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER."

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Does this help Admins?

 

Doctormstr - advertiser or bot

 

homegerre - as below

Kennypor - ICQ no is invalid and fields are full or garbage or ads; www link is commercial

JoeNuKENd - as above

onyourcialis - as above

patuvammnogoo - as above

BestMusics - as above

WWWhell - as above

PPCmann - as above plus advertising in location

 

Nikolava - icq no is for a female; website russian antivirus

 

KleopatrA - p0rn advertising

 

mortgrate - suspect

onyourcialis - suspect

 

MarkLikvor I believe is a bot; ICQ no is invalid (interests listed as "Advertisers")

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1 - clitrubbinginfoxxx

2 - Odinesta

 

4 - violalmina

5 - Doctormstr

6 - georgij

7 - crazuMovies

8 - doxtorfuns

9 - homegerre

10 - JoeNuKENd

11 - Kennypor

12 - adultcomicssitedessaa

13 - mortgrate

14 - onyourcialis

15 - rizolinhkq

 

19 - patuvammnogoo

20 - BestMusics

21 - KleopatrA

22 - Nikolava

23 - WWWhell

 

25 - PPCmann

 

28 - DogBiscuitBitez

29 - WeilManlich

30 - SantoSkO

31 - lopaayder

32 - MarkLikvor

 

All GONE! :twisted:

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I signed up for the cliosport.net forums last night, and they have a 3-way tie to defeat bots

 

1. the type the code thing

2. respond to email

3. click agree button (not available to click until delay of 15s after page finished loading) after attempting to submit first post, then submit again.

 

might be worth having a chat with an admin about beefing up our system?

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Not so sure if santosko is legit or not as his email address is from the peugeot-club.org domain... but it is possibly a Russian site as I cannot understand the language nor the characters! I have disabled his web link however.

 

Deleted the following though:

CECELIA

see-her-squirtsdq

presley

bestbyviagra

distrap

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OK, it may just be a stop-gap measure, but I have made some changes to the way guests see things... basically they now have very limited abilities, and can only see the FAQ and Newbies section, which have also been moved to the top so that if we have any "I have been looking for your 'FAQ' forum for a while now, and I am so excited to see your 'FAQ' messages" then we know we have a bot (or a loser) among us... if anything, it will at least save Jeffster any further embarrassment :wink:

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OK, it may just be a stop-gap measure, but I have made some changes to the way guests see things... basically they now have very limited abilities, and can only see the FAQ and Newbies section, which have also been moved to the top so that if we have any "I have been looking for your 'FAQ' forum for a while now, and I am so excited to see your 'FAQ' messages" then we know we have a bot (or a loser) among us... if anything, it will at least save Jeffster any further embarrassment :wink:

 

you talk to one bot and you never live it down :?

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Knoche: the methods I tried still won't stop a bot from registering as a member and then posting. It's just that they seem to be either posting in the first forum (hence why I moved the FAQ up the line) or are selectively choosing the "Off Topic" forum.

 

Pablo: I don't think we can filter things that easily. There are a couple of shortcomings with this BB software, namely green-lighting new members by way of filtration or "tests".

 

Jeffster: sorry matey, I couldn't resist commenting!

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Hi all, some further news that you should find encouraging... I have implemented a feature that will now mean every Admin receives an email stating that a new member has registered their interest in joining our much loved forum, It is then upto the first one of us to receive/react to this alert to then verify the details of the newbie before activating their membership. Only then will they be able to post a message. This should bring a marked reduction to the number of bots registering in the first place, and a subsequent reduction in the number of human spammers trying to get through thereafter.

 

YAY!

 

So perhaps a little more work for us Admins, but less crap for you guys to put up with. I shall leave the FAQ & Newbies sections at the top of the list for the time being though.

 

Cheers, Dish.

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Hi all, some further news that you should find encouraging... I have implemented a feature that will now mean every Admin receives an email stating that a new member has registered their interest in joining our much loved forum, It is then upto the first one of us to receive/react to this alert to then verify the details of the newbie before activating their membership. Only then will they be able to post a message. This should bring a marked reduction to the number of bots registering in the first place, and a subsequent reduction in the number of human spammers trying to get through thereafter.

 

YAY!

 

So perhaps a little more work for us Admins, but less crap for you guys to put up with. I shall leave the FAQ & Newbies sections at the top of the list for the time being though.

 

Cheers, Dish.

Just to confirm.

 

The above works rather well. We can't stop the bots from finding the site and registering as new members, but hopefully the above system of cross-checking email with OzRS Memberlist will eliminate (though, not entirely) the constant spamming.

 

 

 

Regards.

 

 

OzRenaultsport Admin.

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I'm having to log in now to view the website - is this normal and a method we are using to stop their posts? It's currently annoying me at work as I only get spurts of about 2 minutes free to have a quick read... and I can't!

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I'm having to log in now to view the website - is this normal and a method we are using to stop their posts? It's currently annoying me at work as I only get spurts of about 2 minutes free to have a quick read... and I can't!

 

Dish with the new approval system, maybe we can go back to have the forum open again to view if your not logged in?

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I'm having to log in now to view the website - is this normal and a method we are using to stop their posts? It's currently annoying me at work as I only get spurts of about 2 minutes free to have a quick read... and I can't!

 

Why can't you login, and tell your browser to save your password?

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I'm having to log in now to view the website - is this normal and a method we are using to stop their posts? It's currently annoying me at work as I only get spurts of about 2 minutes free to have a quick read... and I can't!

 

Why can't you login, and tell your browser to save your password?

 

Work computer.... don't exactly want others to um... find there way here :wink:

 

Not only that... but newbies aren't sure what they are in for before they sign up. Dunno if member numbers will drop or increase. I guess it has pros and cons to the new system.

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I'm having to log in now to view the website - is this normal and a method we are using to stop their posts? It's currently annoying me at work as I only get spurts of about 2 minutes free to have a quick read... and I can't!

 

Why can't you login, and tell your browser to save your password?

 

Work computer.... don't exactly want others to um... find there way here :wink:

 

Not only that... but newbies aren't sure what they are in for before they sign up. Dunno if member numbers will drop or increase. I guess it has pros and cons to the new system.

Yes.

 

It's a pain to have to login everytime you want to read. But given the amount of unwanted traffic in the last 6 months... It's a better system. It stops the bots from registering and posting (that rubbish) straight away.

 

It's not permanent. But it will stay.

 

 

 

 

OzRenaultsport Admin.

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Sorry to take such drastic action guys & gals, but not only does this slow/prevent the spammers this also prevents the "Bandwidth exceeded" issues because the Google spiders etc can only search and file the FAQ & Newbies sections.

 

Yes it can be a pain if you have to login every time, but its a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.

 

Personally, I don't think this will slow the uptake of new members - if anything it should encourage the serious ones.

 

Thanks for putting up with our efforts! :D

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I'm having to log in now to view the website - is this normal and a method we are using to stop their posts? It's currently annoying me at work as I only get spurts of about 2 minutes free to have a quick read... and I can't!

 

Why can't you login, and tell your browser to save your password?

 

Work computer.... don't exactly want others to um... find there way here :wink:

 

 

I can show you how to get rid of the login from Windows, it can't be detected...

 

I don't have a problem with this new setup, it reduces traffic, and it's done the job so far.

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I've been away on chrissy hols for a few weeks and have only just caught up with the bots issues.

 

My concern (if we ban them) is how do I locate the best mobile viagra combo deal? I depend on these bots to tell me how to extend my private parts, lose weight on the public parts, fully satisfy my loved one(s) and in lieu of a fag afterwards have some cheap medication sourced from a reliable prescription-free pharmacy in Botswana.

 

Oh well. Life sucks sometimes.

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well done dudes!

 

i dont have to login in each time... actually i havent logged in in about 3 months :P

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FYI

 

Since Sunday 13:19 ~ Monday 18:40 there have been 19 new members registered awaiting "approval" 6 appear to be legit. We have not had any dubious posts since.

 

Thanks for your patience & continued support.

 

 

 

 

OzRenaultsport Admin.

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Hi all,

I have made a slight alteration to the setup after a suggestion by e.sport... Guests now have the ability to view and reply to "For Sale" and "Wanted" threads (but cannot post new threads).

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So is it set up now so that guest members can only see 'wanted', 'for sale' and 'faq'? I think they should be able to browse everything but not post... Otherwise, people aren't going to know what's actually here... and sometimes it will look (to newbs) like there's nothing on the site, because they're all hidden and invisible. I think we should encourage people to join if we can.

 

Are any of the options I suggested possible with phpbb? That also alleviates the work that the admins have to do.

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Yep, that's how we've now set it up Scott. I see what you mean, but we've had a number of new members already in the last few days... and some of them are real enthusiasts as opposed to spam bots!! Surprised me too, lemme tell ya! hehehe

 

I for one don't think that it would turn people away... a lot of forums are set up this way. The added benefit is that it keeps out Google spiders etc that eat into our bandwidth, so we shouldn't have that issue again, fingers crossed.

 

There are many MODs that phpBB have, and I will be looking into which we can incorporate to make life a little easier. rex-static will be assisting in this too, thankfully, cos I'm still a little green when it comes to all this web-tech stuff... but if anyone has ideas, please tell us. I do appreciate those who have already put up their hands to help, and we'll be investigating all thoughts and suggestions. Keep em coming!

 

There is also an upcoming verion 3 of this php software from what I read in their support pages, but when that will be released is another thing. From the general feedback there though, we are not the only forum to be hit hard by these spammers of late - it's a universal problem at the moment.

 

Cheers, Dish.

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Memberlist

# Username E-mail Location Joined Posts Website

1 Abemmefalem58 10 Jan 2007 0

2 Erme72 10 Jan 2007 0

3 mrDrugsss USA 10 Jan 2007 0

4 Bill-Watson USA 10 Jan 2007 0

5 thespiderman 10 Jan 2007 0

6 redbackracing.com.au 10 Jan 2007 0

7 Daormardesfa7 10 Jan 2007 0

8 aggressing belarus 10 Jan 2007 0

9 Addo5 10 Jan 2007 0

10 kpbaitodl Italy 10 Jan 2007 0

11 Fmovsfilsx USA 10 Jan 2007 0

12 halobaldy UAE 10 Jan 2007 0

13 alsikimarble romania 09 Jan 2007 0

 

 

 

The highlighted two appear to be the only legit out of this lot. Its working though. Less spamming = happier forum.

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Dish, e.sport, has it been considered to upgrade our forum to a more advanced system like vBulletin? I know it costs money to buy a licence but from what I hear its about $200 as a one-off payment. Security and anti-spamming should improve out of sight. There are also bandwidth management features too.

 

I'm just thinking that after a while this email approval system is going to take up a lot of time for admins.

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