Spamming in the blogs

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

Spamming in the Blog section seems to be happening allot. I realize that new uses can post what ever they like, and I'm all for freedom of speech... but to only post spam with links to suspicious websites is not a good thing for the forum and it's hardly corrado relevant.

 

I also think the spam is turning folk off using the blog spot... Every time I log on and look in the blog section it's full of "loose weight fast" nonsense.

 

Spam is not ham... I don't think i like it :mad2:

 

I'm sure you know about it, is there a way to reduce it?

Edited February 24, 2011 by Alex_G60_Fanatic

[domwells27 0]

Is there a CAPTCHA when you sign up? I can't remember it was that long ago, but they're getting harder and harder for even humans to get right so might keep out spam users.

[dukest 0]

sorry about that, i suspect most of the Mods hadnt realised it was going on. I'll have a look now and we'll add it to the list of things that we need to work out how to deal with under the new software.

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

sorry about that, i suspect most of the Mods hadnt realised it was going on. I'll have a look now and we'll add it to the list of things that we need to work out how to deal with under the new software.

Rockedy Rock rock... :thumbleft:

[dukest 0]

sorry, looks like moderation doesnt work the same way in there as in the rest of the forum so we'll have to wait for Andi or VR6 to have a look at it.

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

sorry, looks like moderation doesnt work the same way in there as in the rest of the forum so we'll have to wait for Andi or VR6 to have a look at it.

poopady poop poop... :(

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

Is there a CAPTCHA when you sign up? I can't remember it was that long ago, but they're getting harder and harder for even humans to get right so might keep out spam users.

 

Captcha has been broken by software - it's pointless and offers no protection.

That's why we do a question instead.

However, nothing will stop spam. People are paid $1-2/hr to just create logins on sites.. there's nothing I can do to stop real humans logging in...

 

sorry, looks like moderation doesnt work the same way in there as in the rest of the forum so we'll have to wait for Andi or VR6 to have a look at it.

 

Spam removed.

 

It's on the to-do list to sort.

Most likely I will make it so newbies can't create a blog entry until they have done a certain amount of posts on the forum.

And those posts will be Moderated (i.e. the first 2 posts on the site, perhaps).

That will stop it!

 

I'm off work next week, so will have some time to sort all this stuff out.

Not something I have at the moment, though ;)

[VR6Pete 0]

I've had similar issues on VR6OC as of late, but the types of bots are getting better at getting around the restrictions put in place. sneaky beggers. but good idea on the min amounts of posts(10 post minimun), I do this on the classifieds section to prevent scammers and people just joining up to sell stuff who just jog on afterwards!

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

However, nothing will stop spam. People are paid $1-2/hr to just create logins on sites.. there's nothing I can do to stop real humans logging in...

 

.... those posts will be Moderated (i.e. the first 2 posts on the site, perhaps).

That will stop it!

 

Yeah, that would seem to be a good solution. Thanks Andi

[ziderapple 0]

Just clicked on the Blog section after reading this and was amazed to see so much spam.

 

I think the ideas above are great way to prevent spamming, I was also thinking that there could be a mark as spam button a la message boards - which would flag it up to mods or just hide / delete it.

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

Ok, I've been doing some work on spam prevention this evening.

Now, new users (as in when they sign up) are, for the first 6 posts on the forum, subject to a lot more monitoring by the software for 'spam' content of their posts. They are also not able to post to the Blogs or any links until successfully past this milestone.

The heuristics used by the spam prevention system are regularly updated, hopefully catching all new types of spammers... time will tell!

 

And Mods, if you do see a spammer, you can use the 'Spam-o-matic' button in Moderation Tools to automatically ban the user, remove all posts/threads, etc... A lot better than before!

[VR6 0]

Andi, I changed the default to 6 posts under the spam settings - previously it pretty much was set to suspect everyone! Which is why everyone was having trouble posting links or pics.