forum spam
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Hi everyone,
We got spammed by two new forum accounts this weekend. I've removed the accounts, but it begs the question ... how did this happen? Forum registration requires a "type the numbers in the image" check and a "click this email" authentication check before posting is allowed. This means the accounts could both read funky image numbers *and* clicked through the link from their inbox (with a valid email address). Either spambots have gotten smarter or these were actual humans, which we can't really protect against without requiring moderator approval of all new accounts. Anyway, just letting you all know that I'm watching, researching, and considering the problem carefully. Take care, Tim -- Timothy Falconer Squeakland Foundation http://squeakland.org 610-797-3100 _______________________________________________ squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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An update on the forum spam issue ...
Humans are registering for the spam accounts, which makes it a tough problem. I have two options that I know of: 1) make it so only mailing list subscribers can post to the forum and have it sent to the mailing list This is a sad option, since most of our talent is in the mailing list now, and most of our new people will be on the forums. This will require mailing list people to also read the forums to catch new non-list posts. 2) upgrade to PHPBB3 and lose the mailing list / forum sync PHPBB3 has new features to combat human spammers. Mail2Forum only works with PHPBB2. They're working on PHPBB3, but until then we'd have a split between forums & mailing list (neither sees the other). 3) keep things as they are until Mail2Forum supports PHPBB3 This means the occasional spam message until then. 4) find some other solution Any thoughts would be helpful. -------------------- m2f -------------------- (from forum) http://squeakland.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=9621#9621 -------------------- m2f -------------------- _______________________________________________ squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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There have been 8 spam messages from the same person this morning.
This is more than occasional spam. I would appreciate it very much if the cause of this relatively recent development was removed. I have no problem with reading the forum if I want to contribute to the forum. Cheers, Randy On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 7:46 AM, teefal<[hidden email]> wrote: > An update on the forum spam issue ... > > Humans are registering for the spam accounts, which makes it a tough > problem. I have two options that I know of: > > 1) make it so only mailing list subscribers can post to the forum and have > it sent to the mailing list > > This is a sad option, since most of our talent is in the mailing list now, > and most of our new people will be on the forums. This will require mailing > list people to also read the forums to catch new non-list posts. > > 2) upgrade to PHPBB3 and lose the mailing list / forum sync > > PHPBB3 has new features to combat human spammers. Mail2Forum only works with > PHPBB2. They're working on PHPBB3, but until then we'd have a split between > forums & mailing list (neither sees the other). > > 3) keep things as they are until Mail2Forum supports PHPBB3 > > This means the occasional spam message until then. > > 4) find some other solution > > Any thoughts would be helpful. > > > > -------------------- m2f -------------------- > > (from forum) > http://squeakland.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=9621#9621 > > -------------------- m2f -------------------- > _______________________________________________ > squeakland mailing list > [hidden email] > http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland > > squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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Hi:
+1 Please stop the spam. Cheers Pato Acevedo <a title="Enviar" href="javascript:;" onclick="if(window.ComposeContactPicker)return Control.invokeStatic('ComposeContactPicker', 'sendMessagePrep', event, null);" id="SendMessage"> > From: [hidden email] > Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:07:21 -0700 > Subject: Re: [squeakland] Re: forum spam > To: [hidden email] > > There have been 8 spam messages from the same person this morning. > This is more than occasional spam. I would appreciate it very much if > the cause of this relatively recent development was removed. I have no > problem with reading the forum if I want to contribute to the forum. > > Cheers, > > Randy > > On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 7:46 AM, teefal<[hidden email]> wrote: > > An update on the forum spam issue ... > > > > Humans are registering for the spam accounts, which makes it a tough > > problem. I have two options that I know of: > > > > 1) make it so only mailing list subscribers can post to the forum and have > > it sent to the mailing list > > > > This is a sad option, since most of our talent is in the mailing list now, > > and most of our new people will be on the forums. This will require mailing > > list people to also read the forums to catch new non-list posts. > > > > 2) upgrade to PHPBB3 and lose the mailing list / forum sync > > > > PHPBB3 has new features to combat human spammers. Mail2Forum only works with > > PHPBB2. They're working on PHPBB3, but until then we'd have a split between > > forums & mailing list (neither sees the other). > > > > 3) keep things as they are until Mail2Forum supports PHPBB3 > > > > This means the occasional spam message until then. > > > > 4) find some other solution > > > > Any thoughts would be helpful. > > > > > > > > -------------------- m2f -------------------- > > > > (from forum) > > http://squeakland.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=9621#9621 > > > > -------------------- m2f -------------------- > > _______________________________________________ > > squeakland mailing list > > [hidden email] > > http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland > > > > > _______________________________________________ > squeakland mailing list > [hidden email] > http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland Tus elecciones hablan por ti. ¡Conoce quién eres realmente! _______________________________________________ squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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Does the forum software make it possible to turn on some referee
function. This would place a fairly large burden on the person running the forum, but it will keep the spammers out or, at least, inert. Then again, I don't really mind deleting unwanted messages. --J On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 3:30 PM, Pato Acevedo<[hidden email]> wrote: > Hi: > > +1 > > Please stop the spam. > > Cheers > Pato Acevedo > > >> From: [hidden email] >> Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:07:21 -0700 >> Subject: Re: [squeakland] Re: forum spam >> To: [hidden email] >> >> There have been 8 spam messages from the same person this morning. >> This is more than occasional spam. I would appreciate it very much if >> the cause of this relatively recent development was removed. I have no >> problem with reading the forum if I want to contribute to the forum. >> >> Cheers, >> >> Randy >> >> On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 7:46 AM, teefal<[hidden email]> >> wrote: >> > An update on the forum spam issue ... >> > >> > Humans are registering for the spam accounts, which makes it a tough >> > problem. I have two options that I know of: >> > >> > 1) make it so only mailing list subscribers can post to the forum and >> > have >> > it sent to the mailing list >> > >> > This is a sad option, since most of our talent is in the mailing list >> > now, >> > and most of our new people will be on the forums. This will require >> > mailing >> > list people to also read the forums to catch new non-list posts. >> > >> > 2) upgrade to PHPBB3 and lose the mailing list / forum sync >> > >> > PHPBB3 has new features to combat human spammers. Mail2Forum only works >> > with >> > PHPBB2. They're working on PHPBB3, but until then we'd have a split >> > between >> > forums & mailing list (neither sees the other). >> > >> > 3) keep things as they are until Mail2Forum supports PHPBB3 >> > >> > This means the occasional spam message until then. >> > >> > 4) find some other solution >> > >> > Any thoughts would be helpful. >> > >> > >> > >> > -------------------- m2f -------------------- >> > >> > (from forum) >> > http://squeakland.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=9621#9621 >> > >> > -------------------- m2f -------------------- >> > _______________________________________________ >> > squeakland mailing list >> > [hidden email] >> > http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> squeakland mailing list >> [hidden email] >> http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland > > ________________________________ > Tus elecciones hablan por ti. ¡Conoce quién eres realmente! > _______________________________________________ > squeakland mailing list > [hidden email] > http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland > > squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 3:39 PM, JOHN VOIKLIS<[hidden email]> wrote:
> Does the forum software make it possible to turn on some referee > function. This would place a fairly large burden on the person running > the forum, but it will keep the spammers out or, at least, inert. > > Then again, I don't really mind deleting unwanted messages. > Delegation can work in a situation like that. Unless you can find a plugin that is used to block suspsicous IP addresses, manual approval is the only good way to prevent this type of manual attack. Dave > --J > > On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 3:30 PM, Pato Acevedo<[hidden email]> wrote: >> Hi: >> >> +1 >> >> Please stop the spam. >> >> Cheers >> Pato Acevedo >> >> >>> From: [hidden email] >>> Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:07:21 -0700 >>> Subject: Re: [squeakland] Re: forum spam >>> To: [hidden email] >>> >>> There have been 8 spam messages from the same person this morning. >>> This is more than occasional spam. I would appreciate it very much if >>> the cause of this relatively recent development was removed. I have no >>> problem with reading the forum if I want to contribute to the forum. >>> >>> Cheers, >>> >>> Randy >>> >>> On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 7:46 AM, teefal<[hidden email]> >>> wrote: >>> > An update on the forum spam issue ... >>> > >>> > Humans are registering for the spam accounts, which makes it a tough >>> > problem. I have two options that I know of: >>> > >>> > 1) make it so only mailing list subscribers can post to the forum and >>> > have >>> > it sent to the mailing list >>> > >>> > This is a sad option, since most of our talent is in the mailing list >>> > now, >>> > and most of our new people will be on the forums. This will require >>> > mailing >>> > list people to also read the forums to catch new non-list posts. >>> > >>> > 2) upgrade to PHPBB3 and lose the mailing list / forum sync >>> > >>> > PHPBB3 has new features to combat human spammers. Mail2Forum only works >>> > with >>> > PHPBB2. They're working on PHPBB3, but until then we'd have a split >>> > between >>> > forums & mailing list (neither sees the other). >>> > >>> > 3) keep things as they are until Mail2Forum supports PHPBB3 >>> > >>> > This means the occasional spam message until then. >>> > >>> > 4) find some other solution >>> > >>> > Any thoughts would be helpful. >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > -------------------- m2f -------------------- >>> > >>> > (from forum) >>> > http://squeakland.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=9621#9621 >>> > >>> > -------------------- m2f -------------------- >>> > _______________________________________________ >>> > squeakland mailing list >>> > [hidden email] >>> > http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland >>> > >>> > >>> _______________________________________________ >>> squeakland mailing list >>> [hidden email] >>> http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland >> >> ________________________________ >> Tus elecciones hablan por ti. ¡Conoce quién eres realmente! >> _______________________________________________ >> squeakland mailing list >> [hidden email] >> http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland >> >> > _______________________________________________ > squeakland mailing list > [hidden email] > http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland > -- Dave Bauer [hidden email] http://www.solutiongrove.com _______________________________________________ squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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In reply to this post by teefal
5) Moderation for posts from new members
On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 10:46 AM, teefal <[hidden email]> wrote:
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In reply to this post by Timothy Falconer-3
Hi everyone,
The latest human spammer (barmotbajota) put me over the top. I've made it so a forum user must have an email address that's also subscribed to the mailing lists for a post to make it to the list. This should solve the problem for the mailing lists (not for the forums though). Apologies for today's barrage. -------------------- m2f -------------------- (from forum) http://squeakland.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=9649#9649 -------------------- m2f -------------------- _______________________________________________ squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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Teefal,
Are you sure that it is humans registering and not bots? I admin several web boards and I have found that there are bots that are able to register on the common boards, including PHPBB, solving the CAPTCHA images within seconds, responding to the email verifcation, and then posting messages. I have found a simple mechanism that stops all of those bots I have yet encountered at the expense of requiring real users to have Javascript enabled when they register. Javascript would not be required for your users for any other use of the forum other than the actual registration. I have yet to find a bot that runs Javascript. With some forum software I modify the registration form myself, but there is a published antispam mod for PHPBB2 that happens to require users to be running Javascript and that takes care of everything that is necessary. The mod is called hashcash, and you can find it at http://www.phpbbhacks.com/download/8649 I just found out about EToys, looked here to see if my son, who has been programming in Scratch, would be interested, and saw the horrendous spam problem you have been having. I hope this suggestion helps you. I know that hashcash or any other mechanism that requires Javascript can be exceptionally effective at stopping the registration bots when nothing else has worked. -------------------- m2f -------------------- (from forum) http://squeakland.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=9696#9696 -------------------- m2f -------------------- _______________________________________________ squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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Thank you for pointing me to this. I have implemented it on our forums. Hopefully we won't see spam again :)
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In reply to this post by Timothy Falconer-3
That's great! Do remember to delete the user barmotbajota and all of its old posts. This mod won't stop an already registered bot from getting in to make new posts. I do hope that we really are seeing a bot infestation and not some desperate human spammers with too much times on their hands. -------------------- m2f -------------------- (from forum) http://squeakland.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=9736#9736 -------------------- m2f -------------------- _______________________________________________ squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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Yes, that one slipped through. Deleted all of his many posts on the forum. -------------------- m2f -------------------- (from forum) http://squeakland.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=9757#9757 -------------------- m2f -------------------- _______________________________________________ squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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Thank you Teefal and Sidney,
I am Roger Willson, I like the information you shared. I exstreamly thanking you. Be connected with me and help after this time also. Mind Games -------------------- m2f -------------------- (from forum) http://squeakland.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=10104#10104 -------------------- m2f -------------------- _______________________________________________ squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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<base href="x-msg://447/">
On Aug 11, 2009, at 1:06 AM, rogerwillson wrote:
Just letting everyone know that I'm deleting human-created spam accounts like this, and their messages. I think it's hilarious "he" responded to a topic called "forum spam" :) Not exactly flying below the radar. Tim _______________________________________________ squeakland mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland |
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