Forum News - Addressing New Users & SPAM

[Scott]

Due to the amount of spam we have recently been bombarded with, we have recently deleted many accounts (we prune on a weekly basis), banned multiple IP address, and....

....from now on, all new users will be required to be validated by administrators, senior moderators, and moderators, before they are allowed to post. It should not take longer than 24 hours for a legitimate new user to be validated.

We did not want to go this route; however, spammers have been using .yahoo and .gmail e-mail domains recently that we simply can't ban due to the amount of legitimate users using these e-mail accounts.

[snodgrass23]

Though I know it's inconvenient for new users when they want to register and post right away, I really think is for the best. Better for a small inconvenience to few, than for many to have to see the junk that gets posted by the spam accounts.

[Robbiee19]

Completely agree!

[zelig2]

This sounds like a reasonable approach to limiting/eliminating the spam. The spam has been ramping up a lot recently. And personally I can't use any more Viagra...

[KevinGC]

Or any less?






(Viagra, that is)

[snodgrass23]

This sounds like a reasonable approach to limiting/eliminating the spam. The spam has been ramping up a lot recently. And personally I can't use any more Viagra...

yeah, my personal site has gotten alot lately too. They must be building up for the holiday season.

[Scott]

Although we haven't received any spam lately, zapping a few dozen bot accounts every day is tiresome. After some research, apparently a bot registration software called "Xrumer" is the source of our problems. The software is quite extensive as it can register, defeat CAPTCHA, and follow the e-mail confirmation link.

As of today, I installed a vBulletin module called NoSpam that has a simple challenge: Type in "HDTV" into this text box... Apparently it has had some good success at thwarting Xrumer bots.

I am going to disable the CAPTCHA, keep administration approval turned on for a week or so, and monitor if any new bots are still registering. If it's successful, I'll turn the administration approval off.

[DublinDoodah]

Many of the spam bots are hip to the NoSpam challenge. Looking for a quoted word is one of the simpler things to parse. If you continue to have problems, how about "What Ohio city is served by this forum?"

[Scott]

Good point. I figured I would start off with something easy just to test the waters. In 24 hours, I haven't had to remove one bot account! That's a record for the past several months!

[Scott]

Still no bots! Changed the challenge to form a question as suggested: "What is the Primary Topic of This Forum?" I allowed for four possible answers.

[Scott]

Not one bot so far this week. I'm lifting the requirement for approval of new members for now.

Mods be on the lookout spammers... :ninja: