Forum Spam

So are these accounts registered by real people but the spam posts are done by computer programs?

Yes. That is my current theory in any case. Spambots can use exploited websites as non-blacklisted platform in which to conduct operations from anywhere in the world. A human is more confined in terms of locality.

Thats the only way i can see captcha being bypassed

You can't be that naïve. Captcha systems and captcha circumvention are a neverending arms race.

 

I haven't seen any spam bots thus far, and this is the time they usually appear. I think it worked!

 

You can't be that naïve. Captcha systems and captcha circumvention are a neverending arms race.

Hmm...then i guess having a first post approved is the best solution honestly. Because obviously they aren't all Pakistani IP addresses (i assume at least.) And if you block Pakistan, they will just move to a different IP eventually.

Or is there a problem with what i said, because i see how the "first post"thing could be inconvenient for the mods and for actual users.

 

The remaining spambots we are getting are from India, which is right next to Pakistan. However they produce less spam regos. I am somewhat hesitant to blacklist India just because it has the misfortune of bordering with Pakistan.

But as I said, we are clearly having no trouble stopping spambots from registering. The problem (as I see it) is that humans are registering for the spambots. Telling spambots and humans apart is one thing, but telling humans and humans apart is another.

Hmm...then i guess having a first post approved is the best solution honestly. Because obviously they aren't all Pakistani IP addresses (i assume at least.) And if you block Pakistan, they will just move to a different IP eventually.

Spambots can do that by hijacking someone's webserver. Humans on the other hand must use proxies, which would be picked up by blacklists as being less than reputable. If said humans are paid to do this then they aren't going to waste time with proxies, they will just move on to the next site on the list.

Or is there a problem with what i said, because i see how the "first post"thing could be inconvenient for the mods and for actual users.

Pretty much. It's a system that can deter and/or annoy legit users and create needless extra work for mods.

 

Clearly, part of the registration process needs to contain an essay question that is sent to me for evaluation

 

"What are your thoughts on Bubsy?"

 

*copies wikipedia article*

 

Just out of curiosity, how many spambots come through here a week/month?

 

Just out of curiosity, how many spambots come through here a week/month?

Right now, I see like around one or two, maybe three spambots each day.
It used to be way more earlier, but it kept rising until Andwhy fixed this.
I think there might be a bit of a raise now too, but that's just a random guess, it's better if we wait it out.

 

we used to have a tally of how many spambots were stopped on the index page, it was a Very Big Number

 

we used to have a tally of how many spambots were stopped on the index page, it was a Very Big Number

It was 114848 before the move.

 

It was 114848 before the move.

I didn't realize it was THAT many. If you can, it would be awesome to bring back the tally.

 

I didn't realize it was THAT many. If you can, it would be awesome to bring back the tally.

Unfortunately I can't. The tally was a feature of an IP.Board spam protection add on. None of the solutions we currently use have that feature.

EDIT: Fuck it. I'm disabling India registrations as well.

 

EDIT: Fuck it. I'm disabling India registrations as well.

It seems this worked, I haven't seen spam for DAYS.
Good job on fixing it, I knew you could do it.

 

Remember that spambot we had eons ago that told us they made bank and we were idiots? Good times.