SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM

[GnekroeGnomicon]

Pleasure:
Monty Python's Spam Skit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODshB09FQ8w)

Business:
Fixes are coming down from Umbrello but we have our hands tied until then...

In the meantime I have:

1. Banned common ip's of the spammer
2. Implemented a CAPTCHA for registering purposes

If spamming continues at this same level I will implement admin approval of all new users to the forums. This will be a pain, but it should for the most part guarantee that we cut down on 99% of the spam.

Just for the sake of not spamming the rest of the board I am going to move all spam comments to a single spam comment post in the INFERNO!

http://www.necrotalk.com/index.php?showtopic=7937

[Iluvthedead]

With some a$$hat just spamming the board now, is it possible to set some control whereby a user cannot add links to their post or sig until they have posted a minimum number of times?

And perhaps to cover all bases a user is suspended if the system detects n number of posts in a certain timeframe, in the event they are trying to rech the limit quickly to then post their spam?

[solithan]

They have been working on some ways to cut this down. Until methods get automated I'm afraid you'll just have to bare with us. Cleaning it up has gotten easier/quicker but our prevention methods are not quite as solid as we'd like them to be.

[scrat]

I'd sure like a way to limit links / pics for new posters also, but we don't have one. The recent addition of porn spammers on our backs is especially unwanted. This makes our site dangerous for those of us that have zero-tolerance policies at work for viewing porn.

As things currently stand, mods & admins must visit necrotalk and take notice of spam for manual removal and banning. So it can be some hours before one of us happens to randomly check in, unfortunately.

That being said, I'd like to believe the team does a pretty good job at keeping spammers under control.

Always feel free to PM me if you see spam; my account sends me an email if I get a PM so I may be able to respond faster than normal.

[Sodan]

I'd sure like a way to limit links / pics for new posters also, but we don't have one.

Have you seen this (http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=178611)? Not being that familiar with vB, I don't know if 3.7 addons will work with 3.8 without modification. If so, great. If not, it should be possible to port it.

[Iluvthedead]

The level of spam we are getting on this site is beyond a joke. I think I reported 3 spammers to scrat just today.

Umbrello is going to get a very pointed PM about the lack of security on this site. I suggest others join in and vent so something is done.

I don't pay my $US22 a year for supporting a site that is unable to filter out the tripe we have been getting posted lately.

[Sodan]

I agree, it's frustrating. What's most frustrating is trying to read Necrotalk at work (shhh!), stumbling upon some of the porn spam, and hoping no one was looking over your shoulder at that instant :-/

That being said, don't be too hard on Umbrello. By all means let him know how you feel, but keep in mind that it's not an easy problem to solve. It's basically an arms race - you implement counter measures, they find a way around it, you implement counter measures, they find a way around it, ad nauseum.

I'm not saying we shouldn't try, just that there isn't a long term solution, and we're not likely to ever totally get rid of the spam - we can only try to reduce it.

[scrat]

I know some of you see more spam than others based on your surf times v. mod surf times - but to give a small example of the actual volume of spam necrotalk now gets...

3 months ago we had a policy rights chage regarding mods on hard-deletion of posts. This was the result of *me* accidentally deleting an entire thread, gone forever, and a thread that was not meant for deletion. Now we do "soft" delete which leaves all the deleted posts & threads still viewable by mods & admin. As you can imagine, trying to be a normal user of necrotalk quickly became a hassle having to scroll down past dozens of deleted spam posts.

To counter this new "annoyance" of still seeing all the spam stuff, we began moving deleted spam posts to a hidden staff forum called the Garbage Can. In 3 months time the garbage can went from just a handful of posts total to 6+ pages today. It is the fastest growing sub-forum, already over 11% the size of the "General" forum.

Anyways - this wasn't meant as a brag or to be patronizing. Just a sad statistic look on how severe & persistant the spammers are. There aren't that many of them, probably less than 5 - they just don't stop. Ever. They must get paid for every post they create.

[Iluvthedead]

I've made my comments to Umbrello.

Scrat, I copied you in on the PM.

It's not just whingeing. I did forward reasonable suggestions to rectify the situation, so let's see what happens.

[Drazzminius]

We (the Moderation and Administration Team here at Necrotalk) are currently pursuing various venues for putting an end/tight restraint on the spam and porn problem. As many of you may already know; as quickly as we are able to devise new means for cutting down on spammers, the hackers are just as quickly devising new ways to circumvent these implementations.

In one of our "invisible" forums for Moderators, we are screening a few possibilities to constrain the current wave of attackers and hope to have something implemented soon. Please bear with us as we make these changes.

Semper Fi,
Drazz

[Drazzminius]

Have you seen this (http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=178611)? Not being that familiar with vB, I don't know if 3.7 addons will work with 3.8 without modification. If so, great. If not, it should be possible to port it.Thanks for the link, Sodan. Unfortunately, the variance in the behind-the-scenes interface between3.7 and 3.8 prevent this add-on option, however we are looking at various new possibilities.

[Umbrello]

Hi all, I am looking into this further with the next forum upgrade. Will keep you posted and thanks for your patience.

[scrat]

The new measures are working....awesomely.

[Umbrello]

Yes I have implemented some new anti-spam measures. You can read about it here (http://www.necrotalk.com/showthread.php?t=10804).