Increase of Spam Bots at This Site?

[PrimalxConvoy]

I've noticed that, in the past few days, several spambots have infiltrated this site and have posted multiple spam threads in most of the sub-forums here.

Also, even if I block them (which I have), their posts show under the "latest post" description under each sub-forum.

Please could this be fixed?

 

[Princess Viola]

Honestly maybe put slightly more stringent requirements to create an account

Like not so stringent that they'll discourage legitimate users, but enough that spammers won't bother.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I found them. We have a nest of spammers who never posted. They just updated their profiles over and over with spam links. Some of them have been here a while, so maybe that got this place put on some sucker list, and maybe that's where the current attack is coming from. I know phone scammers have sucker lists, so maybe spammers do too. I don't know.

I'm going to go through the entire member list and clear them out and see if this stops.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I've gone through the member list and deleted over 800 accounts.

One by one.

I'm tired.

 

[Guardian Prime]

Wow! That was some heavy pruning, Fnu. I knew we had some spammer accounts and probably some unused ones, but didn't realize over half the Allspark would be those.

Thanks for cleaning house, Fnu.

 

[Dekafox]

Fnu be like

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I tried.

 

[Steevy Maximus]

They back. Must have got up early to avoid Fnu’s wrath.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

They've made me angry now.

 

[Steevy Maximus]

Fnu! I see you still logged in at 4 AM EST!
Still fighting the bots? They ARE getting quite aggressive in new sign ins.

 

[Gizmoboy]

We had 2 more try this morning but got caught by our approval filter. Hopefully now that Fnu has gone nuclear on the spam bots that had already snuck through the door, we can try minimize their impact. We really would like NOT to close off registration to new members so we'll see if we can control it this way first.

A big thank you to Fnu's efforts on this.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I said I wasn't going to sleep until it stopped.

 

[Shadewing]

The insomnia will continue until morale improves.

 

[PrimalxConvoy]

 

[Guardian Prime]

We got another spammer crapping on the Allspark.

 

[Steevy Maximus]

Several, more likely. Trying to stay under the radar, but we know how the spammer bots name themselves….

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I don't know what their game plan is now. During my all-nighter I noticed some of the new spammers were trying to view accounts I deleted in the great Saturday purge. So they were aware of those dormant accounts, and they know they've been found out. Why they're still trying, I don't know.

 

[PrimalxConvoy]

I don't know what their game plan is now. During my all-nighter I noticed some of the new spammers were trying to view accounts I deleted in the great Saturday purge. So they were aware of those dormant accounts, and they know they've been found out. Why they're still trying, I don't know.

Desperation. If they throw enough sh*t at the wall, some of it will stick. Most spam is akin to "brute force", right?

Is there an option to "soft block" them? Basically allow their account to stay at the site but their posts only show to them and no one else? This might be a way to not alert them if their account has been deleted?

 

[Kalidor]

it's kind of rough. I'm looking into the best way to fix it. The normal security measures are in place but they don't seem to be working since it's just people. Looking for other alternatives.

 

[PrimalxConvoy]

Does this help?

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[Destron D-69]

as long as we don't have go with the stupid "count the streetlights" type crap because of this, I'd be fine with the new member waiting period idea if that's viable... Fnu needs to sleep from time to time.