Help / Suggestions

[ryanr]

Hi Reefuge mod's and admin's,
Over at the forum I moderate, we've noticed an influx of spammers registering with the following tell-tales:

e-mail address is @ yahoo.com.vn (Vietnam)
country is Zimbabwe
IP is from China

Just thought I'd pass on the knowledge (sorry, didn't know who to PM)

 

[MagicJ]

Thanks - we have been getting a few ourselves ;)

 

[ryanr]

It'd be nice to be able to focus on helping people again, rather than protecting the forum from shit!

 

[MagicJ]

You have to wonder why they bother at times :confused:

 

[The Reefuge]

Hello ryanr,

Thank you for the warning.

Thanks.

 

[ryanr]

The Reefuge, MagicJ,
Heads up, it appears they may have changed tactics ;)

e-mail is now just @ yahoo.com

Country is still Zimbabwe

IP resolves to Vietnam using geoip.

 

[MagicJ]

Thanks ryanr - we haven't seen too much lately.

 

[ryanr]

Is it ok if I keep you guys updated on what I'm battling on the forum I mod?

Granted, we run a vbulletin forum, so our threats may be different.

 

[MagicJ]

No problems mate, always good to get some inside information.

 

[ryanr]

If these guys aren't the biggest PITA, I don't know what is.....

Seriously, I spend 20 minutes banning, and 5 minutes helping......

Happy to help ;)

(now you know why I don't have a lot of time here, but still plenty of love for The Reefuge :D)

 

[ryanr]

Just an update for all the mods here:

We've banned one country completely, but now Vietnam is the main culprit.

They also appear to have switched to gmail.com e-mail addresses.

If you're unsure (username is normally a give away), check the IP using geoiptool.com, if it's from China or Vietnam, say bye bye!

 

[The Reefuge]

Hello ryanr,

Here are a few suggestions that can make your life easier with your forum.

1) Create a hidden field with hidden text on the sign up page. The text should be invisible to a human. The question can be "1+1=?" and in the field a bot would put in some text. If the form realises that there has been an input, it will fail the registration.

2) If your website is aimed towards Australian users, add questions such as "What is the capitol of Victoria?".

3) If the IP is from a known spammer country, enable moderator approval.

5) Make sure links can not be posted until the member has reached 10 posts or so.

These will help keep spam at a minimum.

Thanks.

 

[ryanr]

Thanks The Reefuge
I'll pass it onto the forum owner (he controls the code)

To be honest, we haven't been smashed with spam, just registrations.

We have the links/images/videos etc auto-moderated for a certain post-count.