stopping the spammers

[snowhiker]

I received the SPAM email as well. Twice. I didn't click the link that had a .VN domain. Vietnamese?

Mine was the PM, not email. Can the Viennese send email also?

Doh! My bad. It was a PM and not an email. The email was just the notification that I got a PM.

 

[Handruin]

I'm glad you clarified it was a PM vs email. If it was spam through email this would be a much different issue to deal with.

 

[LunarMist]

http://www.storageforum.net/forum/member.php/5798-FuckYou824

 

[snowhiker]

http://www.storageforum.net/forum/member.php/5798-FuckYou824

Is that your sock puppet acct Lunar?

 

[LunarMist]

Is that your sock puppet acct Lunar?

No, but you know who I am.

 

[Handruin]

Should be all set now. I've cleaned up a bunch of the spam accounts.

 

[LunarMist]

Should be all set now. I've cleaned up a bunch of the spam accounts.

The damned sports spammers are setting new accounts constantly.

 

[snowhiker]

The damned sports spammers are setting new accounts constantly.

Just noticed them. Started to "Report Post" them but seems Lunar posted here so no need to continue reporting them.

 

[Handruin]

They've been removed. Thanks for reporting them.

 

[LunarMist]

You may have to disable new accounts or take other measures, since they don't stop.

 

[timwhit]

You may have to disable new accounts or take other measures, since they don't stop.

Something seems necessary. I have performed like 15 moderations this weekend.

 

[Handruin]

Thanks for taking care of the spammer accounts. Their posts aren't getting moderated in the way I'd expect and I have an idea why that is which means I need to make a few code changes.

 

[Stereodude]

BTW, what's special about the Mobile & Tablet subforum? Why were the spammer posting only there?

 

[LunarMist]

Perhaps you wrote too soon.

 

[LunarMist]

Perhaps you wrote too soon.

Yeah, now it's here too. Maybe it is time to disable new accounts if that is possible.

 

[Stereodude]

Yeah, now it's here too. Maybe it is time to disable new accounts if that is possible.

That's not really necessary. The forum just needs to be set so that no posts from a new, just-registered user will be visible until a moderator blesses them until they pass something like 5 approved posts (and have it actually work).

 

[LunarMist]

That's not really necessary. The forum just needs to be set so that no posts from a new, just-registered user will be visible until a moderator blesses them until they pass something like 5 approved posts (and have it actually work).

I don't know how the software works, but maybe we need an Exorcist.

 

[Will Rickards]

Could we reduce the delay between reporting spam posts? It is set to 60 seconds.

 

[Handruin]

That's not really necessary. The forum just needs to be set so that no posts from a new, just-registered user will be visible until a moderator blesses them until they pass something like 5 approved posts (and have it actually work).

It already is set to do this but more specifically with new accounts that make a post containing a URL. Those get automatically moderated until they have a certain amount of non-moderated posts making their account a normal account. There is an issue with how the code processes the URL in their post and only looks for HTTP vs using HTTPS URLs. This is what I need to fix and I'll try to get it done today.

 

[sechs]

I just wish that they'd post on topic....

 

[Handruin]

I've gone in and fixed the code which previously only looked for URLs that started with "http" inside of a given post. Now the code checks for all iterations and variations of url formats within a post. Posts containing urls from new user registrations will all be automatically moderated so that you will not see them.

 

[LunarMist]

Great! Thanks.

 

[LunarMist]

It seems to be working so far.

 

[Newtun]

It seems to be working so far.

???
upaisodire

Voting Rights Timeline Worksheet
​

(In Mobile & Tablet). Not a major issue, just questionable.

 

[LunarMist]

???
upaisodire

Voting Rights Timeline Worksheet
​

(In Mobile & Tablet). Not a major issue, just questionable.

There is no link, which was the point of the coding change as I understood it.

 

[Handruin]

That was the point of the recent change. I can't completely stop random nonsense posts when they have no links in them.

 

[Handruin]

For whatever it's worth there was more than a dozen recently in the mobile section that were auto-moderated so you didn't see them.

 

[timwhit]

For whatever it's worth there was more than a dozen recently in the mobile section that were auto-moderated so you didn't see them.

I saw them.

 

[Handruin]

That's true, you would see them as a moderator but normal members don't see them.

 

[Newtun]

That was the point of the recent change. I can't completely stop random nonsense posts when they have no links in them.

I wonder if they're trying a few random posts without links first, and then if they're not "weeded out", they start posting with links.

 

[Handruin]

I wonder if they're trying a few random posts without links first, and then if they're not "weeded out", they start posting with links.

Yup that's definitely a strategy that happens but they have to have a bunch of successful posts before they are allowed to post URLs. It's annoying but these bots/scripts are the remaining 1% that doesn't get caught by all the other mechanisms in place to catch them.

 

[LunarMist]

Yup that's definitely a strategy that happens but they have to have a bunch of successful posts before they are allowed to post URLs. It's annoying but these bots/scripts are the remaining 1% that doesn't get caught by all the other mechanisms in place to catch them.

It is working well. The miscreants keep posting, but no links are present.

 

[LunarMist]

A bunch of spammers signed up recently. Now they use spaces and other characters to avoid the links.
Is there a surplus of iPhones in Malaysia?

 

[Handruin]

They try any way they can. It's impossible to stop them all.

 

[Newtun]

Well, you're doing a tremendous job. I think I saw one yesterday, avoided it, and it's gone today.

 

[Handruin]

Thanks! If you see them, please click the report button (triangle icon under the name/avatar) and I'll get notified to take care of it sooner.

 

[LunarMist]

Somehow the spammers got through today and spammed all over the Computer forum with links to Chinese stuff.

 

[Stereodude]

Somehow the spammers got through today and spammed all over the Computer forum with links to Chinese stuff.

I was very interested in one of them, but someone cleaned them up before I was able to make my purchase.

 

[LunarMist]

I sure hope it wasn't the oxygen concentrator. Who in their right mind would buy any Class III device from a spammer?

 

[Handruin]

I'll look into setting up more rules to stop spammers from being able to post. Things work differently in this new forum and I need some time work figure it out. The spam filter is actually stopping a lot more that you aren't seeing but some still gets through.