nitenurse79 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Before I begin, can I please just state that I know this is not a problem with the forum owners/mods etc (no one can be online 24/7 to monitor this) However.. It must be international spam and bots year on this forum. Just today I have counted at least 5 spammers. I think these people are very lucky to have so much free time on thier hands that they can take the time and effort to create an email account, create a PdN account and then just post ad links / pointless entries and be basically a total pain. I don't read most of them and I know most of them are removed just as fast as they are posted. But can there be some way to make creating an account a little more complex? (mobile(cell)phone validation as an example, I do realise that would not end the spammers pathetic timewasting on here, but they would have to buy a SIM card for a phone in order to complete validation (this is after an email validation) just a simple sms with an Eight digit code that the account opener would need to enter before they could post. I am sure it would not be the total solution to the spam and the bots, but it would perhaps dissuade them from trying, knowing it would be harder to create an account (and would cost them the price of a sim card too) gmail has a great anti-hacking / theft feature now, you can set up your account so that when you log in to your email, a code is sent to your phone that you need to enter in order to continue. I think it is a great Idea. This is just my suggestion, feel free to lock or delete the post. Thank you for reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Brewster Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 It's a constant arms race ... we put up barriers, they work past them. Then repeat ... bleh. And yes, spam robots have pleeeennnnty of free time. Quote The Paint.NET Blog: https://blog.getpaint.net/ Donations are always appreciated! https://www.getpaint.net/donate.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitenurse79 Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 It's a constant arms race ... we put up barriers, they work past them. Then repeat ... bleh. And yes, spam robots have pleeeennnnty of free time. Far too much free time Rick, I am very sure it is a constant battle and a very long one too. I do always notice that the spams are eradicated asap, but it must be a chore / task that no mod / staff / admin needs to do each time he or she logs onto here. I admire your patience / tollerance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaManDan21 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Yeah, just another pain of the world we live in! I would say that a cell phone validation idea should IMO be discarded because many people of young ages don't necessarily have cell phones and that would bar them from using the forum to it's full extent. I don't have or need a cell phone either (right now). Like on iTunes, to create an account you have to have a creadit card number to give them, it should be something that you can add to your info later, cuz I can't use iTunes full because of it (Not talking about the store, more the Genius playlist options and such) Quote Sig Battle Wins: 5My Gallery | Smoke>Flames Tutorial~96% of teens won't stand up for God. Put this in your sig if you're one of the 4% who will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdnnoob Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 ...and I admire his lack of tolerance for the spam bot shenanigans! I found a something that might help; but then again, it might not. Quote No, Paint.NET is not spyware...but, installing it is an IQ test. ~BoltBait Blend modes are like the filling in your sandwich. It's the filling that can change your experience of the sandwich. ~Ego Eram Reputo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitenurse79 Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 (edited) Yeah, just another pain of the world we live in! I would say that a cell phone validation idea should IMO be discarded because many people of young ages don't necessarily have cell phones and that would bar them from using the forum to it's full extent. I don't have or need a cell phone either (right now). Like on iTunes, to create an account you have to have a creadit card number to give them, it should be something that you can add to your info later, cuz I can't use iTunes full because of it (Not talking about the store, more the Genius playlist options and such) Hmm, in England everyone has a cellphone over the age of 8 (wrong IMO) It would not bar anyone using the forum, I know, but a two step procedure to log on might put off spammers and ensure that 99% of the posts on here are genuine Once validated after you first log on (with your user name) you are free to post, but I do think it would eliminate the spam posters on here, because no one who is on here just to post junk would want the hassle. Only genuine posters will stick around. Just my thoughts. I respect your thought too Edited January 15, 2012 by nitenurse79 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitenurse79 Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 ...and I admire his lack of tolerance for the spam bot shenanigans! I found a something that might help; but then again, it might not. Interesting article pdnnoob, very informative and a good read too, I hope it can help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ego Eram Reputo Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Unfortunately they can spoof IP addresses too. As Rick said, we place barriers and they find ways to circumvent them. I'm sure the CAPTCHA as part of User registration puts a lot off, but they still try. Quote ebook: Mastering Paint.NET | resources: Plugin Index | Stereogram Tut | proud supporter of Codelab plugins: EER's Plugin Pack | Planetoid | StickMan | WhichSymbol+ | Dr Scott's Markup Renderer | CSV Filetype | dwarf horde plugins: Plugin Browser | ShapeMaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoltBait Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I don't believe the spammers care if any of you read the posts. They only care that the search engine spiders read the posts before we delete them. It's all about SEO and gaming search engine results. Quote Click to play: Download: BoltBait's Plugin Pack | CodeLab | and how about a Computer Dominos Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HELEN Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Can't these "bots" be somehow filtered from the actual users in PDN? Quote Don't spit into the well, you might drink from it later. -----Yiddish ProverbGlossy Galaxy Ball---How to Make FoliageMy Gallery PDN Fans--My DA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delpart Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 @Helen: Only during the sign-up process and then, depending, on their actions after the fact. Usually you can only catch them in the act and moderate the damage. The smarter the bot, the worse it gets. We seem to be lucky we dont have a tailored bot or series of them attacking here abouts. Those are the worse as their signatures tend to have mimics of common link patterns ... like gallery links that take you to an 5E0 website instead of DA or what not. Setting things like initial post limits to start new topics and all the rest only cause the potential humans more grief. Logic tests and other methods can, and eventually will be, sorted out by bot makers. Even the callback/texting methods have a few solutions in place that work fairly well right now (as of this minute, the pace of this stuff is staggering.) Fine balance to keep the initial pain threshold from being off the charts. I for one, dont like callback methods or text verification as its one more potential chunk of data to hand to these hooligans to be replicated. *** The reason for all the headaches though is money. Plain and simple. There is far too much money to be had, hence the Cold War aspect of it all. Hope that was brief enough ... Kudos to the moderating crew for staying on top of it. Quote *** Gallery at PDN-Fans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Brown Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I don't believe the spammers care if any of you read the posts. They only care that the search engine spiders read the posts before we delete them. It's all about SEO and gaming search engine results. Links posted on virtually every forum including this one are nofollowed, so that wouldn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitenurse79 Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 I for one, dont like callback methods or text verification as its one more potential chunk of data to hand to these hooligans to be replicated. Text verification could only be in place until your posts upgrade you from "newbie" to "member" As I said earlier, spammers on here would soon be filtered out by this method. And the only people having your "data" would be this forum and it's trusted mods / admin / staff. then after you have made X amount of posts you would no longer need to enter a code sent via text. I know it won't happen, but it is just an idea that I basically coppied from gmails system and an attempt to eradicate / eliminate the spam. Obviously tackling the "bots" on here is a different matter. I get at least 6 to 8 "phone calls" from auto dialing systems each and every day. We have call block set up for unknown numbers, but they get past that by using older exchange systems and sadly it is something that my phone line providers can't do anything about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AhmedElyamani Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) i've noticed that most of the spams are being put in this forum(Off Topic forum) , so since the spam works automatically , i suggest changing the off topic forum to a spam catching forum , and put the off topic forum anywhere else , so anybody who posts in the Spam Box will be counted as a spam , This works , i saw it before ! Edited January 17, 2012 by AhmedElyamani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaManDan21 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Holy Cow we just got spammed in the Pictorium a lot!! Like it filled the whole first page all the same person (or bot) IT'S EVIL!!!! Quote Sig Battle Wins: 5My Gallery | Smoke>Flames Tutorial~96% of teens won't stand up for God. Put this in your sig if you're one of the 4% who will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goonfella Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I know it`s a bit of a pain for genuine new users, but what about using a system whereby the first few posts you make have to be validated before they are posted on the forum? After , for example, 5 posts you are then cleared to post and create new threads. This would stop new bots newly registered from posting all those new threads. They would be deleted before it got that far. I know they use it on the SketchUcation forum . The only ads that are posted are by Google. Quote Please feel free to visit my Gallery on PDNFans And my Alternatives to PDN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoltBait Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We actually have the spam problem pretty well contained at the moment. Quote Click to play: Download: BoltBait's Plugin Pack | CodeLab | and how about a Computer Dominos Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrochild Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I know it`s a bit of a pain for genuine new users, but what about using a system whereby the first few posts you make have to be validated before they are posted on the forum? After , for example, 5 posts you are then cleared to post and create new threads. You think it's a pain for the users? Think about the poor mods! 2 Quote ambigram signature by Kemaru [i write plugins and stuff] If you like a post, upvote it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance McKnight Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 You think it's a pain for the users? Think about the poor mods! I have to agree with pyro on this one. Quote Officially retired from this forum. Have a nice day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goonfella Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Fair enough. Just an idea that`s all. Quote Please feel free to visit my Gallery on PDNFans And my Alternatives to PDN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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