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DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:01 am
by kramnala58
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
We have been having problems with spam posts for the last month or so with the suspected spammer(s) finding a way to re-register even once they have been deleted and blocked. Us mods delete the posts ASAP, but we need your help by not replying to their posts. Thanks.
The two spam user id's we have been having particular problems with are celinefrankline and hildajovin
I posted this in PCX General because this is where the posts have been found.
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2019 12:31 pm
by Jge64
obviously they are using VPN's to skirt your deletion of their account.
deleting the acount allows them to come back in...
let them in and they try banning on username and/or hostname and derivations ....and do a partial ban as “cannot post, but allow to read”...once you ban, it will keep them as a member so they can't get back in, but will not have posting capability. Who cares if they can read? their posts will not be allowed.
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2019 12:43 pm
by WhiteNoise
Thanks for your input Glen. Makes sense.
Folks Please bear with us! We can only do so much. Mod kramnala58 has reached out to our forums owner, maddiedog.
We need some of his Hocus Pocus!
Oh, and Thank you all for Not responding to recent spam. Don't think I haven't noticed that
I Tip My Hat
However reminders never hurt, so please pay attention and heed to Mod kramnala's warning.
Thanks fam!
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2019 12:49 pm
by Jge64
under admin settings, you should be able to partial ban....from my site:
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 1:25 am
by alx123
My inability to discern spam posts could really get me in trouble. Apologies for my prior blunder and some in advance for what should be considered as careless future gaffe.
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:33 am
by WhiteNoise
Nice of you to step forward Alex
Nothing to forgive. Not all spam can be detected as such. I too have replied to spam not knowing it was what it was. Spammer's obviously have nothing better to do in life. Shame really.
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 7:25 pm
by maddiedog
Jge64 wrote:obviously they are using VPN's to skirt your deletion of their account.
deleting the acount allows them to come back in...
let them in and they try banning on username and/or hostname and derivations ....and do a partial ban as “cannot post, but allow to read”...once you ban, it will keep them as a member so they can't get back in, but will not have posting capability. Who cares if they can read? their posts will not be allowed.
If we ban based on username, they make a new username. It's faster to delete because their posts are removed.
This forum is using a different engine than the one you posted too; my pane looks different.
Either way, I appreciate the suggestions. This whole thing is a hassle, so any input is helpful.
I managed to update the spam countermeasures. We will see if that helps or hurts the situation.
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:21 pm
by Jge64
I have a few extensions from spambots like this that i automatically block when they try to register:
.RU
.LIVE
.ANY EXTENSION THAT IS JUST NUMBERS
.HOTMAIL (from europe)
If that blows anyone out that is legit, they just send me a PM and I manually approve them. (Bots will never PM you)
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 9:33 pm
by tjupille
maddiedog wrote:Jge64 wrote:obviously they are using VPN's to skirt your deletion of their account.
deleting the acount allows them to come back in...
FWIW, I administer another site using phpBB. I have a "zero tolerance" policy on spam that involves a couple of steps:
1. Ban the spammer's username, and then ban the email address
2. Go to the ACP and delete the spammer's account and the posts.
Banning email extensions isn't really effective; most of the ones that I see are gmail or outlook accounts..
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 5:57 am
by Jge64
So Maddie, are you saying this spammer "CelineFrankline" that just re-registered , When you look at his forum account information or (where are you ban people), and then go delete his posts?
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:44 am
by Jge64
Sorry I truncated my message above, and I can't edit it. What I'm saying, and I think the individual above is saying, is don't delete the account , just let him stay, but ban him so that he can't post. Then go back and delete his posts.
That way he can't re-register with that name.
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:24 am
by homie
Jge64 wrote:I have a few extensions from spambots like this that i automatically block when they try to register:
.RU
.LIVE
.ANY EXTENSION THAT IS JUST NUMBERS
.HOTMAIL (from europe)
.youyou
(in bed waiting for spring)
If that blows anyone out that is legit, they just send me a PM and I manually approve them. (Bots will never PM you)
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 3:08 pm
by Limey
Well, its getting worse. SvyatoslavGor just posted 2 pages of posts in a topic.
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 5:13 pm
by kramnala58
I cleaned things up, but this is getting old ... fast
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 6:00 am
by iceman
I use a yaw-hoo email so hope a blanket ban is not made of that at any point (at least without warning) - btw, how can you PM is your blocked/banned from the site? Also, and I do not know how this is done, some sites seem to have a way to block VPN's i.e. if you register several times using a VPN or fake email, you are banned permanently - not sure how any of that is done unless they have greater access at server level not just site level.
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 9:04 am
by maddiedog
Wow, spam images obviously didn't work. Mark, sorry for that hassle.
I updated back to spam countermeasure questions, and added some variety to weed out bots better.
If I ban the username, they just make another username, so in the case of spammers like aforementioned celinefranklin, I just delete them and their posts -- we can be confident anyone with that name will always be spam. If I just ban the name, they create an account with another name.
The email address is a different gmail each time, so blocking any email addresses won't help. I could block .ru, but there is a ton of spam posts right now that Mark sanitized for you all... I don't see much advantage there. We'll see if the new spam questions work any better.
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:19 am
by tomtomclub2005
Hi, I've also noticed the increase in spam lately- Here is a prime candidate for deletion:
https://www.hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php? ... d4852f0cc3
title is "How can I increase my chance of winning the lottery?"
would be useful to have a "report" button...
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 2:30 pm
by tjupille
Uhhh, there *is* a report button on the far right of any post (looks like a red exclamation point).
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 4:26 pm
by GeorgeSK
Five years and I never noticed that...
Re: DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 9:34 pm
by maddiedog
You can also PM me directly if you see spam! I usually get to PMs faster than reports since they send me an email.
