Regarding Spambots
Moderator: Developers
Re: Regarding Spambots
Okay, seriously now? This is getting all sorts of ridiculous. We're getting more spam posts than real posts.
- penguinflyer5234
- Sheep (Developer)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
Banning spree! Whee!
...that is a lot of posts deleted, Cimeries
Edit: 31 spambots banned. That's just too many
...that is a lot of posts deleted, Cimeries
Edit: 31 spambots banned. That's just too many
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Re: Regarding Spambots
Good thing I have the moderator control panel so I can get all the 0-reply spam topics in one hit.
Edit: Earlier today, the members list had 11 pages - it now has 13. This is messed up.
Btw, PF5, do you actually delete the spam accounts or do you just ban them? I can't really tell by their names since they all look like gibberish at first glance.
Edit: Earlier today, the members list had 11 pages - it now has 13. This is messed up.
Btw, PF5, do you actually delete the spam accounts or do you just ban them? I can't really tell by their names since they all look like gibberish at first glance.
- penguinflyer5234
- Sheep (Developer)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
I have only banned them. I should go and delete all the banned accounts eventually.
At least I've defeated the spambots... for now.
Edit: ... silly spambots:
Deleted all 63 banned spambots, who wants to list all the non posting spambots?
At least I've defeated the spambots... for now.
Edit: ... silly spambots:
Spoiler: Who's spambotting?
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Re: Regarding Spambots
They're trying to post as guests?
Go home spambot you are drunk.
Go home spambot you are drunk.
- Maxaxle
- Darkshine Knight (Extremist fanatic)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
http://egoboo.sourceforge.net/phpBB3/vi ... f=6&t=1525
I can't read it, but it's obviously a spambot.
I can't read it, but it's obviously a spambot.
"Failing to plan is planning to fail."
Bug me if you want to play a game.
Bug me if you want to play a game.
- woodmouse
- Monolich (Senior Member)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
...seriously? Spambots are apparently trying to get clever, but... instead, they, um, yeah.brawsky wrote:I'm not entirely sure if it's a spambot or not.
But I think I know one possible reason why they're increasing: Lack of development. I know, it sounds like a sort of ridiculous reason, but I mean, think about it; if there'd be more posts that have "content" than just random stuff, it'd all be more concentrated on a few subjects, which would limit the spambots' guidance, at least assuming I understand the way they come correctly, and because of the links to various sites. More stuff is being linked recently than ever before (to news sites, anime/manga sites, etc.) and since a lot of sites are probably filled with all kinds of bots, like stuff that track the visitors, their browser's cookies, etc. and those tracking bot thingys come here (like the Google bot, but ones that show up as "guest") and drag all the possible crap with them.
Or maybe it's just the Google bot dragging them all in. I mean, that wasn't there before. And it can be banned, right? At least when there was that one forum (I'm sure Cimeries remembers it (or not, since the average person probably doesn't care about things that happened more than a year ago (not that you'd (or anyone else) be average in any way, Cime-epic-Ben (lol) (this is entirely platonic, of course (wait, is this sounding kinda like I'd be explaining saying "I love you", even though I didn't say it? (not that I wouldn't, I mean, I love all the cool people on this forum (and the less cool ones, well, there aren't many, but I love them too (lol, why the batman's underwear am I so lovely retarded today?! D:))))))), maybe Purple too (not that he'd be here to remember it (ugh, that sounded like he'd be dead (which I hope he isn't))))), there was an option in the settings somewhere to prevent the Google bot and other crawly-bot-thingies from coming.
Once upon a time, when unicorns roamed the earth...
- penguinflyer5234
- Sheep (Developer)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
Even if I remove the Googlebot (again) from the list of bots/spiders, it'll still be a guest.
Good news is that no spambot has registered in three days.
Good news is that no spambot has registered in three days.
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- Maxaxle
- Darkshine Knight (Extremist fanatic)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
New record, oorrrr...?penguinflyer5234 wrote:Even if I remove the Googlebot (again) from the list of bots/spiders, it'll still be a guest.
Good news is that no spambot has registered in three days.
Also: What if we added a new security measure? Maybe a basic game of tetris, at which you must score at least [insert pathetic score here] points?
"Failing to plan is planning to fail."
Bug me if you want to play a game.
Bug me if you want to play a game.
- penguinflyer5234
- Sheep (Developer)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
We have no way of checking that. The scoring is done client-side. A spambot can (eventually) figure what it needs to send to circumvent that.
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- woodmouse
- Monolich (Senior Member)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
How about having some complex geometric shape picture and the question "What is this called? Copy the image's url to a search engine if you don't know" or something like that. I'm pretty sure spambots couldn't do that, or at least most of them.
Once upon a time, when unicorns roamed the earth...
- penguinflyer5234
- Sheep (Developer)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
Spambots actually do know how to use a search engine.
And besides, they could probably get the data needed from the image url anyway.
And besides, they could probably get the data needed from the image url anyway.
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- woodmouse
- Monolich (Senior Member)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
Hmmm... well, I meant like, the url would be random numbers or something, but like, searching by the picture, you know, like how Google for example suggests a search term when searching the url of an image, which in that case would (probably) be the geometric shape.penguinflyer5234 wrote:Spambots actually do know how to use a search engine.
And besides, they could probably get the data needed from the image url anyway.
Once upon a time, when unicorns roamed the earth...
Re: Regarding Spambots
Dude, most modern spambots completely bypass even Captcha, which usually is basically an image that contains a heavily distorted code of random symbols. I'm sure they won't have trouble recognizing geometric shapes.
- woodmouse
- Monolich (Senior Member)
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Re: Regarding Spambots
...but yeah, I could be wrong, and probably am. But like, it could be in some really faint, messy colors or something if that'd make it more difficult, although I'm not sure if that'd make it a bit frustrating for actual people to register, even if it would make it more difficult for spambots.
Once upon a time, when unicorns roamed the earth...