Spamsucka

Know what you mean! Yesterday I deleted about 9, today,so far, about 7!

I've deleted a bunch today also. Since this nut has joined, his name probably needs to be banned.

I thinkso too. Maybe Jason will be on here later and see this..karen

Me three! I've only been on for 5 minutes and have already deleted one today. This guy is just laughing at us now...

Hi,

This is a very valid point you have raised. Spams are becoming a menace for our forum. Today itself I've deleted many spams including a porn one. It's really demeaning for our forum.

One solution is there...but there is a concern regarding this too. Let me share it with you all...

We can include "capture" option in our forum so that the automated spam cannot enter our forum. For this we have to place a verification capture box. Whenever a guest or a member will post, this Verification Capture Box will come up and the person is required to enter the numbers/characters in the box as highlighted. This can filter a lot of spam especially the automated ones.

But the concern regarding this is: -
A visitor who is burdened with debt may find it annoying to fill up the box. This may cause viewers not to post their queries and thus may shift away from our forum. It may cause lowering in the number of viewers in our site.

Now, please share your views regarding this.

Jason

Very true--but if someone is desparately seeking help, maybe they will do anything possible to get it? Also, I don't mind deleting spam, but after so many of these posts isn't there a way to ban that IP? Just a thought...

You could try it for awhile, if you notice a decrease in the posts, eliminate it. :)

Ya...IP tracking and banning can be a viable solution...but here too a spammer can change IP and post again. This can decrease spams a bit.

Another solution may be to put certain "words" in our system which are generally used by the spammers for spamming. This could decrease the spams to a certain extent.
So, please suggest some typical "words" that are used in the spams.

"Capture" is another solution.

Any other solution or thoughts to avoid this spam menace???

Jason

As to putting certain words, what about posters who happen to use those same words too? I am computer stupid, but if there are certain words, what happens if I, or the newcomer used them too?.

I know, in the past we have banned IPs, but as you said Jason, they just change them, as in Doug Danger..karen

Bossy - If a posted tries to use those words, they will be unable to post until they change it.

Like spec ialist. You have to put a space in the middle because of ci alis.

oh, that's right, I fogot! Added to the computer stupid part, I'm old and forgetfull!..karen :lol:

I have found that many sites use the "capture" option. The problem I have with them is it is hard to make out the characters at times. Aside from that I think it would be a good Bot Blocker.

[quote=Jason]Ya...IP tracking and banning can be a viable solution...but here too a spammer can change IP and post again. This can decrease spams a bit.

Another solution may be to put certain "words" in our system which are generally used by the spammers for spamming. This could decrease the spams to a certain extent.
So, please suggest some typical "words" that are used in the spams.

"Capture" is another solution.

Any other solution or thoughts to avoid this spam menace??? [/quote]


Well, Jason, since you asked...

I've suggested this before, but here it is again. CAPTCHA is about the best bet to block bots, like the 'Clara Jones' spammer. About the easiest of the lot, from all angles, is reCAPTCHA. It's very accessible to the user, even for visually-impaired users, and the word distortion isn't so extreme that it becomes a burden. From the admin perspective, it's free, secure, and easy to implement. It also has an existing PHP library, further easing the admin chores.

Word lists are easily defeated, as this post proves. Anybody who wonders, try a test post with the name 'Jones' in it [without the space]. Anybody [mods only] who wants to know what I did, PM me and I'll tell ya.

Unc- that sounds like a workable solution to me. Even I can figure it out :lol:

I do this stuff for a living, Karen. I'm not just making it up.

Wulf- I didn't mean anything bad by my post :shock: I meant that the way you explained it, even I could understand, and I am computer stupid!..karen

Didn't take anything amiss, dear. Explaining things to clients who have no idea of what I'm gassing on about is part of what consultants do, and I'm good at it.

Thanks for your informative post Uncle...Right now we are banning certain spam words or emails that are flooding our forum. I think it has worked quite well...in certain extreme cases we have also banned a ip address.

I'll definitely talk about your proposal with Vikas...but there is only one concern...filling up of box before every post may annoy people and our site's visitor inflow may get hamperred.

Thanks again for your thought provoking input...Thanks again :)

It's Vikas's sandbox, my friend. I just play here. I have an interest in keeping the cats from crapping in it, but that's about it.