Forum Developments

View the Forum Registry

XML Get RSS Feed for this thread


Self-edit this thread


0 Subject: Forum Spam

Posted by: Guru
- [330592710] Fri, Nov 03, 2006, 11:33

There have been several recent spam messages posted on the forum. I believe that these were all posted by a live person (perhaps more than one), and those are difficult to defeat with the current security protocols of this forum. Thanks to the diligent moderator(s) who have quickly removed them.

There are now services which use automated means to post spam on message forums. So far, I've been able to stay ahead of the curve on those, and they seldom get through, even though there are now routinely more than 100 attempts per day. I'm not going to divulge how I've been able to detect them, but if they get clever enough, it's possible that spam could start appearing in droves. Most are pitching prescription drugs, stock tips, electronics, or porn sites - but some even advertise the ability to automatically post simultaneous messages to thousands of message forums.

If that happens, just bear with it while I attempt to remodulate the forum's shields with Borg-like efficiency.
1Farn
Leader
ID: 451044109
Fri, Nov 03, 2006, 11:35
Guru, you should have gotten the Mission Impossible theme song to play in the background of your post.

Thanks Guru. We all love the porn but I don't want to be forced to choose between that and fantasy sports.
2Guru
ID: 330592710
Fri, Nov 03, 2006, 16:53
[1] Ask, and ye shall...
3KM
ID: 359462113
Fri, Nov 03, 2006, 17:01
That is hilarious. We need more music around here. How about some circus music in the world series thread for all the Tigers fans?
4blue hen
Leader
ID: 710321114
Fri, Nov 03, 2006, 17:25
Man, this is the most fun thread I've read in a while. Perhaps it's just the music. I had my sound off so it didn't have quite the intended result.

Re: the other part of post #1...

... because fantasy sports will lose every time.
5ksoze
Leader
ID: 04619323
Fri, Nov 03, 2006, 17:26
LOL!!!
6sarge33rd
ID: 99331714
Fri, Nov 03, 2006, 18:36
...... because fantasy sports will lose every time...

unless you and the missus share the same computer.

;)
7Motley Crue
Dude
ID: 439372011
Fri, Nov 03, 2006, 19:01
This one guy called TB keeps posting crazy stuff. You might want to consider removing him from the boards.
8TB
ID: 448553012
Fri, Nov 03, 2006, 22:37
Ha!
9Guru
ID: 330592710
Fri, Feb 23, 2007, 12:26
I'm working on some security updates. If you get an "access forbidden" message, just ignore it for the next few minutes.
10Guru
ID: 330592710
Sat, Aug 25, 2007, 14:03
Due to a recent resurgence of spam posting (I believe all coming from a single, automated source), I've upgraded the forum software to attempt to identify and prohibit spam posts.

In the event the a post is interpreted to be spam, the post will simply fail and a blank screen will be returned from the posting operation.

If this happens to you while you are attempting to post a valid message, please send me an email and I'll setup a code to allow your message to be posted.

Over time, I'll be refining the spam recognition logic, so if any messages do slip through, moderators should sinmply delete them and notify me of the thread. Already, over the past several days, I've successfully blocked about a dozen attempts. Hopefully, this code enhanement will allow the forum to stay ahead of the curve.

Thanks for your patience.
11Guru
ID: 330592710
Sat, Aug 25, 2007, 14:03
Due to a recent resurgence of spam posting (I believe all coming from a single, automated source), I've upgraded the forum software to attempt to identify and prohibit spam posts.

In the event the a post is interpreted to be spam, the post will simply fail and a blank screen will be returned from the posting operation.

If this happens to you while you are attempting to post a valid message, please send me an email and I'll setup a code to allow your message to be posted.

Over time, I'll be refining the spam recognition logic, so if any messages do slip through, moderators should sinmply delete them and notify me of the thread. Already, over the past several days, I've successfully blocked about a dozen attempts. Hopefully, this code enhanement will allow the forum to stay ahead of the curve.

Thanks for your patience.
12Perm Dude
ID: 347502511
Sat, Aug 25, 2007, 14:15
Cool background music!
13Guru
ID: 330592710
Thu, Sep 13, 2007, 11:18
So far, my spam blocking code has been working pretty well. And it's become necessary - just this morning, 15 spam attempts have been blocked. Since I implemented it 3 weeks, ago, about 350 spams have been blocked.

I'm not going to reveal any details about how I determine whether an item looks like spam or not. Since I started this, I have continued to refine the recognition algorithm as some slip through the cracks.

There have been two instances when legitimate posts have been blocked. In both cases, I was able to set up the system to allow these to get through. If this should happen to you, simply send me an email and I will quickly make the necessary provisions.
14Perm Dude
ID: 35848138
Thu, Sep 13, 2007, 11:20
Hey, what happened to my "V1agra" thread?

:)
15sarge33rd
ID: 99331714
Fri, Sep 28, 2007, 11:48
it "collapsed"? :)
16TB
Sherpa
ID: 031811922
Thu, Mar 20, 2008, 05:57
I did some thread bumping in several forums to hide all the spams I deleted. Might want to check out the two I deleted from the Hockey Leagues & Standings forum. Almost seemed like spam test posts.
17Guru
ID: 330592710
Thu, Mar 20, 2008, 09:25
The amount of auto-spam attempts have greatly increased in the last week, with 50 or more snagged per day. Many appear to be "test" posts, which lack the criteria generally associated with spam, making them more difficult to fend off.

I am continuing to refine my spam detection algorithms, but some will invariably get through, so I appreciate your patience.

Occasionally, a legitimate post is suspected to be spam, and therefore does not successfully post. I'm not going to publicly disclose the criteria that I use to sniff out spam, but if you have a problem posting a message and send me an email, I can advise you of the specific issue. Also, if you are a GuruPatron and your recognized id is active, your post should always go through.
18RecycledSpinalFluid
Dude
ID: 204401122
Thu, Mar 20, 2008, 10:52
Too bad there isn't (or maybe there is) a quick way to do a dictionary lookup on the initial word of a title. That'd have caught the latest round. What a pain in the ass.
19Guru
      ID: 330592710
      Fri, Apr 11, 2008, 13:54
20blue hen
      ID: 30311814
      Fri, Apr 11, 2008, 15:27
Nice. I don't think I've ever seen that sketch in its entirety. Very funny.
21Guru
      ID: 330592710
      Tue, Aug 26, 2008, 13:13
Yesterday marked the first anniversary of my automated spam-blocking software.

In the past year, more than 6000 spam postings have been blocked. While that amounts to an average of about 15/day, the volume has been growing, and recent days have had as many as 200-300 posts blocked per day.

Occasionally, a legitimate post has been snagged as well. I try to monitor all blocked posts so that I can compensate (or advise the legitimate poster how to recast the post), but given the volume and proportion of good blocks (better than 99% accuracy), the occasional mis-diagnosis is a worthwhile price to pay.

Once in a while, an automated nuisance post does get through. Typically, these contain jibberish only, and provide no coherent means for the software to recognize it. In those cases, I still rely on moderators to delete them, and I appreciate the diligent attention that moderators continue to provide.

If you are a GuruPatron and your ID is recognized, you will not be blocked, even if it smells like spam. GuruPatrons are encouraged to keep their IDs set to the recognized value. Use the GuruPatron validation link in the second dropdown menu of any forum page.

Forum Developments

View the Forum Registry

XML Get RSS Feed for this thread


Self-edit this thread




Post a reply to this message: (But first, how about checking out this sponsor?)

Name:
Email:
Message:
Click here to create and insert a link
Click here to insert a block of hidden (spoiler) text
Ignore line feeds? no (typical)   yes (for HTML table input)


Viewing statistics for this thread
Period# Views# Users
Last hour11
Last 24 hours11
Last 7 days44
Last 30 days76
Since Mar 1, 200744251252