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Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 5:04 pm
by Haruka
That wouldn't solve the problem at all since bots can also spam the existant threads instead of creating new ones.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 5:22 pm
by Droolie
The spambots all have hostname [addres].broad.fz.fj.dynamic.163data.com.cn. Banning that should be enough to temporarily get rid of them. ^^
The fate of the bots is hUMCH's hands now - or anyone who can do this.
EDIT -> Actually, "163data.com.cn" in general should be banned. I looked it up, and its entire reason for existence seems to be spam.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 6:03 pm
by Robotic Teensie
Haruka wrote:That wouldn't solve the problem at all since bots can also spam the existant threads instead of creating new ones.
Haruka, it wouldn't end all spam completely, but it would help. It would reduce the problem, and that would be good. Even though bots could still make spammy posts they would not be able to completely flood the forum with spam threads, pushing legitimate threads out of sight. And IMO, a spam thread is even more annoying than a spam post. Eliminating the bots' ability to create spam threads is a good thing.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 6:19 pm
by Haruka
Well, the solution could work for small scaled forums, but what about RPC where there are new members registering everyday, and they aren't necessairly bots at all? Just saying since it would be a hell of a work to activate many accounts everyday.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 6:24 pm
by Robotic Teensie
Err... what? What solution are you referring to? This one?
Adsolution wrote:I'm not entirely sure how spambots pick forums, but perhaps we could try something where, for a week or two, an administrator has to manually activate new members' accounts? Maybe that will give the forum a certain influence over the bots, making it known as a board not worth wasting spambots on.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 7:14 pm
by Haruka
Yes, that one.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 8:22 pm
by Master
Robotic Teensie suggested we have a thread creation limit of about 5 per day, this would reduce the damage both human and bot spammers could do, seeing as the likelihood of a genuine member making 5 new threads in a day is rather low, as opposed to a spammer, who'd probably do so.
The other problem we have however, is that there is more than one Spambot, even with such a limit, they could still accumulate a disruptive amount of threads.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 8:28 pm
by GNineify
Eh, I'm still for the replacement of the Captcha with something much harder for bots to pass.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 8:39 pm
by Snagglebee
Ehh, if the captcha system will be replaced, please don't the one from RyanAir.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 9:00 pm
by Master
It appears the major cleanup is underway, here's hoping that the bots are beaten in a way that prohibits their further posting.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 9:10 pm
by Cairnie
Trying to, except these are coming back like foxes come back to people's gardens - just trashing the place CONSTANTLY.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 9:11 pm
by Master
Is it possible to ban them outright and prevent them from posting?

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 9:12 pm
by Cairnie
I can ban them yes (which I've been doing), but only Admins can delete them permanently from the memberlist.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 9:13 pm
by Master
Ah, alright.
Not exactly the right place to ask, but how was the convention?
It seems the following bots are still causing problems:
004pwuv8x
028oned6g
703mxsq8v
436jcan2w
869rrlc6h
618rycb6l
046jcxl0h
690taxj8f
456rnau5g
187ohjw8f
922wppm9y

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 12:53 pm
by Shrooblord
It looks like they all follow the pattern of three numbers, four letters, one number and one more letter. Maybe we can put a warning flag on anyone who registers with such usernames, so we can find the bots before they cause too much trouble?

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 1:50 pm
by Master
It seems that the situation is resolved, they've been removed from the memberlist.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 2:26 pm
by Haruka
Hunch came this morning and took care of them. :)

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 3:13 pm
by Rulez
Shrooblord wrote:It looks like they all follow the pattern of three numbers, four letters, one number and one more letter. Maybe we can put a warning flag on anyone who registers with such usernames, so we can find the bots before they cause too much trouble?
What if an actual person wanted a username like 696shit6f or 000FART0Z?

By the way
Haruka wrote:Hunch came this morning [...] :)

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 3:46 pm
by Haruka
Uhm, what did I do wrong? I might be missing something.

Re: Spambots and how to deal with them

Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 3:48 pm
by Rulez
You did nothing wrong, but your statement may also suggest that Hunch ejaculated this morning, i.e. he masturbated and finished.