Recent problems with spambots

[turbof1]

Dear members,

Recently we had quite a few spambots that unfortunaly slipped through our spamfilters. While me and the other moderators try to remove them as much as possible and as fast as possible, we are only human and sometimes we don't inmediately see it or the posts are too wildspread to succeed in removing them in one go.

Therefore we humbly remind you guys of using the report button () whenever you see spam, to help keeping our beloved forums clean. It only requires 2 seconds and 2 mouseclicks to report something so don't hesitate! It is a great help to us.

I thank you in advance, and remember:

[SectorOne]

I´ve been to a few internet forums in my short life and i can tell you i have never really come across this much bot-crap ever.

Surely you must have a better alternative then just having moderators and members reporting/removing this.
Captcha might not solve everything but it sure as hell will solve something.

Other sites with captcha or a similar software has far less bots. Just look now for example, think one guy is up to at least 25 post of bullsh*t in all categories at the moment.

tedjeernold is his name.

[turbof1]

I also have no clue why we have this so much. Spam caught by the filter isn't visible for the normal members, but I can tell you it's a huge amount each day.

I don't believe captcha will do us much good, if we don't have it already (do we?). Spambots nowadays swerve around it like it was nothing.

[rjsa]

You missed one, which reports being reported already: http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewto ... =3&t=19739

[rjsa]

I also have no clue why we have this so much. Spam caught by the filter isn't visible for the normal members, but I can tell you it's a huge amount each day.

I don't believe captcha will do us much good, if we don't have it already (do we?). Spambots nowadays swerve around it like it was nothing.

I'd say something to do with the board software. I visit another like F1Technical that has moved to admission by personal confirmation only.

[SectorOne]

I don't believe captcha will do us much good, if we don't have it already (do we?). Spambots nowadays swerve around it like it was nothing.

No i can´t remember writing a captcha signing up here.
Trust me it will do you good because it means a real person has to manually create an account.

A computer can´t understand and analyze the question "name at least one driver that died in 94"
As Michio Kaku used to say, (paraphrasing here) "the most intelligent computer in existence is as intelligent as a retarded cockroach"

So automatically you cut out 90% of the crapbots out there.

It works in other sites and there´s no reason for it not to work here.

[mikeerfol]

I´ve been to a few internet forums in my short life and i can tell you i have never really come across this much bot-crap ever.

Obviously you've never been at CM forums

[SiLo]

This is nothing! I recently did some work at uni that required running a website database and after a few months we had 37,000 bots on it! Thankfully installing a Captcha stopped any slipping through, I suggest you do the same if you don't already have one.

[djos]

Other sites with captcha or a similar software has far less bots. Just look now for example, think one guy is up to at least 25 post of bullsh*t in all categories at the moment.

tedjeernold is his name.

This spam bot has been posting on F1T for more than 8 hours and is still posting as of a few minutes ago!!

WTF has it not been perma-banned already?

[Greg Locock]

more like 24 hours

maybe its the ghost of White Blue

[turbof1]

Other sites with captcha or a similar software has far less bots. Just look now for example, think one guy is up to at least 25 post of bullsh*t in all categories at the moment.

tedjeernold is his name.

This spam bot has been posting on F1T for more than 8 hours and is still posting as of a few minutes ago!!

WTF has it not been perma-banned already?

An oversight made by me, my apologies (my home country played at the world cup so I was distracted). It's banned now.

[djos]

Thanks Turbo, an understandable distraction

[Tim.Wright]

I believe a common way around Captcha's was/is for the bot to copy the captcha and reroute it to another high traffic (porn) site where a human user solves it thinking it will enable his miget gang-bang video. The solved captcha code then allows it to post here.

[turbof1]

So, an update.

Apperently one spambot consistently managed through the filter. I don't know how or what. It's puzzling because a few of its posts got caught, especially its earlier ones, while the majority got posted.

It created a rampage, spreading the garbage in a lot of topics. Me and other moderators should have picked up on it earlier, so we don't go free on this one.

I removed all its posts and it got permanent banned. Hopefully spambots will keep away for a while now.

[Cam]

At the moment, the report button only highlights the issue, it does not take affirmative action.

turbof1 - is it technically possible to setup a 'spam' button so members can do some of this for you guys? I envision it working like the down vote (after a couple, the post disappears) - but on steroids - after 5 down votes, the spammers account is locked and all posts are hidden, until review by a mod?

You already have the best spam cops here - the members - and they're a lot harder to bypass.