Spotting A Spammer...

[The Saviour]

Forums are a breeding ground for spammers...

Especially those that really don't have some form of CAPTCHA, allow guest postings, or are not configured correctly for moderating new users.

Posts by spammers can be worded and configured to act as a topic for actual assistance, however, I tend to take notice when the username is strange and it's a first post.

Take for instance a recent post by a user called anupmore.

The post included a link and was worded in a way in which it seemed this user was also asking for assistance.

I just Googled the username and got this result:

http://www.google.com/search?q=anupmore&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8

As you can see, by visiting some of the links within the search results...this person is, in fact, a spammer.

If anyone would like to comment or add some additional information...by all means.

[Richenstony]

wow so this guys a pro-spammer hitting fourms all over the place what a jerk........ if i said anymore i would get banned from here , so i wont speak my mind in the french i wish to , but seriously what is the mian purpose for these people it surley cant be to anoy nathan , or any other fourm admin for that matter are they trying to promote something , im so confussed im not very bright at getting my words online ....

[reaper_tbs]

i think that any post which has a link to something that could be considered a product, should be initially regarded as spam, reported to the moderators, and left for them to decide.

most of the time though, if some only has 1 or 2 posts, and say things like ''i swear this isn't spam, its a real good >insert product type here<'', and have ONLY posted that spam, they are spammers.

saviour's tips are real good, and i think more people should be aware of the annoyance of spammers and the fact that they ruin some perfectly good sites. if more people are aware i'm sure we can come as close to stopping them as possible, and will definitely have a better response time to such occurances.

[reaper_tbs]

wow so this guys a pro-spammer hitting fourms all over the place what a jerk........ if i said anymore i would get banned from here , so i wont speak my mind in the french i wish to , but seriously what is the mian purpose for these people it surley cant be to anoy nathan , or any other fourm admin for that matter are they trying to promote something , im so confussed im not very bright at getting my words online ....

yes most of the time it is to try to promote a product, but they don't get far. and it is considered illegal in some cases.
is it legal

[Richenstony]

I agree a little warning to spammers from me ........ 

[Zylstra]

Chances are, it wasnt an actual person, it was probably a bot.

Some bots are extremely well built, and can get past the CAPATCHA system.

The number one way to get rid of bots is to download a addon for your forum requiring one more field to be filled out with certain information.
This instantly stops bots, since they tend to not know what to do, and they either
A) Enter the information incorrectly
B) Dont fill it out at all

So, for example, ComputerHope could add that addon and require
"Please check this checkbox"
and a bot would have even more trouble

That, and you can lower your security methods (CAPATCHA) so its not so hard to read those darn things!

[reaper_tbs]

doesn't CH have a picture verification number thingo whatsa majiggy on the registration form?
one of those things where there's a picture of numbers and letters, and the bots can't get them...

[Dark Blade]

doesn't CH have a picture verification number thingo whatsa majiggy on the registration form?
one of those things where there's a picture of numbers and letters, and the bots can't get them...

It's called a CAPTCHA. But some bots can get past them, if they're smart enough. Maybe we should just have a simple test involving a CAPTCHA, but also another image below it saying If you are a human, type _____(random word goes here).

So the bot would have to guess which image has the password in it.

[Zylstra]

doesn't CH have a picture verification number thingo whatsa majiggy on the registration form?
one of those things where there's a picture of numbers and letters, and the bots can't get them...

It's called a CAPTCHA. But some bots can get past them, if they're smart enough. Maybe we should just have a simple test involving a CAPTCHA, but also another image below it saying If you are a human, type _____(random word goes here).

So the bot would have to guess which image has the password in it.

Thats like having two Capatcha systems, which causes a problem:
Its hard on older users and people who dont revolve around the internet.

It would have to be something extremely simple, like:
"Check this checkbox if you are not a computer robot"

Bots are designed around the forum systems, not the content of it.
If you modify a part of the system, like rename a few of the PHP values used, you can stop a bot, but modifying the system takes a lot of time and effort...
There are pre-built addons that will handle SPAM...

[street1 (RIP)]

I am not familiar with CAPTCHA.I know that it is how people
from Boston would pronouce the word capture.

See Teddy Kennedy....

I will read up on it some though interesting subject Steve.

I am now checking out the below site....curiousity you know.

http://www.lanapsoft.com/products.html?gclid=CMe_g7DJlI0CFRGCGgody3mp6Q

[Zylstra]

Explained:
http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/c/captcha.htm

I was spelling it wrong... captcha captcha captcha
Like Capture... capt cha
some modern terminology

captcha

http://www.lanapsoft.com/Demo/BotDetect205/LanapCaptcha.aspx?get=image&c=default_samplecaptcha&t=36908320

[CBMatt]

CAPTCHA is useful, but I think better methods could be used.  Perhaps a hidden textbox that only the spambot would detect.  The only problem with this is that I'm not sure if there's a way to also hide it from reading software without hiding it from the spambots.

I think a better method would be something along the lines of the checkbox you suggest, Zylstra.  But instead, it would be a textbox that instructs the user to not enter anything in it.  If any information is entered, the system will assume it's a spambot since they always have to put something in the text fields.

I saw one forum do this with the profile information.  It instructs you to not enter any profile information, and instead, do all of that after registering.

[WillyW]

Everything said so far in this thread indicates applying some reasonable thought to the (potential) problem.
This is good.

Beware of going to far though.   It happens.    It happened to me.

I remember searching for some info, and finding a forum.   As I checked out some posts,  I spied a couple questions that I thought I could contribute something by answering.    So I did.    Went through the registration process, so I could post.   Went to those questions, and answered.    I remember that what the poster was needing could be handled by some free software.   I said so,  and even provided a link to that software's site.

Next day, I was banned.    Reason:   "You spammed the forum".

And the moron would not unban me!      This is a perfect example of a little bit of power turns some people into absolute idiots.   
He was not even trying to think.   

While I agree that real spam is not good for a forum,  and vigilance is necessary -   it should always be open minded vigilance,  with a thinking person behind it.      All behavior here, or any forum,  is always on review by who-knows-how-many-folks-out-there,   that might be future members.    They can easily be driven away by poor behavior -  much less dramatic than what happened to me. 

Just something to keep in mind.

[Zylstra]

A spam bot is not likely to fill out a field it doesn't recognize, or doesn't know how to deal with, but others are likely to attempt to get past by filling out the field.

Some of you might remember the old YaBB forum would ask for your username, and then, in an email, it would send you a temporary password, and activation code.

Bots will not waste their time trying to figure this out. Using this along with CAPTCHA will definitely stop spam, and completely verify addresses, but its harder on the people out there who are not internet compatible.

"We will fuse our brains together, and become one, isnt that what love is?"
"No."
"Then we are not compatible. You will be deleted. <ZAP!>"

[The Saviour]

In addition...

Let's say the Admin has configured registration using a CAPTCHA image or text.  He has also enabled email verification for those new users.  He's also set a minimum number of posts before a user can use any special features within his/her account.

Bots that make it by the Catcha image and email verification...usually will not make more than one post...

With that in mind...the Admin can verify the account and remove the spammer.

Another issue...people have a hard time with CAPTCHA images...this is true.  Especially if they are hard to read.  All one has to do is simply contact Admin and notify them and the account can be manually activated.  A spam bot will not contact the Admin asking for assistance...unless it's not a spam bot, but a human being.