Personal computing discussed
Moderators: askfranklin, renee, emkubed, Captain Ned
integer wrote:Around 25 spam-like threads popped up on my RSS Reader since last evening. All of them seem to be removed now. Was there a sudden wave of new spam accounts?
morphine wrote:Hi guys, we're going to do an upgrade to phpBB, for the following:
- Upgrade to the latest version
- Try to address the spam problem.
TaBoVilla wrote:Clearly, the solution here is to include multiple choice rhetorical questions when signing new users, stuff only lurkers know, such as:
Krogoth is..
a. Hot
b. Asian
c. not impressed
SweatShopKing loves..
a. Hot Asians
b. Horses
c. His wife
d. All of the above
Cyril Kowaliski lacks..
a. Facial hair
b. Easy-to-spell last name
c. moar time to write even more awesome articles and reviews
integer wrote:There was recently this post on the Announcements forum.morphine wrote:Hi guys, we're going to do an upgrade to phpBB, for the following:
- Upgrade to the latest version
- Try to address the spam problem.
Does anyone have more information on what was done to address spam (assuming it is not classified!).
TaBoVilla wrote:While these are hilarious, and would obviously work (though like yogibbear I'm a little unclear on the right answer to that last question) it would also work to keep out the people who may not lurk frequently enough to know those answers but may still need to register suddenly to get a technical problem fixed, and you don't want to keep those people out.Clearly, the solution here is to include multiple choice rhetorical questions when signing new users, stuff only lurkers know, such as:
gbcrush wrote:Try reading the forums after midnight PDT. That's when I see spam comments that I end up being the first to report (a couple of times a week on average). Although when there are 8 or more of them in a row it's a bit tedious (it's actually easier to just query the "user's" posts and then just work through that set).It's a little disappointing that I don't get to be "FIRST!" to notice, but after a couple of attempts across various threads I tend to feel good about the TR forums and that we've got concerned citizens here doing their part. I take pride in the fact that I'm doing my part too, even if I don't get to do the report.
bthylafh wrote:Yeah, that's just one of the ways the front page commenting system is different from and inferior to the forum system (I especially miss the preview button).Can we get a "report this post" link for the article comments? There's a spam on the article about Chrome tab syncing, for instance.
UberGerbil wrote:gbcrush wrote:Try reading the forums after midnight PDT. That's when I see spam comments that I end up being the first to report (a couple of times a week on average). Although when there are 8 or more of them in a row it's a bit tedious (it's actually easier to just query the "user's" posts and then just work through that set)It's a little disappointing that I don't get to be "FIRST!" to notice, but after a couple of attempts across various threads I tend to feel good about the TR forums and that we've got concerned citizens here doing their part. I take pride in the fact that I'm doing my part too, even if I don't get to do the report.
integer wrote:On a related note, am as curious as bthylafh in this post in finding out who has successfully reported the most spam.
David Letterman wrote:My guess is that Captain Ned has dealt with more SPAM than anyone.This is only an exhibition, not a competition. Please, no wagering.
JustAnEngineer wrote:David Letterman wrote:My guess is that Captain Ned has dealt with more SPAM than anyone.This is only an exhibition, not a competition. Please, no wagering.
thegleek wrote:JohnC wrote:2) Don't allow links in posts for new users until they make a certain amount of posts (to prevent human "bots" from spamming). Yea, they can just make some "fluff" posts to get their post count up, but honestly, how many will bother doing that, especially if you also enable a timer for such new posters (like only allowing 1 post/hour for them)?
Further potential tweaks: IP range bans for obvious spam posters (some legit users can be caught too, but highly unlikely if the IP range is very narrow and is temporary). Something similar might also work. I definitely disagree with requiring people to pay ANY amount of $$$ to make posts or register on forums.
Yeah the going trend (lately) have been signatures with links.
UberGerbil wrote:Thanks for the (endless) effort here. Maybe the solution (and a more general perspective on the battle?) would interesting for a minute or two's discussion on the next podcast?
integer wrote:Seems a lot more spam threads and posts have started up. Are spammers willing to get past the additional questions during registration.
Firestarter wrote:Is this a good place to report front page comment spam? I couldn't find a report button/link.
This guy says beats by dr dre are the best (haha! HAHAHAHA!) AND posts a link to a store with a glowing recommendation: http://techreport.com/discussions.x/23197?post=651380
DancinJack wrote:Are the spam bots this bad on other forums? Has anyone noticed?