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Spam, spam, spam, spam, roleplaying and spam


phoenix

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It looks like another spammer has somehow invaded the General Aeon forum. The spammer is one "PainRelief" and is pushing an analgesic called Soma.

UPDATE: Spambot sighting - one "freexvvm" that hasn't posted anything yet but looks very suspicious.

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I do zap them when I see them, and I delete all the accounts with less than 2 posts on a weekly basis. However, while altering the settings on the General forum has cleaned things up a great deal, soem of the trickier little buggers have been getting through into other forums. I do check the forums most days, but it's generally just a cursory glance to make sure there are no major problems, so other Mods generally zap them before I get to them.

Incidentally, if any of the veteran members would like to be upgraded to Mod status, to take up the slack when other Mods are away, then feel free to PM me and I'll happily invest you with the required XP to achieve ::moderated status.

JC

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Okay...this is going too far. Yesterday I deleted the exact same post by a different spambot...but I was at work when I did it. I am sooo lucky my boss wasnt in the room (and that the other people werent looking in that direction...) when I opened that post...

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Seriously, i think we are getting into the realm of legal action here with spammers posting actual pornographic images on an all-ages site...

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What can we do? ::confused

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What can we do? ::confused
The first thing that comes to mind requires a lot of work on Jackson's part - disable the automatic registration, so that the admin has to check yes (or whatever) for any new account to be created. That will weed out the "obvious" ones, with a glance at the name.

Otherwise, I don't know. I am pretty sure that the forum software can be modified to block someone from posting straight images. But as for stopping the spammers before they post, well, I think all the solutions come down to using up JC's free time.

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Hate to throw kerosene on this fire ( ::rolleyes ), but I've spotted what seems to be another spambot. "JenyLoveXXX" has yet to post anything, but the name is blatant enough to send up the warning flag.

As to the discussion at hand, perhaps the spammer is using some poor sap's computer to relay the spam? Don't remember the popular term for that right off the bat, but the blatancy of the spambot names makes it seem that the spammer isn't worried about attempts to trace the spam back to him. ::unsure

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Okay, due the recent increase in spam, and the actual posts containing pronographic images (which could get members into trouble since the these forums would no longer be work-safe) I've taken the rather drastic step of subjecting all new members to admin approval. Hopefully this will be a stopgap solution and I'll try and sort something less serious as we go. I won't have much time this weekend but we will rapidly find out if this measure will work.

JC

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Regarding my earlier post on spambot-infested computers: we might want to talk with Anarcho-Nihilist. Clicking on the handle of "Automaton 666" (another putative new member) takes me to Anarcho-Nihilist's member file/page. That might just be a quirk of the forum software, but it's just as likely that his computer's been hijacked.

What do you folks think? ::unsure

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Okay, due the recent increase in spam, and the actual posts containing pronographic images (which could get members into trouble since the these forums would no longer be work-safe) I've taken the rather drastic step of subjecting all new members to admin approval. Hopefully this will be a stopgap solution and I'll try and sort something less serious as we go. I won't have much time this weekend but we will rapidly find out if this measure will work.

JC

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::blink Wow...

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Regarding my earlier post on spambot-infested computers: we might want to talk with Anarcho-Nihilist. Clicking on the handle of "Automaton 666" (another putative new member) takes me to Anarcho-Nihilist's member file/page. That might just be a quirk of the forum software, but it's just as likely that his computer's been hijacked.

What do you folks think? ::unsure

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Yeah if you click on the link in BN's post above you will find an article that describes spammers doing exactly that.

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Could be anybody though...the net is blasted wide open right now...

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Well, aside from trying to get EON posters to use software like Spybot (assuming that they're using a home computer or personal laptop instead of a company machine), I certainly don't have much in the way of advice.

As for BN's article, it's already being called a hoax. Can't blame them for wishful thinking, though... ::laugh

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a hoax? really??? It mentions in the article another spammer who was murdered a few years back in Russia and it was most definitely NOT a hoax.

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And even if it is we shouldnt bust it...if more spammers think there going to get iced it may solve the problem...

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::devil

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Re: Russian spammers-

The actual murder of Vardan Kushnir (the prior case) wasn't a hoax - it was the proposed motive (murdered for his spamming activities) for it. AFAIK, he was killed solely for his wealth by those 3 female crooks. Not saying that spammers don't deserve such treatment, though... ::sly

As for Alexey Tolstokozhev, details are very sketchy. I'm not even sure if we have confirmation of his death - he could just be hiding out in some Soviet-era dacha. It'd be so nice if it were true (his being killed for spamming), I admit. ::wink

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  • 4 weeks later...

Re: Possible spammer alert-

I hope I'm mistaken about this, but it appears we might have either missed a spammer or that a new crack leading in has been found. Unless someone knows an EON poster called "exclusivescort", our reprieve from the spam may be at an end. And yes, "exclusivescort" was listed as being active in the Mars forum. ::thumbdown:

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 6 months later...

I normally validate any members joining that don't immediately appear spam from their join address and member name (very few get validated as a result). Novigods was one that I accepted a few days ago, and from the name seemed legit. Obviously not. Thanks for the heads up Sprocket, and considering I use a scorched earth policy where spam is concerned, the account has been hit with Quantum Inferno.

JC

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I wonder if spam programs are getting smart enough to create names based on website/forum contents. Because Novigods does sound like something designed to pass apparent muster.

I suspect that a human (INO*) spammer was behind this - spambots are efficient, but they're not that sophisticated (yet) AFAIK. As for the handle, all that'd be needed is a quick Googling of "Aberrant" to get a soundbite's worth of info on the Aeon Continuum games.

*INO = "in name only" ::sly

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