Its Just Amazing

[NePaSmoKer]

How many scum bag spammers keep joining and posting crap.  Maybe spam bots?


nepas

[beefmann]

i couldent agree more nepas

[LilSmoker]

I think you're right about bots Nepas, a couple of other forums i'm a member of have also been bombarded with spam, and i notice that all 3 forums use the same (SMF) software. Could be an exploit in this latest version?
It definately seems to have increased since the recent update.

Hopefully the IT guys can find a solution  ;)

Update:  

I've been doing a bit of investigating, and it seems that SMF is not to blame but a new type of spam hack? many SMF forums are apparently suffering increased spam attacks, and a suggested fix is by using something called "reCAPTCHA" This can be added and switched on by an admin, and by all accounts blocks the spammers?

I don't know if the IT guys are aware of this? so i'll mail them and see what can be done

;)

[HCT]

Way to go Lil Smoker.
Much appreciated. :)

[Wildcat]

You never cease to amaze me LS.  We really appreciate your contributions.

[LilSmoker]

Hey no problem guys, i didn't have to work today so i thought i'd do a bit of research  ;D

Anyway, i've just had a nice reply from Katie, she is going to pass on my mail to the IT guys, they are really trying to find a fix for this spam nonsense, and are desperately trying to put things straight.
I won't say too much more here, as this just gives the spammers more info ::)

LilSmoker........

[Wildcat]

I have noticed the admin folks have been logged on a lot lately.

[beefmann]

hopefully the IT folks  hard work will stop the spam.. I know its not there fault and they can not stop all spammers .. all of there work is appreacited and goes noticed... THNAK YOU IT TEAM... keep up the hard work.. any  software  that can help them stop the spamers would be a great help

thanks  all who have helped

[Oldman]

Now you all know why I don't use a "free" board on the recipe site. This why I use vBulletin board.

It cost $150.00 the first year. After that it is $30.00 per year. What to I get for this money? I don't get hacked or bot-ted to death.

vBulletin employees "white" hackers to look for openings, exploits etc.. I get an immediate update when something is found.

The only time any of them got in was when they at first looked legit and I granted permission. However, as soon as I saw the spam they were gone. That was almost 2 years back and no one has tried again. I've never had a bot get in.

Here are a couple of quotes from the Simple Machines Forum — SMF:

SMF is the next generation of forum software - and best of all it is and will always remain completely free!

The people behind SMF are a diverse group of individuals who in their free time, put their efforts together to help make SMF what it is today, and help SMF take strides into the future.

While I applaud their effort, I have found over the years (in the gaming community) that free boards problems are post addressed. Where as a paid board address possible problems before they happen.

I will tell when I think Bradley will use a paid board especially if this site is on a shared server. The day somone hacks it out and the server goes down. If this is on a shared server and it happens they will supend his site so fast you would not even be able to spit. (I've seen this happened twice now.)

For the life of me, given how little a paid board is I just cannot understand why this site uses a free board.
Olds

[LilSmoker]

The "reCAPTCHA" has been installed on one of the other forums i use, and so far it has been a success, no more spammers signing up

I don't know if Bradley implemented it here, as upgrading the forum software alone would not be enough to stop the spam. Anyway let's hope that's an end to it  ;)

[Oldman]

"reCAPTCHA" has been installed on one of the other forums i use

I like the audio one. The one that is for distorted letters has been standard fair on many sites for quite sometime now.

[LilSmoker]

Yes you're right Raye, the letters one is a bit dated now, and the spammers are finding new ways to bypass this stuff all the time ::)