I'm having a spam bot problem

[fringehead]

I am using user validation and the isbot mod and I hardly get any spammers anymore. ISBOT is so awsome!! You need to install it ASAP!!!

Sean

[mousegeek]

I had the same problem, the mail.ru is one of the worst ones it never stops. I finally added the image verfication to where it asks random numbers and they never pass it anymore. I never have problems with them anymore, try that out.

[Vinyljunky]

Originally Posted by gdavis480

alright I got those mods to work, just some mods I cant use because the webhost im going through doesnt want to enable GD support. I asked them to enable it and they excuse is if they enable it, it open a security issue or some crap and they can be hacked easier. thats what they tell me. which i know that is bs.

I dont think nospam requires gd support as it works by asking questions

[edward hamilton]

Originally Posted by mousegeek

I had the same problem, the mail.ru is one of the worst ones it never stops. I finally added the image verfication to where it asks random numbers and they never pass it anymore. I never have problems with them anymore, try that out.

Image verification is the least you can do. I also added @mail.ru to the Banned Email Addresses

vBulletin Options>User Banning Options>Banned Email Addresses

which stopped mail.ru but not all of the others spam bots.

requiring email confirmation works quite well supplemented with Banned Email Addresses

[Quarterbore]

This MOD will help a lot too:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=135094

I have a thread that I started when I was looking at the issue and I have been logging activity of the bots for quite some time now. I have been busy working on one of my paid products but one of these days I hope to use ssome of what I have learned to give the bots a very bad day.

More info is posted here:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=158544

It also lists the add-ons I use including one site that was spammed so bad at one point I thought I was doomed. I get zero spam posts on my sites now and I know how to do more if needed

[gdavis480]

I got rid of the bots by switching webhost. Now i dont get any, so I think it was that other webhost I had that attracted them to my site.

[tm21]

I rarely get spammers, but now I have a big problem, maybe. A spammer has been able to slip past my moderating system and post his crap. Is there a known vulnerability in vbulletin that can be exploited right now?

I use a rigorous moderating system including verifying emails upon signup, a mandatory waiting period of 24 hours, and moderating the first several posts. I have a special usergroup for the newbies that all signups enter after verifying the email, and all posts of this group get moderated. After hitting a certain post count they automatically get promoted.

I have a spammer with no posts who has somehow bypassed the newbie usergroup and been promoted straight to the regular, unmoderated, group! Is it possible for a newbie by sheer volume of posts to flood the moderation que and get himself automatically promoted? Is there some vulnerability or exploit that lets these people in? By the gods if my newbs find a way to bypass the moderation que there will be hell on earth on my board.

My spammer is still getting hit by the waiting period it seems, but I can't fathom how he is getting promoted. I don't check often, but is there a way to check the logs and see if one of my mods has changed this users status, or view any other kind of history or record of when and where this user received his change in user category?