Options to Deal with Spammers

[MikeLac]

My Forum is about to launch in a couple of days. Nobody knows about my Forum YET. Until I start my promotions. But a few Spammers seem to have somehow found my site. I had to ban them and their IPs. Both Spammers signed up with 2 Accounts each in order to Spam my site with their product. There is only 2 registered Users on my site at the moment. Myself and one of the few people that I told about my site. Spamming a Forum that only has 2 registered users. Spammers are a brilliant bunch.

I would like to be able to set minimums on the number of posts required before a user could put links in their post, put images in their post, have a signature, send PMs to other Users.

Most Spammers sign up to a Forum and Spam with their first and second post. I`d probably set the number of posts required at 5 to do all of the above. That means that nobody can have images, links, or signatures in their posts unless they have made at least 5 posts. And no PMs to other members until at least 5 posts have been made. A high enough number to make it more work for a Spammer, and low enough so it should not annoy my legitimate users.

Maybe even set a maximum number of posts that a user can make on their first day of being registered. That would make it easier to deal with a Spammer before they can make a lot of posts.

I have only been a Vbulletin user since the day before the Gold release. Still trying to get familiar with everything that it does.

I know that 2 Spammers is not a big deal. I`m sure that many of you have to deal with a lot of Spam. I am just trying to find ways to help control Spam before I launch my Forum. Once I launch my Forum and people start to find out about it and lots of pages get indexed by the Search Engines, then there will be a lot more Spammers that will find my site.

Is there any settings in Vbulletin 4.0 that will do any of the above?

Any Mods available that will help eliminate Spammers?

Thanks!

[Medtech]

here is the best you can do... https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...bstopforumspam

[MikeLac]

Originally Posted by Medtech

here is the best you can do... https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...bstopforumspam

Thanks!

I will install that Mod right away. :up:

[Revvin]

Before you go crazy installing mods a few simple steps can help stop forums spammers. Create a new usergroup based on the default 'Registered Users' group and this new group will be the group for your regular users. The 'Registered Users' group will then become a kind of holding group for potential spammers. Edit the rights of the 'Registered Users' group so they are not allowed to use the private message system, can't have signatures etc. Set up a promotion then for the 'Registered Users' group so when they hit the required number of posts they get put into your regular users usergroup automatically.

Also enable 'reCAPTCHA' in your Human Verification Manager in the settings tab. Its not perfect but it will stop enough to make life easier to catch the ones that do get through.

Lastly in your settings tab under 'Spam Management' think about enabling Akismet or Typepad Antispam Beta. Again still not perfect but combined with the other settings will further stem the flow of spammers.

Keep adding any spammers email's to the Banned Email Addresses list in the settings menu.

You can of course install the mods but ones that connect to remote databases can fail without you knowing but still worth having a look at.

[MikeLac]

Originally Posted by Revvin

Before you go crazy installing mods a few simple steps can help stop forums spammers. Create a new usergroup based on the default 'Registered Users' group and this new group will be the group for your regular users. The 'Registered Users' group will then become a kind of holding group for potential spammers. Edit the rights of the 'Registered Users' group so they are not allowed to use the private message system, can't have signatures etc. Set up a promotion then for the 'Registered Users' group so when they hit the required number of posts they get put into your regular users usergroup automatically.

Also enable 'reCAPTCHA' in your Human Verification Manager in the settings tab. Its not perfect but it will stop enough to make life easier to catch the ones that do get through.

Lastly in your settings tab under 'Spam Management' think about enabling Akismet or Typepad Antispam Beta. Again still not perfect but combined with the other settings will further stem the flow of spammers.

Keep adding any spammers email's to the Banned Email Addresses list in the settings menu.

You can of course install the mods but ones that connect to remote databases can fail without you knowing but still worth having a look at.

Those are some great tips!

I will do exactly that! I will also try out the Mod and I can always uninstall it if I find that it is blocking some legitimate users.

Too bad this Forum does not use the Thank You mod. I`d be clicking the "Thanks" button right now.

I am not sure if I will add Spammers Email addresses. Is it effective? Email addresses are a dime a dozen. On my server, I can create as many Email addresses as I choose. If you block my Email address for example, then I would just create a new one and sign up to your site again. If you block my IP, then I would have to use a different Computer. Makes it more work for me. Or I would go through a Proxy to access your site. But I am sure that most of the Proxy IPs are on that Mods banned list because most Spammers probably use Proxys because they do not want their real IPs revealed. IMHO

[Medtech]

For the last 3 years, I have several vbulletin forums and control a dozen more, the only real effective way i have found to prevent spam is to block registration for all known spammers. Using a database with millions of logged userid, email, and ip addresses of submitted spammers is the easiest way to go. It is also fully automatic. That is the vbstopforumspam mod i linked you to. you may get 1 or 2 spammers a year, just submit their info (so anyone else using this mod will not get them), otherwise, you will not have to deal with them.

There is no other real effective way to deal with them. you can bann emails in admincp, but there are too many to list.

personally i view creating extra usergroups to moderate potential spammers is time consuming and always needing your attention.:erm:

[Revvin]

Originally Posted by MikeLac

Those are some great tips!

I will do exactly that! I will also try out the Mod and I can always uninstall it if I find that it is blocking some legitimate users.

Too bad this Forum does not use the Thank You mod. I`d be clicking the "Thanks" button right now.

I am not sure if I will add Spammers Email addresses. Is it effective? Email addresses are a dime a dozen. On my server, I can create as many Email addresses as I choose. If you block my Email address for example, then I would just create a new one and sign up to your site again. If you block my IP, then I would have to use a different Computer. Makes it more work for me. Or I would go through a Proxy to access your site. But I am sure that most of the Proxy IPs are on that Mods banned list because most Spammers probably use Proxys because they do not want their real IPs revealed. IMHO

As I said do try the mod but before you do those are some things I would recommend as wel las that mod then at least if that remote database does go offline without you knowing you will have some simple steps that are fully automated to fall back on. As far as blocking email addresses you don't block the full address you block the domain so thats '@freeemailprovider.com' for example. I don't block every domain but once you've been running a site for a while you'll get to know what freebie email providers are more hassle than they are worth to allow users to sign up with.

--------------- Added [DATE]1262561236[/DATE] at [TIME]1262561236[/TIME] ---------------

Originally Posted by Medtech

personally i view creating extra usergroups to moderate potential spammers is time consuming and always needing your attention.:erm:

Its really not time consuming at all and a simple step to put another obstacle in the way of a potential spammer. I didn't say not to try the mod you suggested but that the suggestions I made are an easy alternative to relying solely on a remote database that may go down without you knowing. Adding one usergroup and one automatic promotion is something even new vb users can do, perhaps more easily than install a mod though its a lot easier now than it was some years ago when you had to manually edit code.

[MikeLac]

Originally Posted by Medtech

For the last 3 years, I have several vbulletin forums and control a dozen more, the only real effective way i have found to prevent spam is to block registration for all known spammers. Using a database with millions of logged userid, email, and ip addresses of submitted spammers is the easiest way to go. It is also fully automatic. That is the vbstopforumspam mod i linked you to. you may get 1 or 2 spammers a year, just submit their info (so anyone else using this mod will not get them), otherwise, you will not have to deal with them.

There is no other real effective way to deal with them. you can bann emails in admincp, but there are too many to list.

personally i view creating extra usergroups to moderate potential spammers is time consuming and always needing your attention.:erm:

I installed the Mod. I also checked the IP addresses of the 2 Spammers that I got against that database and there has been lots of Spam activity against them. So the Mod definitely would have blocked them. I know that it is ONLY 2. But I was surprised that they found my Forum when I haven't even done a single thing to let people know about it yet. Other than some Family and Friends. My Forum will be launched within a couple of days now. I already have several promotional plans in place. But it made me realize that I could have a big Spam problem once my Forum becomes a little more known. Better to stop the bleeding BEFORE it starts. Proactive rather than Reactive.

I also did exactly what Revvin suggested. I created a separate Usergroup to Move the members to once they have accumulated 5 posts or more. The Registered Usergroup is heavily restricted. 5 Posts isn't much to ask for to remove the restrictions. Most Spammers wouldn't even accumulate 5 posts under the same User Name. Then, once a night, I will just do a check of the Registered Users and move everyone that has made 5 or more posts over to the Official Members. I am not going to manually check all of the posts to make sure that they are not Spam. But the members will think that I will. Forum members will also report any Spam posts that I miss.

Now, I feel that Spam will not be an issue. I'm just starting my first Forum. Someday, I might have a dozen or more just like yourself. I have created many web sites. Always meaning to start an online forum.

--------------- Added [DATE]1262563290[/DATE] at [TIME]1262563290[/TIME] ---------------

Originally Posted by Revvin

As far as blocking email addresses you don't block the full address you block the domain so thats '@freeemailprovider.com' for example. I don't block every domain but once you've been running a site for a while you'll get to know what freebie email providers are more hassle than they are worth to allow users to sign up with.

Ah, I see what you mean.

I installed the Mod. If it can not access the database to check a Users registration, it displays the following message:

"Registration denied. We check new registrations against a database of known forum spammers. At this time, we are unable to contact this database to verify your registration. This is only a temporary problem. We are sorry for the inconvenience but please do try again later."

That is what I have it set at. I can have it set to continue with the registration process if it can not access the database. If there are several instances where Users have trouble registering because it can not connect to the database, then I will set it to allow registrations if it can not connect.

I manually checked the 2 IP addresses against the database of the Spammers that registered multiple Accounts and Spammed my Forum. They are:

http://www.stopforumspam.com/ipcheck/91.211.117.129

http://www.stopforumspam.com/ipcheck/188.165.192.166

The Mod would have blocked both of those Spammers if I had it installed at the time.

I also implemented all of your tips.

Thanks to both you and MedTech for your replies. :up:

[Revvin]

With some simple admin option changes and that mod I'd say you were good to go. You don't have to manually move those users you set a promotion for that usergroup based on number of posts made and an automatic process will move the users to the appropriate usergroup. I think by default it runs every 25 mins.

[MikeLac]

Originally Posted by Revvin

With some simple admin option changes and that mod I'd say you were good to go. You don't have to manually move those users you set a promotion for that usergroup based on number of posts made and an automatic process will move the users to the appropriate usergroup. I think by default it runs every 25 mins.

I had no idea what the promotions option was for! I'm sure I would have quickly figured it out if I ever clicked on it.

I just finished setting up a promotion to do exactly that.

Thanks for your help!