"New" Form of Spam

[Digital Jedi]

I say "new" only in the sense that this is the first I've noticed it. Maybe this is something you've been running into ever since vBulletin introduced the comments on your profile section.

Say you're an aggressive administrator. You don't just have every anti-spamming tool you can find, you've got the most effective anti-spamming tools you can find. And one of the most effective forms of fighting spam, is you. Spam threads last no more than a few minutes, if that. Not just chatty members trying to boost post count, I mean spammers. Porn, gaming, window washers and now, for some odd reason, water filters. And you just don't ban spammers. You delete spammers. One offense, no appeals. What's the need for an appeal, as they're likely automated posters anyway?

After a while, the spammers don't bother. I don't know why. Maybe they just don't consider it worth the effort/resources to only have content up for a fraction of a hour. Maybe you're just that good. Or maybe...

Attachment 124538

I call these guys the "Self Spammers". Here's what they do. They don't send PMs, or VMs to anybody. They don't post threads or generic "Thank You" replies or start Social Groups or anything else. All they do is join and send one Visitor Message.

To themselves.

What does this accomplish? Nothing much really. But consider if you have three or four of these guys registering every day. I did, for about six months. I had nearly a hundred user profile pages with junk links to junks deals, junk porn, junk water filters, junk wedding planners and somebody who really thinks my users will be interested in "Driving Games". (The most specific and niche form of spam I've ever seen. And I'm counting the Farm Porn links!) Sometimes, they don't post a message, but check they're signature, and there are the links. Sometimes they do both. Either way, now you've got links to all kinds of shady content right there on your own website. Google crawl bot or not, that's not what I signed up for.

So, what I've done is enabled my Email Upon New User feature (well, actually, I've always had this enabled, I just started paying attention to it more) and checking each of my new users. I also edited the MEMBERINFO template to include a handy bold red delete link. I did this to both my desktop and mobile skin, so I coule likewise delete users from my phone. Handy when baby has fallen asleep on my chest again and I can't see the laptop and try to breath at the same time.

So, maybe you've see this before. Maybe you've got thousands of these on your forum. I suggest taking time to look at your most recently registered members and consider adding that delete button. This public service announcement brought to you by the letters M and D and the campaign to put Wookies in Disney's Animal Kingdom.

[TheLastSuperman]

Ahh you noticed this too eh... yeap same here I noticed it a while back... I kept seeing those funky names registering on a clients site you know the ones just just scream spammer... no posts... I visited their profiles and sure enough there was a message to themselves a link to buy prescription drugs online.

Glad you posted this I simply did away with all the members and called it a day but it's hard to detect so I actually need to go do another round of reviewing members on that site and others be forewarned as to what DJ posted.

[Paul M]

We dont allow messages in profiles, so no issue there.

I recently modified the memberinfo templates to cut out the display of sigs and profile information until they had at least two posts.

[Digital Jedi]

I've always hated those Guest posts when you delete a user's account, so I don't delete inactive accounts on that merit alone, but I have been deleting accounts inactive for a year or more with no post count. That trimmed off a lot of those that I had been missing. Now, I take a somewhat twisted joy deleting accounts seconds after they've posted. Not sure why, but I'm chalking it down to me being a weirdo.

[BirdOPrey5]

I don't even allow visitor messages... seems like stuff best served by either PM or a real forum post IMO.

When people do spam the forum I always use the "Delete as Spam" feature to ban them and delete all posts in 1 step.

[Alfa1]

is this due to signatures or only to VMs to their own profile?
I moderate new users and VMs, so that should prevent this.

[onehost]

Originally Posted by Paul M

We dont allow messages in profiles, so no issue there.

I recently modified the memberinfo templates to cut out the display of sigs and profile information until they had at least two posts.

Sounds interesting. Can you post this info "how to"

Would be great...

Thanks

[Digital Jedi]

Originally Posted by Alfa1

is this due to signatures or only to VMs to their own profile?
I moderate new users and VMs, so that should prevent this.

Both actually. Either/or.

Originally Posted by BirdOPrey5

I don't even allow visitor messages... seems like stuff best served by either PM or a real forum post IMO.

When people do spam the forum I always use the "Delete as Spam" feature to ban them and delete all posts in 1 step.

I'm much more fond of having a user list with at least one post per user, then a heafty list of banned and 0 post users. Just seems like a waste of database columns. But like I said, I find that delete link I added to the profiles immensely satisfying. I have a no tolerance policy when to comes to link spamming. I don't even want their information on my board. Which is kind of funny, because I'll let people go off topic all the live long day. Just don't try to sell me water filters! <twitch>

--------------- Added [DATE]1292619648[/DATE] at [TIME]1292619648[/TIME] ---------------

I forgot about the other, more advanced form of spam I've been seeing lately. Never used to run into it before this year, but this one seems to be some form of preprogrammed responses to familiar titles. Like, I had posted an MSNBC review of the Aliens Vs Predator video game, so the post refrences the title and posts a "prerecorded" message using the title and generic info about the genre. The same user would go around posting the same style messaged in poor english on several threads, following the same MO. Like the one I deleted today:

Aliens vs. Predator is a science fiction and horror movie that spanning several media. It is the good movie about alien and predators fight. The character used in this movie is very nice creation. Look like actually aliens in the movie. According to me very nice movie and i like it.

Or like the one posted in a review titled "Crisis -> Farcry 2" in the forum title "PC Gaming":

Crisis Farcry 2 is one of my favorite pc game. i like to play all kind of game. all of you have such a great knowledge about Pc games. It is very helpful and interesting for every one.

Or a thread about Act Raiser, where I briefly mention Soul Reaver, and we get these two replies two years later:

I am very big fan of games. In some ways Act Raiser look same as Soul Re aver. Act Raiser has similar aspects to that of Soul Re aver. In Act Raiser sound of game is same as Soul Re aver. The problem in Act Raiser is that you do not have invulnerability per say, though you can not die. In that game your cops and villages can be destroyed, meaning you have to retract back and find a way to recover your villages back up.

Nice information given by you, it is very helpful and interesting for every one who want to about this game. ActRaiser is an action, adventure/Sims game. ActRaiser's weapon-wielding, platform-jumping sequences are pretty straightforward stuff.

And of course, their sigs had links to auto-insurance and more water filters. The posts make just enough references to the forum title, the thread title and one reference to something in the thread to try and come off legitimate and maybe even bypass a lot of administrators' standards on spamming.

[onehost]

I would be greatful if you posted the info on adding that delete button/link and
info how to block users from using profile for x number of posts.

[Digital Jedi]

Originally Posted by onehost

I would be greatful if you posted the info on adding that delete button/link and
info how to block users from using profile for x number of posts.

I tucked the delete link inside the <if> conditional for the Edit User Profile link. The code in red is what I added:

					<if condition="$show['edit_profile']">
						<li class="thead"><a href="moderator.php?$session[sessionurl]do=useroptions&amp;u=$userinfo[userid]">$vbphrase[edit_user_profile]</a></li>

						<li class="thead"><a href="admincp/user.php?do=remove&amp;u=$userinfo[userid]" style="color:red; font-face:bold">Delete User Profile</a></li>
					</if>

Obviously, if you've renamed the location of your Admin CP, you'd want to account for that in the link.