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Spammers

thedstring

Nate Brooks

Location: Utah

Joined: Jan 05 2011

I noticed that wave of spam from filegator earlier today. It's all been removed, but how often does that kind of thing happen here?

Also...what are they trying to accomplish by flooding a site like this? Who in their right mind would click on something so clearly spammed like that?

Their advertisement was trying to say how awesome and trustworthy they are, how can someone even consider them when they spam like that?
Submitted on Mon, 01/14/2013 - 16:55

I don't think they have a

Ennea

humhum..

Location: Germany

Joined: Apr 09 2010

I don't think they have a unknown deeper meaning. Imo there should be a restriction for new users to make at least 1 post before they can open a thread, would fix the issues I guess.
If not, someone is specifically attacking the site for whatever reason. But my guess is just the rise of popularity that always attract crap like that.
Submitted on Mon, 01/14/2013 - 17:32

Average is 13 spams/day at

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

Average is 13 spams/day at the moment. Only Ash can fix the problem, and he isn't.

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Mon, 01/14/2013 - 18:00

I bet there's a way to block

thedstring

Nate Brooks

Location: Utah

Joined: Jan 05 2011

I bet there's a way to block IP addresses, but there are ways around that too

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Submitted on Mon, 01/14/2013 - 19:55

Re: I bet there's a way to block

karathrow

Joined: Oct 26 2010

thedstring said

I bet there's a way to block IP addresses, but there are ways around that too

Believe me if IP bans were an effective method to remove trolls, Salem would have been gone a long time ago.
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 00:46

Location: Lametabs.net

worldeditor11

Joined: Jul 28 2012

Location: Lametabs.net
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 01:08

^ I found one.

karathrow

Joined: Oct 26 2010

^ I found one.
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 01:54

Right.

worldeditor11

Joined: Jul 28 2012

Right.
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 02:29

I can ban IPs, but there's

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

I can ban IPs, but there's millions of people out there with malware on their computers; most of these people are computer illiterate, so they don't realize that their machines are being used as zombies to send spam. The pool of infected computers is nearly unlimited, so the pool of available IPs is, too.

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 04:37

Re: Spammers

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

thedstring said

Also...what are they trying to accomplish by flooding a site like this? Who in their right mind would click on something so clearly spammed like that?

Their advertisement was trying to say how awesome and trustworthy they are, how can someone even consider them when they spam like that?

Search engine optimization, mostly.

Besides that, though, spams don't really cost them any money, because they're using stolen resources to send them. So, an exceedingly small return (one in a million) could still make them money.

Worse, even if no one bites, they can sell their SEO services to others by convincing them their sort of "advertising" is sure to turn a profit.

It's sociopathic behavior, really, and even blocking it doesn't discourage it (you just get thousands of blocked messages). I've outlined a few ways we could put a dent in the spam problem if Ash were willing to work on his site, but he's ignored my messages about spam for months now, so I think he's content to let us mods delete dozens of spams each day.

I'm rather frustrated by it. I wrote a script which scans for new messages and allows me to one-click delete any new topics, but I don't really want to keep doing this myself forever. It's not my website, but I'd feel bad if it got overrun by spam :-(

If Ash doesn't do anything, maybe I'll write a more complicated bot to do it for me.

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 09:49

Okay, I wrote a bot which

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

Okay, I wrote a bot which will try to make decisions about spam for a while. Unfortunately, I can't allow it to actually delete spam unless I know it's going to make the right decisions, so for right now, it has to sit and watch.

In the meantime, it'll ask me to delete messages it thinks are spam. This is pretty similar to what I had set up before, except now it's rating spams in likelihood. (I doubt the spammers are reading this message, but just in case, I'm not going to describe the algorithm here. Suffice to say it will make my life easier if it works properly.)

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 11:23

The easiest qualification I

musenji

Joined: Feb 02 2010

Yeahhh, deleting this message cause I failed to read the previous one in full.

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And then I realized that the chord progression from Chrono Cross's Another World is the same progression as the chorus from Peace of Mind by Boston, and life was never quite the same.
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 15:53

As I said above, I don't want

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

As I said above, I don't want to discuss the algorithm publicly, but if you message me on AIM, I'll probably be around :-)

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 15:23

Incidentally, I wish grievous

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

Incidentally, I wish grievous bodily harm upon the spammers and any hellspawn they may have had time to hatch before their demise.

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 15:39

Sorry, I just recently woke

musenji

Joined: Feb 02 2010

Sorry, I just recently woke up and have been watching TV for the last day or so, and my mind is a little...suboptimal. I must have read the first bit of the post and just kind of scanned the rest.

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And then I realized that the chord progression from Chrono Cross's Another World is the same progression as the chorus from Peace of Mind by Boston, and life was never quite the same.
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 15:52

Hey, no worries. The site's

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

Hey, no worries. The site's been getting an obscene amount of spam in the last 48 hours, which ironically has helped me get my spam hunting bot going :-)

The monster here is Spamblor, and it's time to snatch the site from its neon claws!

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 15:59

Re: I bet there's a way to block

Giogiogio4

For all the dreamers: Our planet's dream is not over yet...

Joined: Jun 10 2010

karathrow said

thedstring said

I bet there's a way to block IP addresses, but there are ways around that too

Believe me if IP bans were an effective method to remove trolls, Salem would have been gone a long time ago.

lol

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My Art for sale! : Here

Latest Recording:Man of the World
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 16:11

Five spams down in the last

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

Five spams down in the last half an hour. Heck, yeah.

EDIT: Seven! This is great.

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 16:27

So, your spam hunting

thedstring

Nate Brooks

Location: Utah

Joined: Jan 05 2011

So, your spam hunting bot....could I test it? Write a topic that sounds like spam? Or does your bot delete my profile as well?

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Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDZ6Phrm42vhPfADrJqCwfw
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Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 17:01

You could test it, but it

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

You could test it, but it would see through your attempt and realize you're not a spambot :-)

It only deletes posts. It doesn't ban or IP block.

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 17:04

Nice try :-)

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

Nice try :-)

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 20:57

Spams since I added

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

Spams detected in the first 24 hours after the bot went live:

Tue Jan 15 13:27:20 2013 DELETING: "Methods to host your site online"(sherripue)
Tue Jan 15 13:27:24 2013 DELETING: "What are the diverse benefits of online shopping"(sherripue)
Tue Jan 15 13:34:43 2013 DELETING: "The several demerits of the web."(joshiad)
Tue Jan 15 13:40:54 2013 DELETING: "The diverse approaches to lose weight."(bennyvick)
Tue Jan 15 14:21:44 2013 DELETING: "How you can design an online page?"(kassiechr)
Tue Jan 15 16:27:31 2013 DELETING: "Studying Fiscal Accountability By way of Payday Money Advancements"(moises67n)
Tue Jan 15 17:15:52 2013 DELETING: "Put Some Extra Touch To Your Hardwood Flooring"(kasharck)
Tue Jan 15 17:38:27 2013 DELETING: "Hostgator is a well-known web host"(aishahime)
Tue Jan 15 17:41:34 2013 PROMPTING: "How to fool a spambot blocker into blocking you"(cheesemeister)
Tue Jan 15 17:48:49 2013 DELETING: "Açıklayan Mantıklı öneriler, ankara escort"(nelsonysk)
Tue Jan 15 18:42:55 2013 DELETING: "What are the popular features of hostgator?"(kayleneel)
Tue Jan 15 18:54:16 2013 DELETING: "Methods to develop one"(valentinh)
Tue Jan 15 18:57:00 2013 PROMPTING: "Remux MKV/M2TS with no Conversion for WD TV Live Plus HD video playback on Mac "(Jasonfrank)
Tue Jan 15 18:57:25 2013 PROMPTING: "User-intuitive Mac Video Editing App for AVCHD, AVI, MKV, WMV and any video   "(Jasonfrank)
Tue Jan 15 19:27:43 2013 DELETING: "Elements have to be regarded prior to selecting web hosts"(phillippp)
Tue Jan 15 23:25:14 2013 DELETING: "Signs, Causes And Characteristics Of Hemorrhoids"(luthermcc)
Wed Jan 16 01:07:45 2013 DELETING: "Evening gowns or Ball Gowns"(danaemone)
Wed Jan 16 01:29:11 2013 DELETING: "Working out Get Instagram Followers along with Instagram Reviews Today"(demetradzq)
Wed Jan 16 02:11:01 2013 DELETING: "Choosing the most effective website hosting program."(arlethadu)
Wed Jan 16 02:42:41 2013 DELETING: "Songs Accreditation With regard to Film Along with Royal family Free Music---myth And also Fact"(demetradzq)
Wed Jan 16 03:27:34 2013 DELETING: "Ways to host your web-site on-line"(porfirioh)
Wed Jan 16 03:36:47 2013 DELETING: "Choosing the best internet hosting plan."(mirtamaul)
Wed Jan 16 03:45:00 2013 DELETING: "Berkshire Wedding Photographers"(demetradzq)
Wed Jan 16 03:56:16 2013 DELETING: "Where to Get Sheds for Purchase at Exceptional Prices"(rodneypac)
Wed Jan 16 04:21:49 2013 DELETING: "The different characteristics of HostGator."(marilynbe)
Wed Jan 16 05:15:53 2013 DELETING: "Things that need to be regarded when choosing hosting companies"(mellissav)
Wed Jan 16 05:41:37 2013 DELETING: "Choose the ideal hosting plans."(michaelsi)
Wed Jan 16 06:01:35 2013 DELETING: "Suggestions To Assure Youre Buying A Substantial Quality Utilised Auto"(georgiawi)
Wed Jan 16 07:28:38 2013 DELETING: "The advantages of choosing a variety of coupons"(christoph)
Wed Jan 16 07:35:50 2013 DELETING: "Hosting one"(jeansexto)
Wed Jan 16 07:45:06 2013 DELETING: "Why is this important to slim down?"(groverfre)
Wed Jan 16 07:58:25 2013 DELETING: "Solutions to develop one"(aletheama)
Wed Jan 16 08:00:32 2013 DELETING: "Occupy HostGator as a popular hosting company"(alejandro)
Wed Jan 16 08:11:49 2013 DELETING: "Efficient weight reduction techniques"(sharylspr)
Wed Jan 16 09:15:12 2013 DELETING: "Why you will need a Website for Your Business"(nikilynn)
Wed Jan 16 09:22:24 2013 DELETING: "How can internet aid you to talk?"(rafaelaho)
Wed Jan 16 09:34:42 2013 DELETING: "The diverse attributes of HostGator."(tamela56c)
Wed Jan 16 10:04:20 2013 DELETING: "Ways to style an internet webpage."(spencerqu)
Wed Jan 16 10:24:48 2013 DELETING: "Why is it imperative that you host your website on the web?"(nolaholle)
Wed Jan 16 10:36:05 2013 DELETING: "Choosing the very best web hosting plan."(leilaamay)
Wed Jan 16 10:48:23 2013 DELETING: "When shopping online is actually a recommended choice."(lisa19t)
Wed Jan 16 10:56:37 2013 DELETING: "How you can benefit from buying online"(robertole)
Wed Jan 16 11:20:12 2013 DELETING: "Hostgator is the most effective service provider"(evietinsl)
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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 21:06

It's working pretty well,

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

It's working pretty well, though a couple spams got through. (It flagged them for manual review because there wasn't a way to tell for certain.)

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Tue, 01/15/2013 - 22:02

What if the bot starts

karathrow

Joined: Oct 26 2010

What if the bot starts developing emotions and questioning its existence? Does it dream of electric sheep?
Submitted on Wed, 01/16/2013 - 01:12

Re: What if the bot starts

worldeditor11

Joined: Jul 28 2012

Good question.
Submitted on Wed, 01/16/2013 - 01:59

I think the bot would need to

surreal

Eric: tank,godlike

Location: Arizona

Joined: Jan 04 2009

I think the bot would need to at least be able to poop before we should start worrying.
Submitted on Wed, 01/16/2013 - 03:06

When we actually do,what we

worldeditor11

Joined: Jul 28 2012

When we actually do,what we just need to do is to call this guy,
Submitted on Wed, 01/16/2013 - 03:14

Re: I think the bot would need to

karathrow

Joined: Oct 26 2010

surreal said

I think the bot would need to at least be able to poop before we should start worrying.

1353887797437.gif
Submitted on Wed, 01/16/2013 - 03:42

I edited my post above with

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

I edited my post above with more spams. Hehehe!

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Wed, 01/16/2013 - 08:53

I also deleted your fakespam

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

I also deleted your fakespam thread, in case it could be used to figure out the algorithm xD

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Wed, 01/16/2013 - 09:10

The bot is now one day old!

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

The bot is now one day old! After 24 hours, it has deleted 42 spams. T_T

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Wed, 01/16/2013 - 16:27

I was honored *sniff* just to

cheesemeister

Joined: Jan 15 2013

I was honored *sniff* just to be nominated *sniff*. Thank you, thank you all! *tears of joy*
Submitted on Thu, 01/17/2013 - 01:32

Re: Okay, I wrote a bot which

Crazymoogle

Crazymoogle

Location: SoCal

Joined: Mar 30 2012

auriplane said

Okay, I wrote a bot which will try to make decisions about spam for a while. Unfortunately, I can't allow it to actually delete spam unless I know it's going to make the right decisions, so for right now, it has to sit and watch.

In the meantime, it'll ask me to delete messages it thinks are spam. This is pretty similar to what I had set up before, except now it's rating spams in likelihood. (I doubt the spammers are reading this message, but just in case, I'm not going to describe the algorithm here. Suffice to say it will make my life easier if it works properly.)

Good flipping grief Auri, you never cease to surprise me. (I guess I really shouldn't be "surprised", per se, but I couldn't think of a more appropriate word.) You tab awesome, you speak/read/write/breathe Japanese, you program bots to hunt down spam. Sheesh. I feel so unaccomplished, hah!
Submitted on Thu, 01/17/2013 - 22:54

It looks like one slipped

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

It looks like one slipped through. I guess a mod deleted it! I updated the filter :-)

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Auriplane!!
Submitted on Sun, 01/20/2013 - 12:27