War on Spam is over! - Page 2

satchel · 03-11-2009, 04:44 PM

It's pretty nice to be able to look at my site statistics, and know that they reflect human activity.

When 21 "guests" were browsing the forum of our 16-team league, something wasn't right. I know that the Jamaica League is popular with all the cool kids, but let's be realistic.

f.montoya · 03-11-2009, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by satchel

It's pretty nice to be able to look at my site statistics, and know that they reflect human activity.

When 21 "guests" were browsing the forum of our 16-team league, something wasn't right. I know that the Jamaica League is popular with all the cool kids, but let's be realistic.

Excellent news satchel!

CommishJoe · 03-12-2009, 02:48 PM

Yeah, spammers are a royal pain in the rear end. Glad to hear you were able to eliminate them from your site.

f.montoya · 03-13-2009, 07:17 AM

Just a quick update on the mini php script. It appears to slow down the speed at which the front page loads. So instead of adding it to the top of you index.php, add it to your php files that your registration pages use. This will keep your website running quickly while completely disallowing anyone using a proxy to register on your site.

Comedian2004 · 03-13-2009, 07:21 AM

I thought this was a thread about the great pitcher:

Ready for this?

It is a good one.

Warren Spahn.

f.montoya · 03-13-2009, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comedian2004

I thought this was a thread about the great pitcher:

Ready for this?

It is a good one.

Warren Spahn.

EDIT: I don't get it.

f.montoya · 03-14-2009, 07:00 AM

I've updated my first post to include the files with better instructions and a revision to where I recommend placing the script.

If your website was getting bombarded with spammers, either posting ads or even just registering, that bombardment can be reduced to merely an occasional pebble tossed at you.

Comedian2004 · 03-14-2009, 09:38 PM

Warren Spahn : War on Spam

f.montoya · 03-15-2009, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comedian2004

Warren Spahn : War on Spam

Lol. I was just kidding.

satchel · 03-19-2009, 03:14 PM

After a week with this new system, I am pleased.

My problem never was with getting spammed. My forum got spammed a few times, but it was all concentrated in a limited amount of time; I think there was a period of about three days in which my forum had some bogus registrations, and some resulting spam posts.

The thing I don't like is hacker 'bots crawling all over my site all the time. It used to be constant. For example, I'd always have numerous "guests" on my forum, and when I researched their IP addresses, 90% of the time, the "guests" were originating from hives of hacker activity: downtown San Jose, Costa Rica; shady precincts of Moscow; etc.

The worst was when my site actually got hacked. We got hit at least twice, maybe even three times; I can't remember exactly. Both times they inserted an i-frame, which was a redirect to a site which launched Adobe Reader to insert a Trojan onto the victim's machine. My own computer got infected twice, both times with twext.exe, and the cleaning process was hellish. Plus, every time that one trojan got a foothold, it would invite two or three more in, right away.

Even beyond these major attacks, every time that I simmed, and was uploading my files and reports after the sim, these foreign agents on my domain were doing things that would interrupt my uploads, opening and closing ports against my will, trying to work their evil. It was ridiculous.

I installed Fidel's safeguards a week ago. I liked the first version best, with the scripts right on the php index pages, but it was too restrictive when some systems interfaced with it. So I moved the scripts to the forum registration page. In the first couple of days after installing everything, I was still getting 'bots, but they didn't stay long (before, they would linger). Now I don't see any at all. I figure that they're still trying, so I don't know if they're stopping by so briefly that I'm missing them, or what. But I'm not having the problems I was before. No one is fiddling with my ports; no one is interrupting my uploads.

Fidel has really helped me out personally, and he has benefitted my league. I know that not all of what he shared with us was his own original material, but without him, I never would have gotten hold of it. I have a deep appreciation for Fidel's work, and I sincerely thank him.

kq76 · 03-20-2009, 04:13 AM

I got the strangest email today (I admin the CBL forums and my email address is attached to the forum so that's why I got it):

Quote:

Я русский форум Spammer. Пожалуйста, удалите мое внимание сразу.

I am Russian Forum Spammer. Please delete my account immediately.

------------------------------------
Mail.Ru - удобно, доступно, надежно!
------------------------------------

-by "Russian Spammer" (address available upon request)

The thing is, why? Is it just a joke? I don't think our forum sends out unsolicited emails.

f.montoya · 03-20-2009, 05:54 AM

Thanks for the kind words, satchel. That is great to hear! In the first place I don't see why spammers would want to mess with such small gaming communities like we have with our online leagues. But it is nice that we can find answers to problems like this.

f.montoya · 03-20-2009, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kq76

I got the strangest email today (I admin the CBL forums and my email address is attached to the forum so that's why I got it):

-by "Russian Spammer" (address available upon request)

The thing is, why? Is it just a joke? I don't think our forum sends out unsolicited emails.

That is indeed strange. Sounds like he made some sort of mistake and is trying to get rid of evidence.

satchel · 03-20-2009, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kq76

The thing is, why? Is it just a joke? I don't think our forum sends out unsolicited emails.

Surely it wasn't written by the fellow himself. It sounds like some defense mechanism has kicked in, and sent you that email, which is just written as if it came from the hacker's hand. It's probably not written that way to make you think he actually wrote it, it's just intended to be completely clear and unambiguous.

Perhaps his own ISP sends those out, when it catches one of its members hacking, due to some law or legal requirement; and the ISP sends it out from the hacker's own account.

satchel · 03-23-2009, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JL Forum

Most online today: 5

And they're all human! Thanks again FM.

f.montoya · 03-23-2009, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by satchel

And they're all human! Thanks again FM.

Nice!

satchel · 04-11-2009, 01:39 AM

Clear upswing in 'bot activity, these last few days.

f.montoya · 04-15-2009, 08:11 AM

Depending on what forum software you are using, you can add some noise to the confirmation code image. This deters a lot of bogus registrants. Keep an eye on your raw access logs as well. You can add these "bots'" IP's to your deny lists in the .htaccess file.

satchel · 04-15-2009, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f.montoya

You can add these "bots'" IP's to your deny lists in the .htaccess file.

Thanks for the reminder about this.

Huge upswing in 'bot activity in the last week. I don't know if the April 1 trojan has infected so many computers that the hackers have a new army of zombies with which to do their work, or what.

My site doesn't have many 'bot registrations—at this point, we've got enough layers of security to keep them from registering. I do like to keep them off of the site completely, though, if I can help it.

03-12-2009, 02:48 PM	#23
CommishJoe Global Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 5,238	Yeah, spammers are a royal pain in the rear end. Glad to hear you were able to eliminate them from your site. __________________ Joe Success isn’t owned. It’s leased. And rent is due every day.

03-13-2009, 07:17 AM	#24
f.montoya Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,069	Just a quick update on the mini php script. It appears to slow down the speed at which the front page loads. So instead of adding it to the top of you index.php, add it to your php files that your registration pages use. This will keep your website running quickly while completely disallowing anyone using a proxy to register on your site. __________________ Fidel Montoya Asahi2 Baseball ex-Commissioner(Historical League Since 2004) www.allsimbaseball.com (OOTP web hosting - Customized sites for online leagues - Sign up, Connect OOTP and Play!) Share Your Mods - Free, unlimited and easy to upload to share your Mods instantly(free site registration required)

03-13-2009, 07:21 AM	#25
Comedian2004 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: In a house in Saint Cloud, Florida. Posts: 7,085	I thought this was a thread about the great pitcher: Ready for this? It is a good one. Warren Spahn. __________________ Like BLUES? Visit www.smokestacklightnin.com, you will LOVE it! New show every Monday!! New Blues HOF![/COLOR][/FONT]

03-14-2009, 07:00 AM	#27
f.montoya Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,069	I've updated my first post to include the files with better instructions and a revision to where I recommend placing the script. If your website was getting bombarded with spammers, either posting ads or even just registering, that bombardment can be reduced to merely an occasional pebble tossed at you. __________________ Fidel Montoya Asahi2 Baseball ex-Commissioner(Historical League Since 2004) www.allsimbaseball.com (OOTP web hosting - Customized sites for online leagues - Sign up, Connect OOTP and Play!) Share Your Mods - Free, unlimited and easy to upload to share your Mods instantly(free site registration required)

03-14-2009, 09:38 PM	#28
Comedian2004 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: In a house in Saint Cloud, Florida. Posts: 7,085	Warren Spahn : War on Spam __________________ Like BLUES? Visit www.smokestacklightnin.com, you will LOVE it! New show every Monday!! New Blues HOF![/COLOR][/FONT]

03-11-2009, 04:44 PM	#21
satchel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Ft Smith AR Posts: 2,681	It's pretty nice to be able to look at my site statistics, and know that they reflect human activity. When 21 "guests" were browsing the forum of our 16-team league, something wasn't right. I know that the Jamaica League is popular with all the cool kids, but let's be realistic.

03-19-2009, 03:14 PM	#30
satchel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Ft Smith AR Posts: 2,681	After a week with this new system, I am pleased. My problem never was with getting spammed. My forum got spammed a few times, but it was all concentrated in a limited amount of time; I think there was a period of about three days in which my forum had some bogus registrations, and some resulting spam posts. The thing I don't like is hacker 'bots crawling all over my site all the time. It used to be constant. For example, I'd always have numerous "guests" on my forum, and when I researched their IP addresses, 90% of the time, the "guests" were originating from hives of hacker activity: downtown San Jose, Costa Rica; shady precincts of Moscow; etc. The worst was when my site actually got hacked. We got hit at least twice, maybe even three times; I can't remember exactly. Both times they inserted an i-frame, which was a redirect to a site which launched Adobe Reader to insert a Trojan onto the victim's machine. My own computer got infected twice, both times with twext.exe, and the cleaning process was hellish. Plus, every time that one trojan got a foothold, it would invite two or three more in, right away. Even beyond these major attacks, every time that I simmed, and was uploading my files and reports after the sim, these foreign agents on my domain were doing things that would interrupt my uploads, opening and closing ports against my will, trying to work their evil. It was ridiculous. I installed Fidel's safeguards a week ago. I liked the first version best, with the scripts right on the php index pages, but it was too restrictive when some systems interfaced with it. So I moved the scripts to the forum registration page. In the first couple of days after installing everything, I was still getting 'bots, but they didn't stay long (before, they would linger). Now I don't see any at all. I figure that they're still trying, so I don't know if they're stopping by so briefly that I'm missing them, or what. But I'm not having the problems I was before. No one is fiddling with my ports; no one is interrupting my uploads. Fidel has really helped me out personally, and he has benefitted my league. I know that not all of what he shared with us was his own original material, but without him, I never would have gotten hold of it. I have a deep appreciation for Fidel's work, and I sincerely thank him.

03-20-2009, 05:54 AM	#32
f.montoya Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,069	Thanks for the kind words, satchel. That is great to hear! In the first place I don't see why spammers would want to mess with such small gaming communities like we have with our online leagues. But it is nice that we can find answers to problems like this. __________________ Fidel Montoya Asahi2 Baseball ex-Commissioner(Historical League Since 2004) www.allsimbaseball.com (OOTP web hosting - Customized sites for online leagues - Sign up, Connect OOTP and Play!) Share Your Mods - Free, unlimited and easy to upload to share your Mods instantly(free site registration required)

04-11-2009, 01:39 AM	#37
satchel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Ft Smith AR Posts: 2,681	Clear upswing in 'bot activity, these last few days.

04-15-2009, 08:11 AM	#38
f.montoya Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,069	Depending on what forum software you are using, you can add some noise to the confirmation code image. This deters a lot of bogus registrants. Keep an eye on your raw access logs as well. You can add these "bots'" IP's to your deny lists in the .htaccess file. __________________ Fidel Montoya Asahi2 Baseball ex-Commissioner(Historical League Since 2004) www.allsimbaseball.com (OOTP web hosting - Customized sites for online leagues - Sign up, Connect OOTP and Play!) Share Your Mods - Free, unlimited and easy to upload to share your Mods instantly(free site registration required)