Submitting spam signature accounts

Cuckoo · 2011-08-09 8:59 pm

Hi all,

I don't know if anybody else gets this, but on my VBulletin forum I get a lot of fake accounts that are set up and don't post anything. What they do instead is modify their signature to include their spam links.

Then then repeatedly log in to be in the view of the search engine robots as much as possible. I am using Spam-O-Matic for VB, and as far as I know there is no automatic way to submit information for these kinds of accounts.

I could use some advice on how to best deal with this problem, or if software developers could consider it for future versions?

Anyway, this is a great idea as my forum is constantly fending off spam accounts. Rarely a day goes past where I don't get at least a few, and VBulletin seem incapable of sorting the problems out or giving us the tools to at least stem the tide. I think this is a great initiative!

One other thing, how are IPs black listed? I'm hoping that the same IP has to be submitted from several sites first to be considerd for blacklisting, otherwise the system is open to abuse. I'm sure this has been considered long ago, but I would like to know.

heenan73 · 2011-08-09 10:33 pm

There's no automatic way of dealing with profile spammers.

I review all new registrants after three weeks, and ban + delete all who haven't posted - and report as spammers all who have added links to their profile.

It's important to ban all public signs of spammers, including spam profiles, or they still conceivably benefit from their membership.

I don't know of any forum software that really deals with profile spammers effectively - but I'm sure there's members here who can advise

busterone · 2011-08-09 10:58 pm

I have not used VB for years, so I don't remember if this is possible in VB or not. In my SMF forums, I make the newbie postcount group up to 10 posts, and edit the permissions for that group to prevent them from adding a signature, a url to the website field. neither can they add any info to the ICQ-AOL-MSN @etc. messengers field. IF a spammer does actually get past my defenses, they cannot add the sig, so they leave to never return. With no sigs until after 10 posts, I don't get them anymore.

WindsorFox · 2011-08-10 1:36 am

Why leave them at all? If they post spam links in the profile ban them. And a word of warning, some register and post nothing and make no profile and post their links in user messages on other profiles of members who have not logged in for over a year. We had to change so that under a certain number of posts you can not post user messages.

Zangano · 2011-08-10 7:32 am

Cuckoo wrote:

I am using Spam-O-Matic for VB, and as far as I know there is no automatic way to submit information for these kinds of accounts.
I could use some advice on how to best deal with this problem, or if software developers could consider it for future versions?

I'm not sure what you mean by "automatic." We use Spam-O-Matic on a vB 3.x board. Since it checks against SFS during registration, it keeps the vast majority of bad guys out, enough that we can manually review all new registrations. When we see signature spam, we use the admin control panel to ban and report to SFS with just a couple of clicks. Is that not available in your version of vB/SOM?

dmr · 2011-08-10 2:50 pm

We use vBulletin, and the combination of the .php query of the SFS database and the ZBBlock software have almost totally eliminated the pests.

We even turned back on the posting ability of newly-registered users, as we're very close to considering the problem solved, thanks to SFS and ZBB!

OnThePike · 2011-08-10 3:27 pm

One thing I never liked about vB was that "visitor messages" feature. I had found it to be used and abused by spammers 99% of the time. For the other percentage of people who use it legitimately, I say, register an account and post a message or use the PM feature.

I don't know why so many vB admins leave that thing active.

Bit of Fun · 2011-08-13 8:26 pm

heenan73 wrote:

There's no automatic way of dealing with profile spammers.
I review all new registrants after three weeks, and ban + delete all who haven't posted - and report as spammers all who have added links to their profile.
It's important to ban all public signs of spammers, including spam profiles, or they still conceivably benefit from their membership.
I don't know of any forum software that really deals with profile spammers effectively - but I'm sure there's members here who can advise

Use the no follow tag in the profile template

Katana · 2011-08-13 8:34 pm

Bit of Fun wrote:

heenan73 wrote:
There's no automatic way of dealing with profile spammers.
I review all new registrants after three weeks, and ban + delete all who haven't posted - and report as spammers all who have added links to their profile.
It's important to ban all public signs of spammers, including spam profiles, or they still conceivably benefit from their membership.
I don't know of any forum software that really deals with profile spammers effectively - but I'm sure there's members here who can advise

Use the no follow tag in the profile template

You'll still have the keywords "rolex", "viagra", "cheap pills" associated with your site.

Wizzle · 2011-08-13 10:19 pm

Not allowing Guests to view member profiles works nicely.

Maikuolan · 2011-08-14 2:20 am

WindsorFox wrote:

Why leave them at all? If they post spam links in the profile ban them. And a word of warning, some register and post nothing and make no profile and post their links in user messages on other profiles of members who have not logged in for over a year. We had to change so that under a certain number of posts you can not post user messages.

..That's actually a really smart idea that I'd never thought of before. I may just have to steal that idea for my own websites. Thanks for sharing!

CS3Regina · 2011-08-16 4:39 am

I don't mess with them at all on my site. Spam of any kind is an instant permanent ban. After I get all of their information reported here I remove whatever kind of spam they left, whether it be forum spam, sig link, or the website in their profile. Once banned I give them a spammer avatar and leave their account for a week or two. Some return, some don't. After a couple of weeks, at most, I delete their accounts.

Guests nor members below three posts can see the member list, and members with fewer than three posts can't send PMs at all. A while back someone here posted a link to a video on YouTube of a spammer using a bot to register at a VBulletin forum and send spam via private messages to about fifty of its members. Although I don't use VBulletin that put the fear in me. There are more benefits than just spam prevention to having this stuff blocked.

I thought of using a signature block for new members but then I realized I'd have precious little to report here if I did. As it is, one or two spammers a week are getting through, and I do so love being the first person to ever report one of those n00bs.

Previously I used SMF but when I had to install a new forum (long story on that one) I decided to find something that had more of the features from the start I needed instead of having to try to add a dozen mods to SMF, so I landed with MyBB which has some way nice features built into it that help me find sig link and/or profile website spam in a matter of a few seconds. MyBB has the ability to create custom "views" of members whereby the admin chooses exactly the info they want for that view. One of my views shows with a mouse click every member of my forum with a URL in their signature or profile. Some of my regular members have those as well but it's easy to pick out the ones that "don't belong".

I hate no-post inactive members clogging up my database. There's also the chance that some of those accounts are created as sleeper accounts waiting for someone to return and set up the signatures or post spam. (I've had a few come back a few days after the account was created.) After all, who pays attention to accounts a month or so old, right? Well, I do. I purge all zero-post accounts after a month of inactivity, non-activated accounts after a week of being registered, and newly registered accounts where the person was on my site for less than five minutes after a few days. First off, if any of these are sleeper accounts, the person will either reregister or give up. Secondly, if someone can't be bothered to spend more than five minutes on my forum they don't need an account there to begin with. And if they wish to return they are welcome to create a new account.

#1 2011-08-09 8:59 pm

Submitting spam signature accounts

#2 2011-08-09 10:33 pm

Re: Submitting spam signature accounts

#3 2011-08-09 10:58 pm

Re: Submitting spam signature accounts

#4 2011-08-10 1:36 am

Re: Submitting spam signature accounts

#5 2011-08-10 7:32 am

Re: Submitting spam signature accounts

#6 2011-08-10 2:50 pm

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#7 2011-08-10 3:27 pm

Re: Submitting spam signature accounts

#8 2011-08-13 8:26 pm

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#9 2011-08-13 8:34 pm

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#10 2011-08-13 10:19 pm

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#11 2011-08-14 2:20 am

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#12 2011-08-16 4:39 am

Re: Submitting spam signature accounts

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