Being Spammed Porno on my Forum

22 replies
I've created a forum a while back that I completely left alone, and now I recently decided to checked, I'm shocked by how much spams I've gotten, and almost all of them are porno.

Yikes! I honestly did not expect that. Obviously, it has been unmoderated, but still I'm surprised it got like this.

Now I have the daunting task of going through all these posts and deleting these posts and threads.
#forum #porno #spammed
  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Brock
    Originally Posted by Jason H View Post

    I recently decided to checked, I'm shocked by how much spams I've gotten, and almost all of them are porno.
    And you call that a problem?!?! haha jk
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Dybka
      Originally Posted by Daniel Brock View Post

      And you call that a problem?!?! haha jk
      I like that Dan.you made me laugh


      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author eugie17
    Originally Posted by Jason H View Post

    I've created a forum a while back that I completely left alone, and now I recently decided to checked, I'm shocked by how much spams I've gotten, and almost all of them are porno.

    Yikes! I honestly did not expect that. Obviously, it has been unmoderated, but still I'm surprised it got like this.

    Now I have the daunting task of going through all these posts and deleting these posts and threads.
    Forums need moderation, otherwise they will be spammers heaven. Welcome to the internet
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    • Profile picture of the author mikeroosa
      Yep, happened to me too. I ended up just taking it down as I didn't really have a use for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author bonk12
    Yeah, don't let it get to you.

    You should be able to set up your forum so that comments must be approved before being posted. Try doing that so that you don't get any more porn threads.

    Also, if you need moderators, it is possible to outsource that responsibility to someone else, you could even ask a friend to do it. just a thought.

    Cheers,

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author uleesgold
    Banned
    One problem I see with that is, assuming you have any ad networks on there, the fact that there's porno on there might mean you're breaking their TOS even though you're not the one posting. I'm pretty sure the ad networks consider you responsible for anything that ends up on your page - even if you could prove it was done by a hacker.
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  • Profile picture of the author TryBPO
    Those guys are hurting for links, traffic, etc. and will do anything they can to direct traffic to their sites. Some of us are pretty spammy...but those that promote THOSE kinds of sites can really lay on the spam...
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    • Profile picture of the author bretski
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Dybka
    Originally Posted by Jason H View Post

    I've created a forum a while back that I completely left alone, and now I recently decided to checked, I'm shocked by how much spams I've gotten, and almost all of them are porno.

    Yikes! I honestly did not expect that. Obviously, it has been unmoderated, but still I'm surprised it got like this.

    Now I have the daunting task of going through all these posts and deleting these posts and threads.
    You should have some active members on your forum become moderators to watch out for these things.


    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Ian Varnava
    Originally Posted by Jason H View Post

    I've created a forum a while back that I completely left alone
    If you're looking to maintain quality and not become a spam farm, unfortunately you cannot let a forum run on auto-pilot. You need to either moderate it yourself or have moderators in place.

    Depending on how active it is, you can probably get some of the senior/regular members to moderate for you as a volunteer (or for a small fee if it's worth it for you), or like others said, outsource the task.

    If you just let it be, it will continue to go downhill and become nothing but a very large spam farm.

    Consider this, if the WF was left "alone" for just 1 day, probably even for just a few hours, with no moderators and no members reporting spam/offensive posts, all you would see around here is spam, spam, and more spam. You notice it really late at night sometimes when spam posts are popping up all over but not necessarily getting nuked as quickly as they should (mods need to sleep too I figure), but by day-time they're gone. WF is probably one of the best moderated forums I've ever been on anywhere on the 'net so you can learn a thing or two from here.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
    I recently added a mod that asks if you are human upon registration. This has cut back the spam signups by heaps! You do need to keep an eye on the forum though as some will still get through, you can't just leave it unattended
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    • Profile picture of the author Audrey Harvey
      Originally Posted by Sheryl Polomka View Post

      I recently added a mod that asks if you are human upon registration. This has cut back the spam signups by heaps! You do need to keep an eye on the forum though as some will still get through, you can't just leave it unattended
      Yep, you should be able to install some sort of captcha which either asks a question that requires a human answer, or asks a potential member to click on a link in a registration email. That goes a long way to protecting your forum from spammers.
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  • Profile picture of the author dv8domainsDotCom
    also, backup files and DB from current site and update your forum script if available. Sometimes updates can help close spam loopholes. Always have a recovery plan in place before updating or installing new plugins, just in case. Also, check with your forum's support boards and I'll bet you'll get spot-on recommendations on anti-spam plugins. Good luck (and save the good porn!) heh
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  • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
    I had a captcha plus needed to confirm registration in an email but was still getting a lot of spam. I would have thought that would have been enough. So then I installed the 'are you human' question mod and that has just almost stopped it completely. I still have the captcha and confirmation email along with the 'are you human' and that seems to have done the trick
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason H
      Originally Posted by Sheryl Polomka View Post

      I had a captcha plus needed to confirm registration in an email but was still getting a lot of spam. I would have thought that would have been enough. So then I installed the 'are you human' question mod and that has just almost stopped it completely. I still have the captcha and confirmation email along with the 'are you human' and that seems to have done the trick

      How did you do that? I'm currently using PhpBB, and I am not sure about the plugins I can use for this feature.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
        Originally Posted by Jason H View Post

        How did you do that? I'm currently using PhpBB, and I am not sure about the plugins I can use for this feature.
        I'm using SMF forum and the captcha and email confirmation were options already with the forum. The 'are you human' question was a mod I downloaded from the SMF website.

        I knew nothing about that sort of stuff until I read Audreys ebook

        http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...-included.html

        I really recommend anyone that is building a forum to read that book, it is such a lifesaver!
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  • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
    People around here call that "link building."
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  • Profile picture of the author Audrey Harvey
    From the phpbb forum

    phpBB • Search

    There are quite a few ways of doing it, by the look of these threads. And, here are links to various modifications:

    phpBB • KeyCAPTCHA - Contribution Details
    phpBB • Peoplesign CAPTCHA plugin - Contribution Details
    phpBB • Sortables CAPTCHA Plugin - Contribution Details
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  • Profile picture of the author hashif16
    I am using akismet in one of my websistes as a moderator....for forum sites you need a moderator..many are spamming and got themselves blacklisted..
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  • Profile picture of the author Zabrina
    I came across a really clever mod that asked you a randomized question... "What is one of the primary colours?" was one, I think, and some other basic questions that are almost impossible for non-humans to answer. Human spammers are another ballgame entirely. :rolleyes:
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