.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Thursday, May 03, 2007

TT #51



Spammers
or
how to tell if the new user on your forums is a spammer


I mentioned before that I moderate a couple of messageboards. Lately, mostly all I do with them is delete spammers. Here are the latest 13 spammers I've deleted:

Usernameemailwebsitesignaturebirth dateinterests
Jongglyinet.uaviagra"Pharmacy"March 28, 1983"free downloads"
anedio48thirdreichmail.comnonenone
none
eldonchang
order penis pill"lawyer"
"women, love"
Aaaaaaaassssssssss1.rucheap pharmnoneMarch 28, 1983"trevel"
casinobonuscodethelinkusa.orggamblingwebsite url
website url
sobak 177.ruxxx movies"emploee"March 28, 1983"fuck brains"
Clark Bond
anti-impotence"ceo"
"basketball, hockey"
nubtestloabonbon.netviagra"gamer"
"swim"
Abministratorgenterist.netporn"design"
"design"
Zoomerart
software downloads"webmaster"
"sport, music"
aabroppispell-pod.comweight loss"spelling 68399"March 28, 1983"computing and spelling"
Adult Sweaterbicob.infoblack midget sex"SEX"
"SEX"
hellsivinmail15.comfree movies"web"
"web"


I have the forums set up to require a moderator's approval to join--it's the only way I could keep spam posts off the boards. I tried banning IP and email addresses and key words, but when my banned lists started numbering in the hundreds without any decrease in the number of spammers, I gave it up, and now I just go in every day and weed out the spammers. I do it daily just in case there's a legitimate user signing up. There are a few--maybe 0.5%, but I'd hate to leave them in limbo because they got lost in the spam.

It's become, actually, a source of amusement. Some of the details just crack me up. Like interests: "computing and spelling"?? What are they thinking? The misspellings, I realize, are intended to fool spambots, but there's just me. I hope I'm smarter than a spambot.

I have no idea why March 28, 1983 is such a popular birthdate for spammers, but a good portion of them use that date--enough so that it started jumping out at me.

Usually, I can just look at the recent registrations, which lists username and email address, and tell if it's a spammer or not. No offense to the wonderful people of Russia or Poland or wherever .ua is from (I keep reading that as "urinalysis" which is obviously not right), but I've never had a legitimate user sign up with a .ru, .pl, or .ua email address. .info or .biz, either.

Nor do legitimate users put some odd noun as a signature. I'm trying to understand why the spammers do. That's a sure giveaway.

The second one had no red flags other than the email address. But I was pretty darn sure I didn't want them on my forums.




Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

  1. Tink: a witch's goals
  2. Carmen: 80s questionnaire
  3. May: great titles
  4. Dragonheart's mom
  5. Marg's Daemon
  6. Tilly Greene: Britishisms
  7. Angela/SciFiChick's favorite aliens
  8. Christine: GMC (no, not cars)
  9. Susan Helene Gottfried: Mitchell & Kerri's kitchen
  10. Tempest Knight: dreamcasting vampires
  11. Nancy: so many books, so little time
  12. Samulli: books
  13. Gattina: English oddities
  14. Lisa's afternoon off
  15. Lori: things that make you wonder
  16. Crystal Jordan: lame pick-up lines
  17. Julia: May
  18. She's week
  19. Amy Ruttan: book meme
  20. Alyssa Goodnight's short list
  21. Melody: Friday feast
  22. QTPies: one-liners
  23. You're next!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!



...more

Categories:

Labels:


Comments:
I do some moderating myself and it's 99 % getting rid of spammers. Spammers, get a life!
Thanks for visiting my TT.
 
spammers have just too much time on their hands
 
Carmen's right.

I hate spam. It's gotten so bad on my blog that I simply no longer have time (it's like several hundred every day!) to skim them in case a legitimate comment goes into the spam folder.
 
Wow. It sounds like a lot of work keeping on top of the spammers. Weird that March 28, 1983 is such a popular birthday! Crazy interests too.
 
Ugh...spammers!
 
You are so good! I do enjoy the ridiculous names they come up with though. There is too many interesting things in life to be bothered with spammers.
 
Spammers should be shot.
Ugh, what a waste of time.
 
I have WordPress set up to catch most of these. But I have to go in and have final approval for any comments on my blog. Its sad that we have to deal with this.

Great list. I'll have to keep my eyes open for them.
 
Have you Googled that birthday? The Tour Manager says it's probably the day some virus was launched or something (but 83? That sounds a bit early)

Anyway, it's amazing the lengths these spammers go to, isn't it? Shocking's not even the right word for it. Appalling's more like it.

Have a great week. I'm glad you visited and had fun reading the old outtakes. Stay tuned... there's more where they are concerned!
 
*LMAO* Oh, this is really good!
 
I agreee w. Carmen. Don't these people have something better to do. Probably just a computer set up in some dark basement sending this stuff out automatically to drive us crazy.

Happy Thursday!
 
Bloody spammers all belong in a special hell, if you ask me.
I'll never get my head around the lengths they go to to spam all of us into the ground. I mean, what do they actually get out of it?
But it's really weird with so many of them using March 28, 1983 as a birthday. I'm off googling this date. Now you made me curious!
 
Hmmm. The only person Wikipedia lists as being born on March 28, 1983 is Ryan Ashington, an English footballer. Somehow, I don't see him being a major spammer. LOL

Wikipedia didn't list any events occurring on that date.

The mystery continues.
 
Phffft, what a work to make that table only for spams ? I don't care about and if I get one, I find it rather amusing ! I wonder what people are selling or what people need ! Usually I make fun of them and never here again !
 
sorry "hear" of course
 
Add me to the list of people wondering about that birthdate. That would make them all 24. I can't see any significance there.

Happy Thursday
 
Thanks for the info!
 
I was also told that it was rude to read around people (I never listen to that). Have a great day!
 
Adult Sweater? Um...that's weird.
 
I moderated the spam on my blog too. I just hate it when there is spam but then it always funny of the titles they can come up LOL !

Happy T13 Darla! Have great day
 
Spam drives me bonkers. I can't believe how many my poor little blog has managed to collect over the past few months.
 
Wow, that sounds really time consuming. Not sure I'd want to do that, lol. I have enough monitoring with my 7 kids, I don't need to babysit spammers, lol.
 
I've seen a few of those!!!!

Great list Happy TT!!!
 
Don't you just looove spammers? They've got their own special way of making a difference in the world...

Happy T13!
 
Grrrr....I hate spams!!!
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?