Spambots Protection

[searchpurple]

I can see that many people on this board are having the same problem with bots as me, but the way it is being addresses on this board is confusing.

I think the main problem is not spam in general, but the spam that is automatically submitted via bots or some other form. If we only get a small amount of submissions per day, we can weed out the bad ones and spam ones by hand. But if we get 100s of mostly spam and automatically submitted sites, it is harder for us and much easier for them.

So what I am asking is not a list of mods that block spam words or anything, but a list of mods that stops automated submissions.

I will test a math captcha soon and report how that went, but there has to be many more, and we must put them all together in a sticky for everyone to use.

Another idea I got from my spambot protection from my phpbb. Would changing the names of the submission pages (submit.php > add.php) make a difference?

[James]

What you have found is pretty much it. You can edit the captcha .. change fonts .. change name of page etc.

You will be very suprised at what you think is a full robot submission is actually a poorly paid person with a semi-automated program (basically a browser with a type of robo form filler ) that loads your submission page so they can enter in the captcha.

Banning words and html entities from being submitted works far more than you want to give credit to. In fact 99% of ALL robot spam contains html entities or bb code in the description field.

There is a program and no I will not help them by listing it here that the creator just goes here and other forums and grabs the new directories and adds them to the list so even the page name change will only work for so long.
Spam is a right of passage. It means you have been noticed and are worthy of the attempt to get the information into your site :)

can always go with tim myths confirmation email mod.....

[mauiman]

Content visible to registered users only.

LOL!

I came here looking for a solution to what has become a serious annoyance, but maybe I should just copy and paste them all here to show off my growing fan base!!!

;)

[James]

Hi maui 3.2? or 2.1?
3.2
just ban the usual suspects in the banned words like url= http:// etc you will be suprised how much that cuts down ;)

2.1 install the banword mod :)

[mauiman]

Now that I know they're badges of honor I like getting them. In fact, I think I'll start listing them in my niche directory for moms (http://www.momz.com) to encourage more honor! Should liven things up a bit eh?

Seriously though, thanks for the tip. I'll take care of it right now. All on 3.2 btw....