Spammers

[Fauxmage]

In an effort to reduce the number of bogus accounts set up by spammers, each time a spammer joins, I am recording the IP address and adding it to my IP Deny function. This will prevent them from returning to open a new account when their old ones get deleted.

IP Deny prevents them from being able to see this website, so, I want all of you members to take note of this email address:

thenakedvegan@earthlink.net

Keep this in your records, because, if any of you should have an IP address similar to one used by a spammer, you may find yourself accidentally unable, one day, to view this forum, and therefore will be unable to use the "Contact Us" link below. So if you ever become unable to view this forum, send me an email at the above address. I don't think there will be any accidental bannings, but some countries, like the UK, have many very similar IP addresses, so there's always a chance that a legitimate person might share the same IP as a spammer, and will therefore be prevented from viewing this forum, and I wouldn't want that to happen, no matter how irritated I get over these spammers!

There seems to be a huge number of people attempting to post spam on forums lately, and though they can't post it here, its tiresome when they keep joining and rejoining, and its annoying to have to repeatedly delete their accounts.

In case anyone is not aware, if you see spam being posted at other forums, never click on the links they embed in their posts. You may expose your personal information to them by doing so, which will endanger your privacy and online security.

[Oracl]

Thanks for the info, Fauxmage. :)

[paul]

thanks for the info and ive made a note of the address.:thumbsup: :rollingpin: to spammers

[Bowwowmeow]

Man Described As a Top Spammer Arrested

http://my.eimg.net/harvest_xml/NEWS/img/20070530/465cf6c0_3ca7_1552720070530-1390923674.jpg (http://enews.earthlink.net/article/pho?guid=20070530/465cf6c0_3ca7_1552720070530-1390923674&article_path=/article/tec&article_guid=20070531/465e4840_3ca6_1552620070531-2140539306)

A 27-year-old man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers was arrested Wednesday, and federal authorities said computer users across the Web could notice a decrease in the amount of junk e-mail.

By GENE JOHNSON (AP Legal Affairs Writer)
From Associated Press
May 31, 2007 7:02 AM EDT

SEATTLE - A 27-year-old man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers was arrested Wednesday, and federal authorities said computer users across the Web could notice a decrease in the amount of junk e-mail.

Robert Alan Soloway is accused of using networks of compromised "zombie" computers to send out millions upon millions of spam e-mails.

"He's one of the top 10 spammers in the world," said Tim Cranton, a Microsoft Corp. lawyer who is senior director of the company's Worldwide Internet Safety Programs. "He's a huge problem for our customers. This is a very good day."

A federal grand jury last week returned a 35-count indictment against Soloway charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

Soloway pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to all charges after a judge determined that - even with four bank accounts seized by the government - he was sufficiently well off to pay for his own lawyer.

He has been living in a ritzy apartment and drives an expensive Mercedes convertible, said prosecutor Kathryn Warma. Prosecutors are seeking to have him forfeit $773,000 they say he made from his business, Newport Internet Marketing Corp.

A public defender who represented him for Wednesday's hearing declined to comment.

Prosecutors say Soloway used computers infected with malicious code to send out millions of junk e-mails since 2003. The computers are called "zombies" because owners typically have no idea their machines have been infected.

He continued his activities even after Microsoft won a $7 million civil judgment against him in 2005 and the operator of a small Internet service provider in Oklahoma won a $10 million judgment, prosecutors said.

U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan said Wednesday that the case is the first in the country in which federal prosecutors have used identity theft statutes to prosecute a spammer for taking over someone else's Internet domain name. Soloway could face decades in prison, though prosecutors said they have not calculated what guideline sentencing range he might face.

The investigation began when the authorities began receiving hundreds of complaints about Soloway, who had been featured on a list of known spammers kept by The Spamhaus Project, an international anti-spam organization.

The Santa Barbara County, Calif., Department of Social Services said it was spending $1,000 a week to fight the spam it was receiving, and other businesses and individuals complained of having their reputations damaged when it appeared spam was originating from their computers.

"This is not just a nuisance. This is way beyond a nuisance," Warma said.
Soloway used the networks of compromised computers to send out unsolicited bulk e-mails urging people to use his Internet marketing company to advertise their products, authorities said.

People who clicked on a link in the e-mail were directed to his Web site. There, Soloway advertised his ability to send out as many as 20 million e-mail advertisements over 15 days for $495, the indictment said.

The Spamhaus Project rejoiced at his arrest.

"Soloway has been a long-term nuisance on the Internet - both in terms of the spam he sent, and the people he duped to use his spam service," organizers wrote on Spamhaus.org.

Soloway remained in federal detention pending a hearing Monday.

Let this be a lesson to all you spammers! :professor: Yes, this means YOU!!! :biff:

[Oracl]

Let this be a lesson to all you spammers! :professor: Yes, this means YOU!!! :biff:
:agree: :rollingpin:

[paul]

:agree: :wigglebutt:

[Oracl]

:agree: :wigglebutt:
:D

[Gliondrach]

It doesn't worry me. I'm much too clever to be caught.

[Bowwowmeow]

I've disabled registration while I'll be gone, so I won't have a pile of whammers to delete when I get back.

[thevegantwins]

:thumbsup: Good idea. Anyone truly motivated will await your return.

[Oracl]

:agree:

[Bowwowmeow]

As of today, we have actually had 298 people join this forum, over 200 of whom turned out to be whammers, trolls, non-contributing members, silent peepers, and various other kinds of trouble makers. :rolleyes:

[Oracl]

:rolleyes:

[Gliondrach]

Fifty of them were me.

[Bowwowmeow]

Well, since we got the registration process fixed, and turned registration back on, at least 30 whammers have joined. Unfortunately, they seem to be real people and not whambots, because they are responding to the activation emails and returning to activate registration. I'm not sure whether automated systems are able to do that, but I suppose anything is possible. We even have whammers returning after they've been deleted.

I get tired of having my email box inundated with email notifications of new users, and their stupid, lazily-chosen usernames really irritate me. Eventually, I am going to have to close registration for periods of time, and announce when it will be open, as a few of the larger vegan forums are doing. I can't think of any other way to stop human whamming. I don't understand why its on the rise lately. I wish something could be done to stop it. Its like being infested with fleas or something, and making announcements addressed to them, to get them to stop, does no good, as I have witnessed elsewhere.

Thank goodness we at least are able to keep them from posting as soon as they join. I've read of more than one vegan forum that had to go offline on account of being overwhelmed with wham.

Of course, if anyone is interested in naked pictures of Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, or needs viagra, phentermine, or porno flicks, let me know, and I'll quit deleting their accounts. :rolleyes:

[Bowwowmeow]

Whoops, how could I forget the mail order Russian brides? Do any of you bachelors want to marry a mail order bride from Russia? Let me know! :rofl:

[Oracl]

:crazy 2: :rolleyes: :laugh:

[Gliondrach]

Why not restrict posting privileges to, say, 2 a day for new memebers until they can be trusted? Or moderate all new members. It should only take a day or two to vet them and weed out the nuisances. Explain that it is designed to stop whammers. If the posts are wham the whammers can be exterminated.

[paul]

:whistle:well if your offering bowwowmeow.:whistle::)

[1vegan]

Bowwowmeow, I suppose you have been looking into ways to prevent spammers to register yourself too..... but I'll post the links to what I've found anyway.

Than you can see if there are new things in it or not :)

http://www.vbulletin-faq.com/forum/showthread.php?p=40796
(step 1 and 2 seem easy and reasonable)

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211647
(step 3 and further)

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=148061&highlight=free+e-mail+banning
(for step 4 at the previous link)

Good luck1 :)

*you can delete the post after you read it if you want

[Bowwowmeow]

Thanks 1vegan. I've had a look at the first link, and I did try to ban email addresses, but it didn't seem to work. I'll have to see if there's another way to do it.

We don't have a problem with them posting. And I suppose I could just leave their unapproved accounts alone. We would have almost 550 members if I left them in! But they irritate me!

[Bowwowmeow]

Why not restrict posting privileges to, say, 2 a day for new memebers until they can be trusted? Or moderate all new members. It should only take a day or two to vet them and weed out the nuisances. Explain that it is designed to stop whammers. If the posts are wham the whammers can be exterminated.
We do moderate new members, which is why they can't post their wham as soon as they sign up. I just wish they'd quit signing up! Every time I get a new user at the Naked Vegan email I think "Oh boy, maybe its a real vegan this time!" and then I see its just pippiloox, likeporno, drfeelgood, etc. . . :rolleyes:

[Bowwowmeow]

:whistle:well if your offering bowwowmeow.:whistle::)
If you're buying I'm selling!


Wait, that didn't come out right. . .

[paul]

:shock::flirt:

[Oracl]

If you're buying I'm selling!


Wait, that didn't come out right. . .

:rofl:

[Gliondrach]

Three more of them have just joined.

[Gliondrach]

They didn't stay long.

[Bowwowmeow]

I've zapped so many whammers since we re-opened I feel like an exterminator.

[Oracl]

The names they think up seem to get more and more stupid! :rolleyes2:

[Fauxmage]

I'm experimenting with handling a few of our repeat whammers in a different way. I have now disabled the option for members to have more than one account, and I have enabled the requirement for unique email addresses. I don't think this will impact those of us who log in here with more than one account, but no one else will be able to do this anymore.

I'm doing this so that I can actually ban whammers instead of deleting them, in order to prevent their return here with the same username over and over. A few stubborn individuals have returned here and reopened accounts several times, in spite of both being deleted every time they do this, and not returning themselves to even activate the account. It seems odd that a whammer would open an account, not activate it, but then come back and reopen after it gets deleted, and yet still not activate it, over and over and over. :confused: :dunce: :crazy 2: :brainfog:

[Gliondrach]

Perhaps they are automatic robot forum joiners. There is a piece of java code that can stop them. I saw it somewhere recently.

[1vegan]

Perhaps they are automatic robot forum joiners. There is a piece of java code that can stop them. I saw it somewhere recently.

I'm pretty sure it's something automated that tries to sign up.

Blocking certain emailadresses can work, or blocking certain "former eastblock" countries.

And if email validation, then admin validation is possible in vbulletin, I'd use that too :)

[Gliondrach]

I could easily find the code if that would help.

[Bowwowmeow]

I'll look into some better solutions once I am feeling well again. My mind isn't working 100% yet. :brainfog:

[Bowwowmeow]

Well I've just discovered part of our troubles. I had a huge list of banned IP addresses in the IP Deny manager of my web cp, and its been wiped clean. :mad: I'd sure like to know who did that and why, though I know I won't get a straight answer. I dislike giving even Tech Support my login details, but when there is a problem I can't fix I have no choice. That pisses me off pretty bad, since I had a huge list, and it took me a long time to compile. :hbang:

[Bowwowmeow]

Some of the stuff I did seems to be working, though. There is someone from China trying to register, and getting the error message, so they must be a whammer with a forbidden email address. :cheer:

[Oracl]

Excellent! :thumbsup:

[1vegan]

That pisses me off pretty bad, since I had a huge list, and it took me a long time to compile. :hbang:

You better make backups and save them on your own puter then ;)

[Bowwowmeow]

That's a lesson I've learned the hard way. I know I don't know what I am doing most of the time, but I thought those folks were professionals, and did! :bhead: