Spammer

[bobbinwales]

Can someone ban this spammer kingcool please...he done 57 spam posts this morning on old threads. https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/members/kingcool/
There's others too. There were some yesterday like this too

[JimF]

Not on AB, where you need to register first. Only when you have registered can you post after logging in.

[Canary42]

A bot can easily be programmed to create an account, so the only limit is how long Answerbank takes to service it. Then it's all systems go until that account gets banned.

It's an ongoing battle between bad techies and good techies - each time the good techies find a way of blocking the bad techies, the bad techies soon devise a way past it, and so ad infinitum

[JimF]

See the new "What Film Popular In The Year" spam post. All that would be required would by a succession of dichotomous keys to catch it:

1) Is this the first post under a new username?
2) Does the post contain known keywords e.g. keto, gummies etc
3) If not the first post under a new username, has there been an earlier post under the same username in, say, the last 30 seconds.

[naomi24]

I know nothing about technology but every time a spammer is spotted the spammer is banned and that removes all their posts from anywhere on the site. In order to post again they have to create a new account.

[Atheist]

Naomi; bots create new accounts for breakfast! It's what bots are for. My thoughts are with you.

[naomi24]

Atheist, I was explaining to canary and Jim what happens from this side of the fence.

[JimF]

I understand that. But if the most recent spam post had been caught first by the easiest of algorithms, no zapping would have been necessary because no-one on this side of the fence, as you put it, would have been any the wiser.

[naomi24]

I realise that, jim, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m sure the editors would welcome your thoughts though.

[Canary42]

The spammer is not a person naomi - it's a piece of software (a bot). They can create new accounts as fast as you can ban them.

The best place for Ab to address the issue is possibly in the create account mechanism, with built in authentication mechanisms (e.g. Captcha), but as I mentioned before, it's an ongoing battle as many bots can now get past Captcha mechanisms. If you read my Wiki link in my earlier post you will see just how big a problem bots are to decent internet users.

[JimF]

"I’m sure the editors would welcome your thoughts though."

I'm just as sure that they wouldn't...

[naomi24]

Canary, I know the spammer is not a person. I get it - I really do.

[JimF]

Captcha would be an excellent addition to the registration process. Basically, anything that a human finds easy but a bot finds hard. Two-factor authentication would also help.

[Canary42]

I share Atheist's sympathy for you naomi, yours is a thankless task, it's a bit like baling out a flooded town with a teacup.

Nevertheless, I (and many other Ab users no doubt) do appreciate your efforts, it does reduce the problem. But it's also a cheap way for Answerbank to shirk its responsibilities for developing automated anti-bot measures.

[Dizmo]

AnswerBank already uses CAPTCHA in the registration process.

[JimF]

Good to know.

[JimF]

Just checked, it uses the bog-standard "I am not a robot" CAPTCHA which requires nothing more than sending a mouse click and is, therefore, next to useless. A CAPTCHA which changes every time and requires people to select which images contain certain objects is very difficult for bots to bypass.

[Canary42]

////A CAPTCHA which changes every time and requires people to select which images contain certain objects is very difficult for bots to bypass.////

I'll say it is - it's hard enough at times for someone with less than 20/20 vision :-)

[Dizmo]

Jim, do you use a VPN? I do and I get hit with images on that CAPTCHA.

[JimF]

No, I don't use a VPN.

[LadyCG]

https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/members/amee123/answers/