SPAMMERS and FAKE USERS, a Detection Guide...

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chivracq
Posts: 10301
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:07 pm
Location: Amsterdam (NL)

SPAMMERS and FAKE USERS, a Detection Guide...

Post by chivracq » Thu Jun 02, 2022 1:29 am

Hello SPAMMERS and FAKE USERS, this Guide is aimed at you, ... and at Forum Admins/Mods trying to spot you :idea: , I am going to share my 7 year Experience preventing Spam and Fake Users on this Forum... (Anti-Spam Mod since Octb 2015 :P 8) ).

This current Forum is about iMacros, a Web-Automation Tool, that many Spammers actually use to automate their Spam Campaigns... :shock:
=> Yep, we know that, and Spammers are actually "welcome" on our Forum, if they "behave" a bit and ask "real Questions", not try to spam our Forum... :!:
=> Detection on our Forum happens semi-automatic, we/I don't use any Plug-in, I'm the only Mod on the Forum, with several years Experience detecting Spam and Fake Users, using mostly ("fairly" advanced) self-made Scripts and Anti-Spam Techniques...! :twisted:

>>>

Obvious Spammers:
Not much to say about "obvious Spammers", who'll try to post a Thread or a Post in Chinese/Arabic/Russian about as many Links as they can about "Viagra"/"Cyalis"/"Fix_your_Computer_Problem"/etc...!
=> Tja...!, what do you expect...!?, those Posts/Threads always get directly deleted/disapproved as soon as they get discovered (and their Authors also directly deleted, + IP also banned if used x2 or more...)

>>>

More "interesting" are the "Fake Users", ah-ah...!:
Most will post some vague "Thank you, very interesting Post, Thanks for sharing..." when posting in an existing Thread, or will post some "raw" Copy&Paste from other (older) Post, either from our Forum or "somewhere" on Internet, apparently looking "a bit legit", and trying to advertize the Spam-Link in their Signature, or may add the Link "later" if their Post gets approved...
@Spammers and Fake Users, simply registering to our Forum with some Spam-Links in your Profile or Sig has aboslutely no Use at all, Search-Engines do not have Access to your Profile and cannot check and index Profiles, oops...! :P

Interesting was about 4 years ago (2018), a steady wave of Vietnamese Users who kept registering to the Forum for many months, a few posting some obvious Spam, well happens from all Countries, but 90% behaving "correctly", most with 1 Question/Thread, usually very low quality and very "general" and never following up if I/anybody reacted to help them..., until it turned out that all those Users "silently" months later went to edit their previous Post(s) to add some Spam...
=> OK, Bravo, was funny...! :P

=> We/I do IP-Detection on this Forum, I'm really used to all Techniques Fake Users use to try to post on a Forum...
=> Guys, give up...! Or maybe not, I like you actually, it's a Cat and Mouse Game, pity for you I'm "the Cat", ah-ah...! :P :wink:

PS: And yep I know about the ]size=1[ Trick, that's a good one...! :twisted:

(Hum..., and I only mentioned maybe 20% of the Anti-Spam Techniques I use to detect Spam and Fake Users, more Info "a next time" maybe, ah-ah...!)
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
chivracq
Posts: 10301
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:07 pm
Location: Amsterdam (NL)

Re: SPAMMERS and FAKE USERS, a Detection Guide...

Post by chivracq » Thu Jun 02, 2022 1:30 am

[Reserved]...
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
chivracq
Posts: 10301
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:07 pm
Location: Amsterdam (NL)

Re: SPAMMERS and FAKE USERS, a Detection Guide...

Post by chivracq » Thu Jun 02, 2022 1:30 am

[Reserved]...
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
chivracq
Posts: 10301
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:07 pm
Location: Amsterdam (NL)

Re: SPAMMERS and FAKE USERS, a Detection Guide...

Post by chivracq » Thu Jun 02, 2022 1:30 am

[Reserved]...
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
chivracq
Posts: 10301
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:07 pm
Location: Amsterdam (NL)

Re: SPAMMERS and FAKE USERS, a Detection Guide...

Post by chivracq » Thu Jun 02, 2022 1:31 am

[Reserved]...

Posting open...
- (F)CI(M) = (Full) Config Info (Missing): iMacros + Browser + OS (+ all 3 Versions + 'Free'/'PE'/'Trial').
- FCI not mentioned: I don't even read the Qt...! (or only to catch Spam!)
- Script & URL help a lot for more "educated" Help...
User avatar
thecoder2012
Posts: 446
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 5:14 pm
Location: Internet
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Re: SPAMMERS and FAKE USERS, a Detection Guide...

Post by thecoder2012 » Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:57 pm

chivracq wrote:
Thu Jun 02, 2022 1:29 am
=> Detection on our Forum happens semi-automatic, we/I don't use any Plug-in, I'm the only Mod on the Forum, with several years Experience detecting Spam and Fake Users, using mostly ("fairly" advanced) self-made Scripts and Anti-Spam Techniques...! :twisted:
But self-made scripts are not available? (e.g. first version as open source)
chivracq wrote:
Thu Jun 02, 2022 1:29 am
PS: And yep I know about the ]size=1[ Trick, that's a good one...! :twisted:
Okay but no color bbcode tries? Or attachment spam with images? :(
Join 9kw.eu Captcha Service now and let your iMacros continue downloads and scripts while you sleep. - Custom iMacros? Contact me! :idea:
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