Invalid users (eg spammers)

[admin]

The plan is to keep invalid users (eg spammers) out of the Forum and this can be accomplished with your help. The registration questions help but will only deter someone wanting really easy access.

If you see a non-amateur callsign registered, that will be the first sign. (eg today 'Christiana' was a new user listed at the bottom of the forum index page.)  However someone nasty may make their registration look authentic with a callsign. By the same token, we do have a few authenticated "SWL" users on the system.

Use the Report This Post to a Moderator feature (Report button at bottom RHS of posts) to make sure one of the admins is aware of any improper posts or questionable users. 

Only then can an admin make sure all such posts and users be removed from the Forum. 

For example, 'Christiana' has been banned by username, email address and IP as a result and the single post has been deleted.

Let's keep the forum "clean".

Admin

[VK4ADC]

There has been a recent rise in "new users" creating a login on the Forum, and while not wanting to inhibit genuine amateur operators joining the Forum, they are creating additional workload.  Each 'new user' has to be manually IP-checked to see where their IP address is actually located, their supplied email address checked against known spam addresses, and if they seem to actually be within VK (or ZL,..) then whether they are arriving via a VPN endpoint here.

I can tighten up the registration questions a bit to make it harder but possible users could 'Google' for an answer and at least put in a credible guess to get access.  I can also make it a manual-only registration : each user has to be manually activated but the same workload is involved.

There is an option to let them join but not be able to post without manual moderation involvement, at least until they have shown to be appropriate users.  

I am open to suggestions as to protecting this resource from spammers and hackers without inhibiting valid users joining.

Comments ??

[VK2CSW]

That's a tough one.

I haven't seen any of the "incursions" so I am not sure of the nature of the rogue posts.

I imagine their idea is to get links within the posts that either promote dodgy products or load some form of malware. If this is the case would it be worthwhile introducing a minimum post number before links can be inserted? (I've seen that done on other forums, although I think they were phpBB not MyBB).

To stop the next logical step of them just adding dud posts until the number is reached, could the under "X"  post scripting also have a posts per day limit?  That is to say, if you are under the 10 post minimum, you can only post 2 posts in 24 hours until the magic number of posts is reached.

[VK4ADC]

Colin

You won't have seen too many posts as I have been getting rid of the user and any posts quite quickly most days. One yesterday was there just 6 minutes.  I often stay logged onto the Forum most of the day, refreshing the browser occasionally to see what ( if anything ) is happening.

I analysed some of the 'rejected' users' details this morning and have initially placed filtering on known objectionable email address hosts.  The likes of Gmail.com is ok but Gmail.org is not etc.. A few top level domain extensions have been given the flick entirely. 

I am loathe to limit user posts at the moment but it might happen in due course. MYBB does have some options available that I can implement and try out as needed.

I'm relatively happy with controlled chaos today (Father's Day)