spam posts appearing again... Aaargh!

[Destructavator]

OK, something just isn't right with this forum in the last couple days or so - I've seen spam posts popping up, and now strange posts that don't fit the thread...

I remember before the switch to the SMF type of forum that this was a problem, and now it appears to be happening again.  I'm not suggesting any switch to another forum system again, as I suspect that just about any type of forum might be vulnerable to some degree to this type of thing.

I'm afraid I really don't have a concrete solution to offer, but I will say that I've seen some forums fight this in different ways, some of them more successful than others.  I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but I've seen some forums where the first category is labeled "General" or "General discussion" and comes with a note to not post there, that anyone posting there gets deleted, thereby creating a spam trap.

I've also seen some forums where they customize some of the forum software code, or they do something extra to verify member accounts and insure they are not bots, although I really don't know how those work.

In the meantime, for what it's worth, if there's anything I can do on my end, I'll do what I can - so far in the past I've simply clicked on the "report to moderator" option.

[Juni Ori]

Actually as far as I know, both work, traps though being far more ineffecient. Not necessarily bad idea, if the bots start flooding...

[Duke]

Some spambots have become rather good in deciphering captchas

Does SMF allow the use of a simple password instead of a captcha ?
If so, I can provide a simple solution that protects 100%:
Replace the captcha with something like "please enter the pass you find in our FAQ-forum"

Not a single spambot has made it into my own forums since then...

[BTAxis]

I daresay a lot fewer real users have, as well. Forum signup is annoying enough with the email confirmation and captcha as it is. Having to look up some password only makes it worse, and will put people off.

[Duke]

...separates the boys from the men

Admittably it's a tradeoff. I had up to three new spam-accounts per day back then. No clue about current general bot activity and no clue how much there is on these forums here either.

[Winter]

I've had a couple of other forums being plagued with this lately as well. I've tightened up security as far as is practical, but they still keep coming through.

Pisses me off . . .

Regards,
Winter

[ghosta]

I guess you need all this one
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=xEBz8hIgXhc

[shockwave]

I am a php programmer and over the last year I've integrated SMF into at least 6 web portals, smf is good software, I even use it on my own site.

The problem that has happened now is that SMF's image verification has been cracked, I had a spate of registrations on my board where bots were posting hardcore porn in random forums.

The solution is simple, visit the SMF site and download the modification "are you human?" which adds custom question to your registration page.

Also your security image should be on the maximum setting.

These subtle things are enough to confuse the bots.

This is not a security exploit however, the integrity of the database is not at risk from these spambots.