Recent Spam Problem

[Admin]

Well, I think I may have taken care of our recent spam problem. Spam registrations are no longer seen at the bottom of the index page, but I still need to log into the control panel and delete them (a couple clicks and they are all gone, so it's really easy). There should also be no more spam posting.

I've had a few members private message me when there was a strange post, or a questionable registration, so I appreciate your help in bringing that to my attention.

Once again the spammers lose! They get their feet in the door here and there, but never for long.

Admin = score too high to count
Spammers = 0

[Blinky]

gratzie, thanks.

how does that work anyway?
a bot that makes accounts/posts?
how do they by-pass the image you gotta type in box?

night.

[Admin]

Honestly, I have no clue...all I know is that they just do. What I did this time was change the registration to "user confirmation", which sends out an email to activate your account once you register. The bots are not getting past the images (which has never happened before), so at least now the accounts will not be activated and they will not be posting.

[Blinky]

Honestly, I have no clue...all I know is that they just do. What I did this time was change the registration to "user confirmation", which sends out an email to activate your account once you register. The bots are not getting past the images (which has never happened before), so at least now the accounts will not be activated and they will not be posting.

yeah i noticed that out of many forums i have accounts on, this is the only one where i didnt need email login to activate.

glad thats fixed.

[twangle]

Thanks admin for the fix on spam. some times when im bored at work i'll jump on line and one time they attacked my work computer through the alf forum.I was so upset but here comes Alfanatic and save the night(well the wee morning)---
THANKS ALFANATIC

[Admin]

Actually, it is not possible for them to attack your computer through this forum. The only way they can "attack" your computer is if you click on a link that they post, and things are downloaded to your computer. You just need to be careful not to click on any of their links...

[twangle]

Well i did once> and Alfanatic saved me.

[AlfAlfa_26]

As a new member of this forum, I try to read all the posts that were made before my time here(and that takes some time), but I have already found some really interesting information that I probably would have never known otherwise.

Unfortunately, while doing this, I have seen some posts and possibly double accounts that appeared here over the years(some of them are really old) that are most likely spam. They often are just copies from previous posts from "real" members here, or do not make sense at all. Plus, they contain links in their signature that most likely will lead to some virus/malware installing sites. I bookmarked these posts on my computer, so that they did not break my reading flow too much, and I am going to click on the report button on these strange posts, so that visitors who read through a topic here will not risk their computers while unknowingly clicking on a link.

[ALF]

Yes, I have noticed the same thing as well. Accounts with barely any posts that either post gibberish or post the same shady URL to multiple threads. I have reported the spam posts before, and nothing has been done. Here's one from last August that is still up: viewtopic.php?t=3633

Admin, where are you?

I hate to say it, but our forum has become like a dead mall... all tenants long gone with only one or two lost customers wandering around at any given time, and occasional vandals breaking in to do damage. I love this site, and it deserves better care from us than it's been getting.

None of the administrators nor the moderator seem to have logged in for the past several months, if not years. If the site wasn't actually working properly like it does, I might even go as far as to call it abandoned.

Actually, wait. Maybe it is abandoned... look:

Screenshot 2024-07-14 at 6.26.02 PM.png (5.84 KiB) Viewed 181402 times

I'm literally the only person in the entire world who is online here right now. Only me. No other members, no guests. Just me.

Something tells me no one is going to read this...

[Adeline McQuack]

I hate to say it, but our forum has become like a dead mall... nearly all tenants long gone with only one or two customers still walking around at any given time, and occasional vandals breaking in to do damage. I love this site, and it deserves better care from us than it's getting right now.

Agreed. I registered to this site because there’s literally no other ALF fan site on the internet, but there’s been minimal activity in the past year. Again, so many spam accounts. It’s also interesting that a bit of activity has been going on in the ALF world recently but there haven’t been many posts on it. I mean come on - The Impractical Jokers cameo, the Simpsons cameo, the Maximum Effort commercials, the recent NECA action figures, and most recently the death of Benji Gregory. Not a lot of posts.
It’s really a shame, since this is the probably the only ALF fan site on the internet. If not the only one, then probably the most well done.
I love this forum and I really don’t want to see it abandoned.

[ALF]

Hey, a reply! So I'm not alone here after all. Cheers!

[Adeline McQuack]

Yep. Still here. I might be one of the only ones, but I’m still here.

[Calmly Taken Flame]

You`re not alone my friends ! A shame it took a tragedy to get me to sign up, but I`ll be posting all over the place, as I go
through the forum, and bumping old posts, so there should be something to talk about !

I don`t do any social media, and stubbornlystill use forums, and I just hope this one doesn`t get pulled, right as I get started !

[ALF]

Nice to have you aboard. Welcome!

[Adeline McQuack]

Maybe the concern about this spam thing and the abandonment of this forum is just the thing the forum needs to get back on its feet. Also, welcome to the forum!

[ALF]

Wouldn't that be something?

[Calmly Taken Flame]

Thank you both ! I see the spam problem as an ever growing AI, realising what an amazing show this is, and wanting in !

[AlfAlfa_26]

Admin, where are you? We are flooded by spam here!
A few of us are still in regular contact here, mainly Adeline McQuack, Calmly Taken Flame and myself. But it's hard to enjoy the forum when most of the new posts are spam. We discussed in the "Can we get this forum going again" thread that some new moderators who would be able to delete this garbage would be a good idea. I would apply for the job, if you read this...

[Adeline McQuack]

Yeah. It feels like there's even more spam each time I log in. We're practically drowning in it.

[Admin]

Two spam accounts got through (pretty typical on phpBB forums). They are deleted. There was a third account - a member account - that was also spamming. I'm guessing it was just a hacked password there.