Word Verification On
Due to increasing attempts at posting spam here, I'm turning on word verification for comments temporarily. I'll try it a few days and maybe the spam generators will give up.
Blew it just a few minutes ago when trying to dump around 6 spam posts from my comments moderation page. Instead of clicking on "Reject", I inadvertently clicked "Publish" and posted the spam. They'd been trying to post them to year old posts so I can't remember just where they were headed or where to go to delete them.
Update: Problem solved, as far as the accidentally posted spam goes. I'd forgotten that anything posted gets sent to me via e- mail- both the comment and where it was posted. Just clicked on the link to where they were posted and deleted all of them.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 6:46 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Spammers use automated software to submit to blogs. They won't give up. Sometimes they hand-submit their first spam, but they don't usually even check whether their spam is held for moderation.
I block 100+ spams a day (3,000 per month minimum). One or two a week get through my spam filter and then await my moderation because the spammer is considered a new commenter on the blog. No spam ever gets through, but that doesn't stop these knuckleheads from trying.
We really are just a millisecond drop in the bucket of time to them, so they continue with the brute force method because there is no downside to trying.
Seems to me, if I'm remembering correctly, I had a similar problem some years ago. I enabled word verification for a week or so and the spam stopped after I discontinued word verification.
But, maybe you're right. We shall see. This latest flurry of spam started two or three weeks ago and increased over time.
Wordpress uses an optional AKISMET feature that is downright uncanny in its ability to root out these nasty pests. Out of 100, perhaps one or two get by, but just like a spam email filter you have to review it to make sure some legitimate comments don't get snagged.
It works on other blogs and is free for non-commercial use. Check 'em out by adding a dot-com at the end of their name.
I've had very few get through on Wordpress. The only problem is that it also bags a few legit posts, so I have to make sure to check the file before cleaning it out. I love it when they start out something like "great article. I agree with you. I've bookmarked your site. Here's something you might enjoy." Are there really people stupid enough to fall for that?
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