Spam attacks our forum
Spam attacks our forum
Jordan,
Is there anything that can be done to get rid of all the spam that sprung up today on this forum?
Jorge Bonilla, DMD
Is there anything that can be done to get rid of all the spam that sprung up today on this forum?
Jorge Bonilla, DMD
Jorge Bonilla DMD
Open Dental user since May 2005
Open Dental user since May 2005
Re: Spam attacks our forum
Since these spams are typically done by autobots anyways, the normal way is to add on a captcha or simple math question as a prerequisite to signing up for an account or posting to foil the autobots. There are plenty of those available for phpBB.
For this forum, it'd be fun if Jordan added a series of dental related questions as a prerequisite for posting, 'cause not only would that foil the autobots, but it make it just hard enough for human spammers that it probably wouldn't be worth their while.
eg. (correct answer in parenthesis)
- Tooth #7 is a lateral ____________ (incisor)
- Lidocaine is a _________ anesthestic (local)
- The dental term for gums is _________ (gingiva)
- The root of a tooth is composed of __________ (cementum)
- The dental term for cavities is __________ (caries)
Well, you get the idea...
For this forum, it'd be fun if Jordan added a series of dental related questions as a prerequisite for posting, 'cause not only would that foil the autobots, but it make it just hard enough for human spammers that it probably wouldn't be worth their while.
eg. (correct answer in parenthesis)
- Tooth #7 is a lateral ____________ (incisor)
- Lidocaine is a _________ anesthestic (local)
- The dental term for gums is _________ (gingiva)
- The root of a tooth is composed of __________ (cementum)
- The dental term for cavities is __________ (caries)
Well, you get the idea...
Cheers,
Bill Starck, DDS
Big Idea Software, LLC
Developer, EASy(Electronic Anesthesia System) for Open Dental
817-807-1709
TX, USA
Bill Starck, DDS
Big Idea Software, LLC
Developer, EASy(Electronic Anesthesia System) for Open Dental
817-807-1709
TX, USA
Re: Spam attacks our forum
HEY ... no fair! I am here because I support OD, but I know nothing about teeth!
You dentists with all your technical jargon are so confusing
You dentists with all your technical jargon are so confusing
- jordansparks
- Site Admin
- Posts: 5755
- Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:59 pm
- Location: Salem, Oregon
- Contact:
- Rickliftig
- Posts: 764
- Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:50 pm
- Location: West Hartford, CT
- Contact:
Re: Spam attacks our forum
Jordan -
I'm curious, how did the bums get access? Was it a zombie attack? Was one of our computers infected?
I'm curious, how did the bums get access? Was it a zombie attack? Was one of our computers infected?
Another Happy Open Dental User!
Rick Liftig, DMD FAGD
University of CT 1979
West Hartford, CT 06110
srick@snet.net
Rick Liftig, DMD FAGD
University of CT 1979
West Hartford, CT 06110
srick@snet.net
- jordansparks
- Site Admin
- Posts: 5755
- Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:59 pm
- Location: Salem, Oregon
- Contact:
Re: Spam attacks our forum
We require valid email addresses to authenticate users. They had actual functional email addresses that responded to our initial email. They also use OCR to get through our captcha. It's ok. We have plenty of ways to beef up the security. A real person will always be able to get through, but what we're fighting is robots.
Jordan Sparks, DMD
http://www.opendental.com
http://www.opendental.com
- jordansparks
- Site Admin
- Posts: 5755
- Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:59 pm
- Location: Salem, Oregon
- Contact:
Re: Spam attacks our forum
The spammers just posted few porn shots, so I had to disable images for now. The forum may be down periodically throughout the day while we tighten security.
Jordan Sparks, DMD
http://www.opendental.com
http://www.opendental.com
- jordansparks
- Site Admin
- Posts: 5755
- Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:59 pm
- Location: Salem, Oregon
- Contact:
Re: Spam attacks our forum
It's been 4 days since we finished upgrading the security, and the bot activity has completely died, even the stuff that you all can't see but which drives us crazy. I think we're in the clear now, so I'm turning images back on.
Jordan Sparks, DMD
http://www.opendental.com
http://www.opendental.com