Concerns about a topic in Trip Reports

Don't know about you people, but with my AOL anti-spam set on "medium" practically all my spam goes into a special spam file to be deleted at leisure.

And fine work they did too, Al. I haven't noticed any problems or difficulties from a legitmate user point-of-view.

Marc

Have you noticed it is about two months without SPAM appearing in Trip Reports. At that time it was suggested that robots should find it difficult to sign in and then spew their junk mail. I guess the powers that be have created it tough for robots to sign in.

Please note there have been fewer incidents of SPAM. We've aded increased security measure. It's a shame to punish people who simply want to post a question because of a few ...

BUT - such is the way of life.

Yes Al I know this system, one of my friends in Portugal (another man from Rouen in exile) has such feature on his Website and apparently, it seems to work…
Perhaps the “creep(s)” that post those messages got “the message” that some of us were after him if he returned on the forum to check the reactions…
As for policing the forum, I feel sure that it would be a full time job, something very hard to request from those that give their free time so generously to keep the forum going.

For the past few days there has not been any new members signing in....and no new spam also. It seems that "robots" for some reason are not able to repeat themselves.

Have you noticed that many places to achieve privacy require one to repeat a series of misshaped letters and /or numbers to sign in that I believe cannot be duplicated by a robot. Has this been proposed to Invision?

Mike: For as long as there have been message boards and/or places you can post comments, there has been SPAM. We once tracked down an IP address and reported it to the cyber police. What happened?

Nothing. But, the pursuit cost time, effort and money. And, the person bought a new computer. Sigh.

Suspicions...
I can't help to think that it is the same creep posting those messages, even if they seem to originate from different "members"...
Unless I have missed it, those bogus porn messages never seem to be posted under the same pseudo... maybe the same "member" trying not to leave a trail by joining the forum as a new member?
Maybe by looking at the member list it would be possible to establish a pattern? Date joining the forum? Pseudos? etc...
In reviewing the "Technical Issues and Announcements" I see that the "Spam" problem was already addressed as far back as May 19, 2006...
So, there is the next question:
Are those "porn spam messages" breaking the law?
If so, they should be easy to trace...
Good luck.
Mike

Mais oui ..... I have spent all day and night in chase of the culprilts.
Whew .....they're so much faster at posting than I am at deleting!

Oh no, I would never click on a link! But some forums allow for HTML and BB code in posts which can in turn open the way for pictures and code embedded in the posts themselves, so that if you open the topic there would be no avoiding them.

Just one more reason to keep antivirus and antispyware software active and up to date...

Amazing: a totally clean night as of midnight Jan. 30 Paris time--unless the sweepers were in early tonight. Or have we got new defenses?

Marc

Oooops....

NEVER but NEVER ... click on a HOT link. Rule one for saving your computer not to mention your eyesight!

That would be great because, although it's not happening in the current rash of spam posts, it's possible that there could be things such as photos or malicious coding embedded in the posts as well, depending on what this particular board software allows.

(Not that my eyes are going to burn if I see an unexpected photo -- I'm really more concerned about the coding aspect)

Mike: Thank you for your constructive idea.

I have passed it on to the webmaster. WE ARE SUPPOSED to have double opt in.

Marc and Al -- the posts are supposedly made by robots. BUT - today, I am tearing my hair out.
If you hear there's been a cyber murder... believe it!

I wonder whether they're altogether robotic. It used to be that "Trip Reports" was ust about the only target. But starting with this latest siege, a number of new topics--e.g. Auvergne, Nonsmoking Restaurants, Rec'd Agents--were hit, then hit repeatedly, with different user names. It's as if when a breach is created, that address is reported back and becomes a new favored topic. But I suppose thart could be done by robots, too.

Marc

No apologies necessary Karen, you cannot help that there are some sick people in this World...
The only reason I even intervened, is due to the fact that I had recommended the forum, especially "trip reports" to a friend of mine wanting to visit France...
Another idea, would be to require new members to provide a verifiable E-mail address, and if their address cannot be verified, block their access to the forum.
That's the way it is on an aviation forum I visit.
Mike

Please know we TRY to cut offensive posts as quickly as possible and ban the IP address immediately. As we don't have staff 24 hours a day, sometimes, it isn't done instantaneously.

My apologies.

That's just it Al...
Most bogus posts that I have seen have suspicious titles, having to do with porn mostly, and I therefore maintain that a mean of reporting those posts should be available without having to open them.
Unless... there are some "old perverts" among us
Mike

Quite frankly, I don't mind opening the post to report them. What would be nice, if I did that, that if when I pressed report (and it had already been reported) there would be notification to that effect. That would be alot of help since it is a pain to get back to normal after making a report.

However,when there is a bad post on Trip Report and the subject title really doesn't fit, I don't think there is much danger that a potential BPer would be nipped in the bud if reports were made easier. And the 4 posts this AM (even though they weren't in Trip Report) any doubt that they weren't spam from the go??

Mike - the title idea is a good idea. But, we don't want to discourage NEW members from posting.

Some days I think we should close the discusssion board but then I say NO.

People are so kind about sharing ideas!

Just an idea...
There should be a way to report those posts without opening them up...
Those bogus posts are easy to detect without reading them, but how else can you report them?
Look at the post title...that should be a clue.
Also note that every SOB that posts those messages are new "members" to the forum, just click on their name and see the date they joined...
Very best to all...
Mike

Unfortunately yes. These types of posts are rampant. We ban each IP address that is guilty.

Most are done by "robots." I so resent the time they take to delete. Thanks to each and everyone of you for reporting the offending posts.

I flag them every day. It would be nice if once flagged it would indicate that after the report has been entered. Perhaps the delete retained.

I have requested a couple of this for them to ask Invision to explain why the spam is almost exclusively on Trip Reports. Now today the torrent of spam is on other catagories by the same people. I would guess one is by an automation and the new ones by deliberate design.

Agreed, especially since they're more numerous than usual and spread throughout various topics on the board.

I wonder: How much response do you suppose they really get? Enough to warrant them doing this on message boards all over the internet?