Forum gets a lot of spam users and messages...

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Posted by Wes0805, 12-11-2011, 10:57 AM
I have a 2-year old forum and a 1-year old fully managed VPS. The problem is, I keep getting spam users and spam messages on my forum. I am using MyBB, I have upgraded the forum software and I am not using any plugins besides Akismet. Also, I have changed my captcha to ReCaptcha. I have just upgraded it a few hours ago and I instantly got another spam user. Is this related to my VPS settings or the software? How can I fix this?
Posted by T-Junk, 12-11-2011, 02:12 PM
This is your best bet: Registration Security Question This comes integrated into phpBB, of which I've been using for quite sometime. It's very effective.
Posted by Dr_Michael, 12-11-2011, 02:15 PM
I have tried a similar script but without result. Now I prefer to manual accept/reject the registrations. I have full control, there are usually no mistakes and I never get spam on the forum.
Posted by lastminutehosting, 12-11-2011, 02:16 PM
I agree security question is always best to stop spam and captcha together. If your board does not have that I would suggest getting new forum software.
Posted by PlotHost-Max, 12-11-2011, 02:22 PM
Yes, use security questions. Not like 4+6=.... .Choose something like 'If you are a human do not write anything'
Posted by T-Junk, 12-11-2011, 03:02 PM
Great point, omax. Any one word from a dictionary or number a bot can count up to is insufficient. For example: QUESTION: If I told you to type 23%awqS then you would type.... ANSWER: 23%awqS
Posted by fshagan, 12-11-2011, 11:58 PM
One reason I sprang for IP.Board is its wonderful filtering system for spammers; they are reported to a central database, and then blocked when they try to register on another board. I went from requiring manual approval to letting registrations happen with email verification. I have had exactly three spammers get through the system in the last 11 months. And, registration is easy, with people logging in via Facebook or other social media sites.
Posted by Jeff Bee, 12-12-2011, 12:34 AM
Do you also have email verification enabled? That stops some of the less-sophisticated spam bots.
Posted by hostseeker, 12-12-2011, 11:13 AM
Two mods you need for myBB and you will have virtually no spam: 1. Stopforumspam. Blocks them from registering by searching a database of known spammers. http://mods.mybb.com/view/stopforumspam-com-for-mybb 2. Registration Security Question. If a spammer gets by the above check then they have to answer a security question that you design. You can have any number of questions and they will rotate. Design the questions for your desired user base so those outside your user base will be unlikely to know the correct answer even if they are human. http://mods.mybb.com/view/registrati...urity-question Use the above and disable the captcha completely, it is worthless. Since I changed to the above methods I don't think I have had any spammers in months on myBB. Last edited by hostseeker; 12-12-2011 at 11:15 AM. Reason: updating
Posted by Wes0805, 12-13-2011, 03:16 AM
I shifted to reCaptcha and it seems like it solved the problem. and yes, I am using email verification from the start.

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