Forum spam - how do you beat it

[khaosan]

On my site I tried captcha, image verification, double opt in - the works. Is there a single, tried and tested way of stopping bot spam once and for all?

K

[IH-Rameen]

There are new methods such as asking the user a question (i.e. what is 4+5, or what colour is the sky)..

I believe that is the latest method, but really, it's only a matter of time before the spammers get a way round that..

We simply manually allow each user since our forums are for clients only.

[~ServerPoint~]

I have seen questions like
Chose cars from the pictures (there were 3 pictures with cars). I think that is the best human verification

[mavines]

My advice is not to use standard forum engines. This makes standard spam bots unable to post using url mask. All ways of captchas are not useful if you leave the engine unchanged.

[bermuda]

The latest version of verification, selecting some images topics as mentioned can be the final solution to the problems caused by spammers.

[grimlins]

The latest version of verification, selecting some images topics as mentioned can be the final solution to the problems caused by spammers.
Do you think so? How can it be?

[ASP-Hosting.ca]

There is a plugin for vBulletin which allows you to put all messages with links in them from users with under X posts (you decide what number is X) for moderation. This way such posts don't appear on the forum, unless you approve them. I really like this plugin and I use it on all my vBulletin forums.

[EliW]

ASP-Hosting that could be a little troublesome depending on what niche the forum is, but would work in general. I find that asking the user a question as mentioned before "What is 1+1" or something similar works the best.

[mydediserver]

Verify new sign up manually...

[~ServerPoint~]

"What is 1+1" or something similar works the best.
Chose 3 pages with humans or stones or.. wold be much more better.

[ASP-Hosting.ca]

ASP-Hosting that could be a little troublesome depending on what niche the forum is, but would work in general. I find that asking the user a question as mentioned before "What is 1+1" or something similar works the best.

I might try adding a question, like the one you mentioned, to improve the SPAM filtering...

[Alcatrazz]

Let's start with the definition of spam, then I think what's more important is the non-qualitty posting, if I were an owner of the forum, I'd be more interested in it.

[ReliableServers]

The math one works best from what our customers have said.

[andrew]

Add a unique question to the sign up, don't allow free email accounts..put some posting requirements before you can post links. Get some more moderators to delete spam.

[~ServerPoint~]

Few days ago I have seen one web site which ask to chose nature picture first to continue further registration.

[clint999]

Few days ago I have seen one web site which ask to chose nature picture first to continue further registration.

[Oracle]

How Do I Fight Forum Spam?

Well I found out that a combo of

Captcha, Email Activation, Password Randomization, and COPPA. Works wonders, I used to get spam on my forum, but after I set that up Ive only gotten maybe 1 spammer over the last 2-3 months. So try that setup out and let me know if it works for you!

[bob]

Google is underway to create rotating image captcha which will asks users to orient a picture into an upright-facing position, I think this approach can minimize the spam. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10222514-2.html

[Oracle]

Wow, that sounds very interesting. could don't also put a load on the server though, considering that the images are going to be rotating.

[Oracle]

Most forum spam consists of links to external sites, with the dual goals of increasing search engine visibility in highly competitive areas such as weight loss, pharmaceuticals, gambling, pornography, real estate or loans, and generating more traffic for these commercial websites. Some of these links contain code to track the spambot's identity if a sale goes through, when the spammer behind the spambot works on commission.

Spam posts may contain anything from a single link, to dozens of links. Text content is minimal, usually innocuous and unrelated to the forum's topic. Such text is included to prevent the post being caught by automated spam filters that prevent posts which consist solely of external links from being submitted. Full banner advertisements have also been reported.