What's with the bots?

[sammy2066]

1. Why do they all have Indian names?
2. Can they be stopped from registering and spamming?

[CrowdAds]

[ctal]

Hi Sammy,

In general those are not bots, they are individuals spamming manually. The forum has automated protection mechanisms that prevent most automated spambots from registering, although some get through here and there. The automated spambots usually choose lengthy nonsensical screen names, to minimize the likelihood that the name will already have been taken. Without those protection mechanisms, there would be dozens of spambots per day, as previous experience has shown.

A lot of the spamming is done for SEO purposes, to optimize placement of some website in search engine results.

I usually ban about 2 or 3 or so each day, and delete any posts they may have made. In many cases they don't post, and list the site they are promoting in their profile instead.

A lot of them are in India, but several other countries are well represented too.

Best regards,
-- Al

[sammy2066]

Originally Posted by ctal

Hi Sammy,

In general those are not bots, they are individuals spamming manually. The forum has automated protection mechanisms that prevent most automated spambots from registering, although some get through here and there. The automated spambots usually choose lengthy nonsensical screen names, to minimize the likelihood that the name will already have been taken. Without those protection mechanisms, there would be dozens of spambots per day, as previous experience has shown.

A lot of the spamming is done for SEO purposes, to optimize placement of some website in search engine results.

I usually ban about 2 or 3 or so each day, and delete any posts they may have made. In many cases they don't post, and list the site they are promoting in their profile instead.

A lot of them are in India, but several other countries are well represented too.

Best regards,
-- Al

Ah, thanks for that update Al. Just something I'd been noticing lately. Trust things are great otherwise.

Cheers,

Sammy

[Sir Skully]

Originally Posted by ctal

Hi Sammy,

In general those are not bots, they are individuals spamming manually. The forum has automated protection mechanisms that prevent most automated spambots from registering, although some get through here and there. The automated spambots usually choose lengthy nonsensical screen names, to minimize the likelihood that the name will already have been taken. Without those protection mechanisms, there would be dozens of spambots per day, as previous experience has shown.

A lot of the spamming is done for SEO purposes, to optimize placement of some website in search engine results.

I usually ban about 2 or 3 or so each day, and delete any posts they may have made. In many cases they don't post, and list the site they are promoting in their profile instead.

A lot of them are in India, but several other countries are well represented too.

Best regards,
-- Al

Thanks Al for keeping things cleaned up, hope you're doing well...

[ctal]

Thanks, guys. Doing fine here; I just haven't been posting as much as in the past. Too many hobbies to pursue! But the spammers can still expect to see no mercy!

Best regards,
-- Al

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by ctal

Thanks, guys. Doing fine here; I just haven't been posting as much as in the past. Too many hobbies to pursue! But the spammers can still expect to see no mercy!

Best regards,
-- Al

Speaking softly and carrying a big stick.

[yabbadoo]

I have just joined the Forum and after browsing around, spotted this thread.

Having come across just about everything good, bad and ugly in my long and varied life, could somebody please explain what a "Bot" is and what exactly this thread is all about ?

Looks like I am not familiar with the jargon.

[ctal]

Yabbadoo, to ABXZone.

"Bot" is short for either "robot" or "spambot."

A robot in this context refers to an automated software program that goes to websites and takes some kind of action. The "spider" programs that search engines such as Google use to index web pages are an example of a robot.

A spambot is a kind of robot that is designed to automatically make spam posts to web forums and other websites.

Best regards,
-- Al

ABXZone Moderator

[Sir Skully]

yabbadoo: ...

[yabbadoo]

Originally Posted by ctal

Yabbadoo, to ABXZone.

"Bot" is short for either "robot" or "spambot."

A robot in this context refers to an automated software program that goes to websites and takes some kind of action. The "spider" programs that search engines such as Google use to index web pages are an example of a robot.

A spambot is a kind of robot that is designed to automatically make spam posts to web forums and other websites.

Best regards,
-- Al

ABXZone Moderator

Thank you so much, all perfectly understood. Sorry to be so naive after 11 years of Internet rough and tumble.

How do these "Bots" get onto the Forum ? My understanding of a robot is that it has no mind of it`s own and is under the complete control of it`s handler. So how does it get over the random Captcha ? Presumably the handler gains entry and then lets his robot run riot.

[ctal]

Originally Posted by yabbadoo

How do these "Bots" get onto the Forum ? My understanding of a robot is that it has no mind of it`s own and is under the complete control of it`s handler. So how does it get over the random Captcha ? Presumably the handler gains entry and then lets his robot run riot.

Your guess is as good as mine. As I indicated, the great majority of the automated spambots are stopped by the forum software, but a few of them occasionally get through somehow. Most of the spamming we see appears to be done entirely manually.

Best regards,
-- Al