| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Doc
Keeper of the Scrolls
2010 Posts
|
|
 Posted -
10/10/2006
:
17:24
|
Recently the site has been targeted by numerous spammers and email harvesting robots, Some of you wil have received many of their emails offering long lost money, pledges and downright begging letters.
A lot of these were initially conducted by automatic email harvesting robots, who automatically registered as new members, thereby giving them access to the member listings. I stepped up the security on the registration page to overcome these robots, by requiring them to enter a return email address, before they could be accepted as a member. The robots are now history.
However, individuals from the Ivory coast, Samalia, Botswanna and other african countries are continuing to target the site and register as ligitimate members, again giving them access to the member list where they send individual Private messages using the sites software, luckily because this will be a manual process, only a few will recieve these messages.
I can step up the security another level (or 3), however the security process will reach a point where legitimate new members will be turned away because of the rigourous registration process, hence my reluctance to impliment the more secure method.
What I am asking is that you have patience with these troublesome annoying people and just delete their messages, if they do not get a response, then they will quickly ignore this site and move on.
In the last two months I have identified and banned more than 20 of these so-called members and will continue to do so, I am continually on the site throughout the day and patrol all new members and topics as they appear.
Don't give their messages the light of day, just delete them.
best regards
Doc - webmaster
TTFN - Doc
Due to the current economic climate, the light at the end of the tunnel has now been switched off.
Click here to make a donation and help support this site and keep it advert free 
|
|
| Replies |
| Author |
|
|
Ribble Rouser
|
Posted - 29/12/2007 : 19:06
Thank you, Doc. Keep it up...much appriciated. Give it to those bludgers. Webminion out.
it's bums that count 'ere; not 'ats  |
Furry mad kat
|
Posted - 29/07/2008 : 19:26
Hi I've just joined. Is there anything I should do to stop these??? I've got a Windows based fire wall. Is that enough???????
FMK
Count your garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall.
Count your days by the golden hours, don't remember clouds at all.
Count your life by smiles, not tears, and with joy on every birthday.
Count your age by friends, not years. |
Tizer
|
Posted - 29/07/2008 : 20:32
Furry, Don't take fright - I think Doc will tell you that it's simply people trying to get your attention and wanting you to write back and give them money etc. Not viruses, trojans and suchlike. All you need to do is ignore any private messages or emails that come via this site and look dodgy. In other words just take the same precautions you would if you were getting letters through the post asking you for money or favours.
|
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
|
|
Posted - 30/07/2008 : 08:43
Pussy, Tizer is always right...... General rule is never be frightened of ignoring anything you get in the mail that you don't like or don't recognise. If you do get into trouble or want to feel safer subscribe to a good anti-virus programme and firewall like MacAfee. Costs about 50p a week but the best protaction you can have and updates automatically all the time as new threats are identified. If you want to go further, go to Spyware Doctor site, download the free triel version and run a complete scan. very reliable and free. I sunscribe to the full service and have never regretted it, it gives you peace of mind and what's the point in being vulnerable and having your enjoyment spoiled. They call it empowerment!
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Furry mad kat
|
Posted - 30/07/2008 : 11:53
Thanks Tizer and Stanley..........started purring again. My fur stood up on end last night when I thought I was about to be challenged by trojans and stuff. I ahve got Avast on which is brill and updates every hour. I'll keep enjoying myself........
FMK
FMK
Count your garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall.
Count your days by the golden hours, don't remember clouds at all.
Count your life by smiles, not tears, and with joy on every birthday.
Count your age by friends, not years. |
Big Kev
|
Posted - 06/08/2008 : 15:52
An email from an unknown containing the text "someone" has sent you a postcard, click on the link to retrieve it "FreePostcardOnline.com".
Don't do it. It's not big or clever.......
Edited by - Big Kev on 06/08/2008 21:43:25
Big Kev
It doesn't matter who you vote for, you always end up with the government. |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
|
|
Posted - 06/08/2008 : 17:54
I noticed one of them the other day in my email. Guess where it went.......
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Tizer
|
Posted - 06/08/2008 : 19:41
Watch out at the moment for any with the title "CNN.com Daily Top 10". Don't click on anything in them - the links are dangerous.
|
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
|
|
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 06:18
Pete, my general rule is delete anything you don't recognise as a normal source. If it's important whoever it is will get to you eventually.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Tizer
|
Posted - 09/08/2008 : 16:01
The false CNN news messages have become one of the worst spam incidents. The ISP I use ie even being forced to consider changing its methods of spam blocking. The perpetrators of the spam are using a vast number of otherwise innocent people's computers. I saw someone suggest that the deluge of this particular spam was in some way connected with the start of the Russia-Georgia "war" - disrupting internet communications and perhaps targeting all these hijacked computers at one of the two countries.
|
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
|
|
Posted - 09/08/2008 : 16:59
Nasty people out there..... Funny thing is that over the last few days my spam ration has dropped by over 50%. I was wondering whether it was some change at my ISP but you've made me wonder now, could it have been coming from that region?
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
pluggy
|
Posted - 09/08/2008 : 17:07
About 80% of spam is sent through botnets (read infected Windows PCs) these days. Its fairly easy to filter out using the right software and blacklists. My schools mail server currently dumps around 900 spam e-mails a day. About 100 of 'em destined for my mailbox - I get maybe 1 or 2 a day that get through. Looking at whats been dumped today, there were 154 titled 'CNN Alerts......'
Beware of email hoaxes, every email I've ever had warning of impending doom if you open such and such has been a hoax. Do not forward them - they are worse than real threats because theres nothing to find..........
Need computer work ?
"http://www.stsr.co.uk" 
Pluggy's Household Monitor |
pluggy
|
Posted - 09/08/2008 : 17:56
Hmmmm - Nice - just been perusing one of the dumped CNN spams. Has a link to a dodgy site pushing you to install a new version of flash player. Sophos jumps on it reporting it as http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/malencpkda.html which is described in typiclal inderterminate Sophos fashion as a Trojan. Completely harmless unless of course you happen to be running Windows....... 
Need computer work ?
"http://www.stsr.co.uk"
Pluggy's Household Monitor |
Tizer
|
Posted - 09/08/2008 : 18:42
Pluggy, my ISP is PlusNet. They are having problems because they set up Postini to flag up spam for them. Trouble is if they use the flags they will dump genuine emails. Cleft stick. Now they are looking at another service instead of Postini.
Details of that and the CNN spam are in this (8-page) thread on their forum:
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,67125.0.html
|
pluggy
|
Posted - 09/08/2008 : 19:08
We use spam assassin which comes as standard on cpanel web hosting it's very good, no false positives and gets 98%+ of it. The CNN spam news is all over the web, the CNN Alerts is the latest batch. I haven't seen any of the CNN stuff at all except when I've looked in what spam assassin has dumped. Having your own domain and hosting means you're not at the mercy of your ISPs mail. Cpanel and spamassassin gets my vote. 
Many of the sites that are linked in the e-mails are coming up with holding pages or 'account suspended' notices now so those are harmless now. The reports are saying there were around a thousand hacked web sites hosting their trash - a big job.
Need computer work ?
"http://www.stsr.co.uk"
Pluggy's Household Monitor |
Spammers and Email Rogues
