Spam bots

[blacksmithden]

Over the past 24ish hours, we've had an influx of spam bots/spammers hitting the site. I just wanted to thank all of you guys who are hitting the report post button. I think we've managed to ban all the accounts and remove their posts, but it appears they haven't stopped coming. To all my fellow mods...great job keeping on top of them. Well done all around.

 

[lone-wolf]

the ol bots are at it again, thanks for the reports guys

 

[Battle Beaver]

the ol bots are at it again, thanks for the reports guys

GOC is using vBulletin v4.2.5, which has reached "End Of Life", meaning it will not be receiving any future development. Current version is 5.7.2.

There are instructions on how to add "reCAPTCHA" to vBulletin on their site, not sure if it applies to v4.2.5, or only the later versions. Having a reCAPTCHA could stop the spam accounts.

https://forum.vbulletin.com/forum/v...s-and-troubleshooting/388168-captcha-enabling

Looks like v5.7.2 has some pretty neat features:

https://forum.vbulletin.com/forum/v...letin-connect-5-7-2-is-available-for-download

I would gladly donate for the upgrade cost, and I'm sure many others would too.

 

[awndray]

Why even bother? Let the bots roam free. It's entertainment, if nothing else. After all, it sure as hell doesn't seem to bother SFRC. Neither that account nor Telos has been around for several months. Why should the mods be doing all the work?