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1 Mar 06, 2008 03:51    

My b2evolution Version: 1.10.x

Hi there,

I've been recently hit with a lot of spam, and I'm wondering the best strategy to reduce or get rid of it entirely. I used to get spam on both comments and trackbacks, but now it seems all on trackbacks.

I have implemented the b2evo antispammer that comes with the program, as well as having the turing test plugin and the DNS antispam plugin (all set to 'stealth').

However, everyday I seem to get about 20 spam trackbacks, and have to go in and manually update the antispam blacklist for keywords.

I'm just wondering if there's any way to even further toughen my site against spam. Apologies if this has been answered somewhere else.

My site is www.puppetsinmelbourne.com.au if that helps.

Thanks,

Na3

4 Mar 06, 2008 04:30

I'd love to upgrade, but I've done a lot of customisations on my site, and at this stage don't have the time to redo it all on the newer version.

As for Afwas' suggestion - I wrote above that I'm already using the DNS plugin. Thanks for mentioning it though...

5 Mar 06, 2008 04:51

My simple suggestion till you find a better one:

In most cases, spammers target a particular old post from your blog or a few older posts. You're most unlikely to get legitimate comments on those old posts.

So you can always close the comments form for that post and you'll automatically avoid the spam as well.

Second, disable trackbacks... It's not much use anyway as nobody uses them legitimately any more. Everybody seems to prefer pingbacks these days. Trackback is now the haven of spammers.

I've had one particular old post draw so much spam over the last few weeks that I simply closed the comment form.

6 Mar 06, 2008 04:54

na3 wrote:

I'd love to upgrade, but I've done a lot of customisations on my site, and at this stage don't have the time to redo it all on the newer version.

It may not seem like it, but by choosing to stick with an older version you are choosing to stick with the spam problems as you know them. Having said that, trackbacks are a joke. How many REAL trackbacks do you get as a percentage of total real comments, and is that actually worth the spam battle you're up against?

7 Mar 06, 2008 04:58

Thanks harishankar, but that suggestion won't work either. The spammers are hitting new posts and old ones - plus my site offers a lot of instructional/tutorial posts and closing comments means real readers won't be able to ask questions.

Maybe over time I'll just keep updating the blacklist, and eventually I'll cover the most common keywords.

Anyway, thanks for the help, and keep the suggestions coming!

8 Mar 06, 2008 05:24

EdB wrote:

na3 wrote:

I'd love to upgrade, but I've done a lot of customisations on my site, and at this stage don't have the time to redo it all on the newer version.

It may not seem like it, but by choosing to stick with an older version you are choosing to stick with the spam problems as you know them. Having said that, trackbacks are a joke. How many REAL trackbacks do you get as a percentage of total real comments, and is that actually worth the spam battle you're up against?

I realise all of this; it's true I get very little real comments. I also have only just started having this problem, having used b2evo for over a year. It's only recently that Google has really been picking up my site, and hence the spam.

As I said above, I would upgrade, but at this point in time I don't have the time to sit down and redo all the customisations. I have about four or five full-time projects and am currently looking for a job. Spending a week redoing my site right now is not an option timewise.

If I could hand over my site to a friend to upgrade, I would, at least it would get done!

(Not trying to be overly offensive. I just got rejected for a job I only interviewed for yesterday, and this is after a month of looking for work. My focus right now is finding income, and my site is way below my priorities. I'm just sick of getting the email notifications for spam comments)

9 Mar 06, 2008 05:53

na3 wrote:

(Not trying to be overly offensive. I just got rejected for a job I only interviewed for yesterday, and this is after a month of looking for work. My focus right now is finding income, and my site is way below my priorities. I'm just sick of getting the email notifications for spam comments)

Hey no offense taken! And none intended on my part yah? Just sayin' that if you are happy with your blog as it is then, you know, you kinda gotta accept the downside of your blog as it is.

Just turn off trackbacks.

They'll still be sending them to you, but they won't show up and you won't get notified. Sounds like that is the bulk of your problems given your other antispam tools working for you, so whammo - no spam crap to deal with after dealing with the employment situation.

And hey good luck to you in your job search!

10 Mar 06, 2008 06:07

EdB wrote:

Hey no offense taken! And none intended on my part yah? Just sayin' that if you are happy with your blog as it is then, you know, you kinda gotta accept the downside of your blog as it is.

Just turn off trackbacks.

They'll still be sending them to you, but they won't show up and you won't get notified. Sounds like that is the bulk of your problems given your other antispam tools working for you, so whammo - no spam crap to deal with after dealing with the employment situation.

And hey good luck to you in your job search!

None taken. Sorry. I'm a bit sensitive today. 26, living at home, and unemployed for only about the tenth time in my adult life due to my particular industry (arts work)...

Anyway, yeah, I'll probably turn off trackbacks.

Thanks for the kind words - hope I do get a job soon.


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