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Newbie - 75 Forum members with odd names and same IP?

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larry_l:
Hello Folks:

   I just created a new site, and today and yesterday I've gone from a membership of 4, myself and some friends, to 75 and adding as I type this post. 

   I also had to remove my first spam. 

   I've done nothing to publicize this site. 

   The attachment contains the "Manage Members" "View All Members" first page.  I'm up to 3 pages as I type this. 

   As you can see, these users seem to be sharing a small number of IP addresses. 

   Right now there are 6 Guests and 11 users. 

   None of these users seem to be posting anything. 

   What's happening? 

   I've just deleted all of these members. 

   Is there a method to ban any members from IP 188.143.232.0 to 188.143.232.255?

      Thanks
      Larry

Shambles:
You might want to tighten up your registration page. My script registered a username with the minimum required 4 character password and bypassed your simple captcha in one hit. Consider an antispam mod (plenty in the mods section to choose from) and turn on the question/answer security control.

If that range of IP addresses still bugs you after that, ban it at the server (cPanel if you have access) using CIDR IP denomination 188.143.232.0/24 or 188.143.0.0/16

MovedGoalPosts:
As Shambles says, your site has been identified by spam bots.  They'll have you in their list and will have automated registrations to your site.

Catchpa's are now frequently cracked by bots that can often read or bypass the things easier than legitimate humans.  I've turned them off completely on my site and instead favour a random choice of say 2 verification questions out of say 10.  If you choose something that is appropriate to your site , but again not too taxing, then individuals will be able to cope with it.  Look in admin > configuration > security and moderation > anti spam

But many mods are also useful in blocking unwanted traffic, especially bots.  I particularly like bad behaviour.

mrintech:
Try using Key Captcha: http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=2839 :)

Also, you may wanna first Approve New Posts/Threads created by Newly registered forum members before they go LIVE. Use Post Moderation Feature under Administration Center » Permissions » Post Moderation

Make sure you enable Post Moderation from Core Features section first :)

larry_l:
Thanks Folks:

   I did find an IP address filter in SMF's ban page.  I've now added the filter and removed the users.  There are now 256 IP addresses in the world who can't use my forum. 

   I've never heard the term "Captcha" before.  What does it mean, "Capture"?

   I'm trying to sell a product.  I was hoping to allow anybody to post a question or comment without requiring registration.  If you wondered into a store just to look around, would you rather see a welcoming smile from the employees, or be interrogated like a potential criminal? 

   I guess that's a fantasy. 

   What were these members trying to accomplish?  There was only one spam post.  I stepped on it and removed the user before I noted the IP address.  So it might have been someone different than the originator of what are now a total of about 200 members. 

   Is there some way spam emails can be generated from members using my host's IP address?  Hosting services are sensitive about that as they don't want their IP addresses banned. 

      Thanks
      Larry

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