Spamming via reported posts in 2.0.1

Started by usernamenumber, May 14, 2012, 11:30:19 AM

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usernamenumber

Hi, I am receiving more and more "reported post" emails where the post is legit, but the message by the reporter includes a bunch of spammy links.

I did some searching on this forum and found someone else having this problem, but all the responses just said "upgrade to 2.0.1 and it will go away". Well, I'm running 2.0.1, so...

This is confusing on several levels. Can anyone answer:

  • How is this helping the spammer? The reports aren't public/crawlable... are they?
  • How can I stop this? I think I once saw a setting to prevent guests from reporting posts, but now I can't find it.

Thanks to anyone who can help!
~ Second Shift Podcast [nofollow] ~ The original fantasy podcast with a +5 bonus vs boring commutes!

Storman™

QuoteHow can I stop this? I think I once saw a setting to prevent guests from reporting posts, but now I can't find it.

Admin --> Members --> Permissions --> General Permissions

Click on "Modify" for Guests and once in there untick "Report posts to the moderators" (it's near the bottom on the left).

MrPhil

They're just emails (and PMs?), neither of which are public. Whoever is spamming you is not getting a very good return on their investment.  If it's a registered member, ban them. If it's really a guest (and not someone registering/reporting/unregistering), you must have enabled guest reporting, and need to turn it off (per @Storman's instructions). You probably have it enabled (it's unchecked by default in 2.0.2; I don't know about earlier versions) and a spambot is just following visible links until it finds a form it can spam.

usernamenumber

Huh, this is weird. As far as I can tell, the reports are coming from guests, but that permission for guests is indeed off. Could this be a bug? Screenshots attached.
~ Second Shift Podcast [nofollow] ~ The original fantasy podcast with a +5 bonus vs boring commutes!

Storman™

I'd upgrade to 2.0.2 if I were you, and maybe install a mod like Bad Behaviour to keep those bots out.

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