forum abuse

[forumman]

Hi! Recently I have lots of messages with irrelevant content. I think I have the highest possible degree of protection when members register, incl. Recaptcha. Any ideas how to fight the irrelevant messages, except their deletion?

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

Restrict posting to registered users only. Turn captcha to high. Utilize some of the mods available like Anti-Spam Verification Questions for SMF 1.1.7 and httpBL - These will help alot.

[Illori]

it is known that several captcha's have been broken by bots i believe that includes recaptcha. you can verify this by a simple google.

[forumman]

Thanks to Aleksi !
I am sorry but I don't understand what Illori means by "you can verify this by a simple google."

In the forum only registered persons are able to post, I installed httpBL, but it needs enabling by more actions... Anti-spam is not compatible with the version of SMF I use...
We shall see what will be the actual effect... The topic still under consideration

[forumman]

Hello All,


As I meet difficulties with fighting the "spam" - advertisement and even porn - any ideas how to prevent such postings? Thanks!

[Illori]

did you check the mods Lex linked to above?

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

In the forum only registered persons are able to post, I installed httpBL, but it needs enabling by more actions... Anti-spam is not compatible with the version of SMF I use...

HttpBL is easy to setup, but you are right - it requires you to join Project Honeypot.

What version of SMF are you using? I just tested the Anti-Spam Verification Questions package, and it seemed to install fine on 1.1.14

[forumman]

HI and thanks for reply!

For anti-spam Mod I got the following after "applying":

"Error in Package Installation
At least one error was encountered during a test installation of this package. It is strongly recommended that you do not continue with installation unless you know what you are doing, and have made a backup very recently. This error may be caused by a conflict between the package you're trying to install and another package you have already installed, an error in the package, a package which requires another package that you don't have installed yet, or a package designed for another version of SMF."

At this moment I don't want to install the other mod, even though I have an account at Honeypot.

/I use SMF 1.1.14/

Any suggestions about this case? Thank you again!

[Illori]

Manual Installation of Mods

[forumman]

I know the manual install - but it requires a number of steps. Something more convenient?

[Illori]

install the mod, find what file has failed, and do the manual install on that file alone

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

Take note of all errors on install, install regardless of them - and only manually do the failed parts.
But BACKUP first.

[forumman]

I prefer to do automatic installs - but let me note what is written about the mod: "Compatibility: SMF 1.1.7"

[Illori]

yes but it works just fine on 1.1.14. if you have other mods installed sometimes there are conflicts which can cause issues. it is your choice if you want to use that mod or not, we cant push you.

[forumman]

Hi! I made the manual edits of the problematic file and uploaded the PHP file where it should be- but the same error message

[Illori]

that is because they have been done already and the parser can not find them, just install the mod given you have a backup and all should be fine.

[forumman]

You mean to apply the mod, regardless to the error warning , taking in mind that manual edits were already performed?

[Illori]

yes

[forumman]

Do you think it is necessary to make back-up of the whole forum, not only of the PHP edited file?

[Illori]

best to have a full backup just in case, you never know.