1. Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
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  2. For prospective new members, a word of warning: don't use common names like Dennis, Simon, or Kenny if you decide to create an account. Spammers have used them all before you and gotten those names flagged in the anti-spam databases. Your account registration will be rejected because of it.
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  3. Since it has happened MULTIPLE times now, I want to be very clear about this. You do not get to abandon an account and create a new one. You do not get to pass an account to someone else and create a new one. If you do so anyway, you will be banned for creating sockpuppets.
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  4. If you wish to change your username, please ask via conversation to tehelgee instead of asking via my profile. I'd like to not clutter it up with such requests.
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  5. Due to the actions of particularly persistent spammers and trolls, we will be banning disposable email addresses from today onward.
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  6. A note about the current Ukraine situation: Discussion of it is still prohibited as per Rule 8
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  7. The rules regarding NSFW links have been updated. See here for details.
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  8. The testbed for the QQ XF2 transition is now publicly available. Please see more information here.
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Mail delivery issues Usernames Rule 4 Clarification Username Change Requests Disposable Email Addresses Ukraine Rule update XF2 testbed available

Spambots

Discussion in 'Announcements and Rules' started by Nekraa, Aug 12, 2019.

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  1. Nekraa

    Nekraa Nekraa Moderator

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    There is currently a growing number of spambots sending spam PMs to people.

    Don't click on the link. Report the spam PM.

    Unfortunately I don't have the tools to easily deal with this. Their numbers are growing faster than I can ban them.
     
    Nekraa, Aug 12, 2019
    #1
    Ddmkm122, Teln, Sol Mark-1 and 28 others like this.
  2. Avther

    Avther A Guy Who has no idea what he has gotten into

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    Huh, so it wasn't just me. Not to mention the name is well....too random. How bad is it?
     
    Avther, Aug 12, 2019
    #2
    Ddmkm122 likes this.
  3. DeathShade

    DeathShade Dol Amroth Comes

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    As of this moment Nekraa is the only staff member online, which means they are having to deal with this entire situation by themselves.
    If you get it, do report it. Make their life easier.
     
    DeathShade, Aug 12, 2019
    #3
    Ddmkm122, Sol Mark-1, ShadowStepper1300 and 5 others like this.
  4. 95spartans

    95spartans I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Conscript more mods?
     
    95spartans, Aug 12, 2019
    #4
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  5. zZzZzyxel

    zZzZzyxel Getting sticky.

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    You have to manually ban them? No "suspend new accounts" checkbox anywhere or something? That's seems unwise. One would think Xenforo took that into consideration when making platform.
     
    zZzZzyxel, Aug 12, 2019
    #5
    Ddmkm122 likes this.
  6. DeathShade

    DeathShade Dol Amroth Comes

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    It might be a function restricted to admins only, while Nekraa is only a Mod.
     
    DeathShade, Aug 12, 2019
    #6
    Ddmkm122, Sol Mark-1, ShadowStepper1300 and 2 others like this.
  7. Termite

    Termite Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?

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    I received an email from admin@questionablequesting.com about such a conversation but I can't find it in my profuile page. Is this because it's originator has already been banned?
     
    Termite, Aug 12, 2019
    #7
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  8. Avther

    Avther A Guy Who has no idea what he has gotten into

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    I see, well I wish Nerkaa good luck then...

    Forgot to ask one last thing: Is a user safe if they click the link by mistake but didn't register?

    It's possible, the link and the conversation has already been deleted on my side.
     
    Avther, Aug 12, 2019
    #8
    Ddmkm122 likes this.
  9. Toskin

    Toskin Bookworm Extraordinaire

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    Bot and his conversation with me were kicked out. Kudos to Nekraa for speedy job. I imagine it must be a massive shitshow right now.
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2019
    Toskin, Aug 12, 2019
    #9
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  10. Nekraa

    Nekraa Nekraa Moderator

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    I haven't checked the link myself. But if (general) you clicked it, I'd advice a virus search. And maybe cleaning browser cookies or something.
     
    Nekraa, Aug 12, 2019
    #10
    Ddmkm122, Teln, Sol Mark-1 and 4 others like this.
  11. Megaolix

    Megaolix Moderator

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    This is not what I wanted to wake up to this morning...
     
    Megaolix, Aug 12, 2019
    #11
    Ddmkm122, marsolino, Teln and 15 others like this.
  12. Kerfirou

    Kerfirou Cultivating Dantian inside a Star

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    Gives a big hug to Megaolix

    yeah, me got the spam too. My first thought is that someone here finally cracked, then I looked at the user join date : Today.

    I reported the user. I forgot to report the spam PM before leaving the conversation.
     
    Kerfirou, Aug 12, 2019
    #12
    Ddmkm122 and Sol Mark-1 like this.
  13. Cimbri

    Cimbri Versed in the lewd.

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    Got the spam to but they got banned so all is well that ends well yeah?
    Hope you manage to get to the root of this but I have no idea how myself since I presume IP banning doesn't work and going through and approving every new member yourself is unfeasible...
     
    Cimbri, Aug 12, 2019
    #13
    Ddmkm122 and Sol Mark-1 like this.
  14. daimahou

    daimahou Gentleman Tentacle(s)

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    I presume new accounts will get a new restriction to start a PM.
     
    daimahou, Aug 12, 2019
    #14
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  15. ultima333

    ultima333 Happy Sunflower Time Administrator

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    We've gone through the new accounts now - seems there were "only" a couple hundred or so new accounts.

    Yes, unfortunately. alethiophile has removed PM permissions from unconfirmed members (that is, users with 0 approved posts)
    So it's another thing new users can't do until they've made any post which a mod then OK's. (They can thereafter have all the regular permissions and not need posts approved.)
     
    ultima333, Aug 12, 2019
    #15
    Random Omnipotent Being, Ddmkm122, ward201 and 8 others like this.
  16. ThatStubbornBastard

    ThatStubbornBastard Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?

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    Well, happy to see I was right to hit report at least
     
    ThatStubbornBastard, Aug 12, 2019
    #16
    Ddmkm122 likes this.
  17. AztecCroc

    AztecCroc Not too sore, are you?

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    A couple hundred spambots?
     
    AztecCroc, Aug 12, 2019
    #17
    Prince Chrom, Ddmkm122, Sol Mark-1 and 1 other person like this.
  18. magic9mushroom

    magic9mushroom BEST END.

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    One spambot with a couple of hundred QQ accounts.
     
    magic9mushroom, Aug 12, 2019
    #18
    Ddmkm122 likes this.
  19. jpfmh

    jpfmh Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?

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    That's a lot of spam
     
    jpfmh, Aug 12, 2019
    #19
    Prince Chrom and Ddmkm122 like this.
  20. Solaerys

    Solaerys Not too sore, are you?

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    I was wondering about it. Got an email about the QQ notification, but nothkng in my convo log to report ot block. Good to see it was already deal with.
     
    Solaerys, Aug 12, 2019
    #20
    Ddmkm122 likes this.
  21. Darkarma

    Darkarma Loli Ōtsutsuki

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    Its been a while since I joined QQ. No captcha protection or did someone crack it? I know I have a hard enough times with those things legitimately.
     
    Darkarma, Aug 12, 2019
    #21
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  22. Megaolix

    Megaolix Moderator

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    When I first woke up and saw reports in the 500s, I wondered if someone went insane reporting or if a war broke out in a thread first.
     
    Megaolix, Aug 12, 2019
    #22
    DeclanDSI, Random Omnipotent Being, Ddmkm122 and 17 others like this.
  23. Khona Moshr

    Khona Moshr I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Ok Looking at the email I got, boy did the usernames choosen completely sucked and they are far worse then most Gold seller bots I've seen.
     
    Khona Moshr, Aug 12, 2019
    #23
    Ddmkm122, Sol Mark-1, Silver W. King and 1 other person like this.
  24. asdx

    asdx Mouth Pussy

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    Self Replicating Spambots.
     
    asdx, Aug 16, 2019
    #24
    Ddmkm122 likes this.
  25. evildice

    evildice (emotionally stable clown posse)

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    What sorts of tools would help?
     
    evildice, Aug 17, 2019
    #25
    Ddmkm122 likes this.
  26. asdx

    asdx Mouth Pussy

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    The ability to ban IP's. So they can stab it in the source, instead of one by one, as the bots come marching in. And also a button that lets you punch people over the internet.
     
    asdx, Aug 18, 2019
    #26
    Ddmkm122 likes this.
  27. evildice

    evildice (emotionally stable clown posse)

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    VPNs, dynamic IPs, and Botnets often make IP bans worthless.
     
    evildice, Aug 18, 2019
    #27
    Ddmkm122 likes this.
  28. chrnno

    chrnno Time Traveller

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    While true the people doing this are generally going for the lowest effort possible so even easily dealt with barriers can get them to move on to easier prey, plenty of those around after all.
     
    chrnno, Aug 18, 2019
    #28
    Ddmkm122, dotted_line, 1986ctcel and 1 other person like this.
  29. asdx

    asdx Mouth Pussy

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    Yeah but it helps with Half-assed bot swarms like this, does it not?
     
    asdx, Aug 18, 2019
    #29
    Ddmkm122, Sol Mark-1, Colafusion and 1 other person like this.