Is this forum closed to new members?

[Gumbeaux]

We usually have a lot of visitors joining this forum as members every day. I've noticed that member CookingToShare has been welcomed as our newest member for several days now. To see what is going on, I logged out and went to sign up page for visitors wanting to join this forum. Before I was able to key in any information the box below appeared. Does anyone know what's going on? :confused:


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/bayoutitan/registration.jpg

[Robyn1007]

Hmmm, I wonder if they are trying to curb the spam registrations and putting a halt to all registrations until they figure out a way? It might be a helpful way to avoid the weekend spammers to halt registration over the weekend but there should be some sort of note to that effect I think.

[Terri_A]

That's interesting. I wonder if it's just a glitch that hasn't been found or yet addressed?

[sneezles]

I think that Robyn's assessment may be the correct one...we have seen Dumwhatever on numerous occasions...maybe with a slight twist in the name but the linguistics are always the same...humorous to most though insulting to others...and not to be denied the hthd that questioned all of our own antics! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: There seems to be no room for any antics these days! :(

[ErinM]

Well, dang, I guess we'll just have to start creating our own antics!

[sneezles]

Back to say that it's sad that our own antics have now been curtailed...it(members antics) has really been one of the strong points of being a member here. Unlike some other boards, we've been allowed to self-moderate and imho we've done a fairly good job of it. Granted not everyone has seen eye-to-eye but let's have a reality check here! Most of us will never meet IRL (though those that have met, have really given validity to our "community"). If we, as a community, have to be policed by Big Brother (or Big Sister...aka JenniferCL...love ya, btw, :p ) then what is the point of this forum?

I can't ***** my pie crust? Though I can dock my pie crust? How many home cooks actually own, let alone know what a docker is????? Shall we review all the recipes for pies that call for pr!cking the crusts??? :rolleyes:

I love this place and I love the conversations, the knowledge I have aquired, the camaraderie...I appreciate every member even if I don't agree with them. I hope that JenniferCL will find a way to at least control the spam yet let us have the freeedom that we have enjoyed the past 6 years...

[ClaraB]

I don't think this is any effort to censor or "curtail members antics" so much as it is to eliminate spam. I can't imagine it being a permanent measure - maybe it's just until they figure out how to stop the spamming?

[Gumbeaux]

........maybe it's just until they figure out how to stop the spamming?

The best way to eliminate spam would for the administrator to use the New Member Moderation function. As it stands now, the door is wide open for spammers to let themselves in.

[sneezles]

The best way to eliminate spam would for the administrator to use the New Member Moderation function. As it stands now, the door is wide open for spammers to let themselves in.

Looking for a new postion around here?

[Gumbeaux]

Looking for a new postion around here?

Oh, no. I have enough on my plate now.

[jjsooner73]

Another vBulletin board I post at hasl suspended registrations, though if you email the moderator and provide info, he'll let you in.
Spammers have found a way around the security feature and he is currently working on a work around.
I would assume that is the same case here.

[annagins]

Apparently, there's a huge increase of SPAM across the Internet. Here's an interesting article. Whatever SPAM is coming up on the board is just a tiny fraction of what's being filtered out.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.messagelabs.com/Threat_Watch

Increased spam levels connected with aggressive botnet activities
Posted on 07 November 2006.

MessageLabs announced the results of its MessageLabs Intelligence Report for October 2006. In this report, MessageLabs highlights the sudden increase in spam levels as spammers gear up to the holiday season, attributed to a huge rise in recent botnet activities and the latest outbreak of the Warezov virus, responsible for dropping an aggressive spam Trojan.

A spam-sending Trojan dubbed "SpamThru" is responsible for a vast amount of the recent botnet activity which has significantly increased spam levels to almost three out of every four emails. The developers of SpamThru exploited numerous tactics to eliminate detection and enhance outreach such as releasing new strains of the Trojan at regular intervals in order to confuse traditional anti-virus signatures detection. Furthermore, SpamThru employed the "spam cannon" technique and by utilizing a template for each spam it sent out and combining it with a list of email addresses, each zombie was able to pump out millions of spam emails and avoid detection.

The other contributing factor to the increase this month was the Trojan dropper called Warezov, one of the most aggressive Trojans seen this year. The initial strain of Warezov was seen on 14 August, however the most aggressive and virulent batch of variants appeared at midnight on 26 October. MessageLabs seized over 900,000 copies of the virus in the first 24 hours, when tens of thousands of copies of each variant were released in numerous batches. With each batch being different from the previous one, even a few bytes changed in the code allowed the Trojan to pass undetected though traditional anti-virus protection.

Being a dropper it is uncertain as to what the Trojan is being used for, however it seems clear that there is a connection with the huge rise in spam levels around the world. Whether Warezov is connected to the SpamThru Trojan remains to be seen and analysis continues."

In recent months, the focus has predominately been on targeted virus attacks and spam has hardly received any attention, however with the arrival of SpamThru and Warezov it looks as though the bad guys have been honing their skills and are now back in full force with new techniques to dupe traditional protection resources," said Mark Sunner, CTO, MessageLabs. "As seen in previous years, we expect spam levels to continue to rise during the coming weeks and months as the spammers intensify their efforts around the holiday season."

Other report highlights

Spam: In October, the global ratio of spam in email traffic from new and unknown bad sources was 72.9 percent (1 in 1.37 emails), an increase of 8.5 percent on the previous month. This is the sharpest rise in spam levels since January 2006, when an increase of 9.2 percent was experienced.

Viruses: The global ratio of viruses in email traffic from new and previously unknown bad sources destined for valid recipients was 1 in 100.3 emails (1.0 percent) in October, a decrease of 0.12 percent since last month. Despite these lower numbers, October witnessed the alarming attack from the Warezov Trojan, resulting in a continuous burst of new variants unable to be detected by traditional means. The net effect from Warezov was an explosion in the number of spam-sending zombies on the Internet, further aggravating an already acute spam problem.

Phishing: October showed a slight decrease of 0.06 percent in the proportion of phishing attacks compared with the previous month. One in 190 (0.53 percent) emails comprised some form of phishing attack. When judged as a proportion of all email-borne threats, the number of phishing emails has stabilized after a significant increase of 30.7 percent in September. 52.9 percent of all malicious emails intercepted by MessageLabs in October were phishing attacks, an increase of 0.5 percent on the previous month. Phishing attacks continue to be targeted mostly at banks that have not yet deployed any two-factor authentication security measures.

Geographic Trends

* Israel was the top target for spam in October, with an increase of 9.1 percent, while the US has overtaken Ireland to take second position with a rise of 11.5 percent.

* The largest rise in spam was in India where spam levels increased by a massive 20.5 percent to 49.3 percent. The country also remains the hardest hit country in terms of virus activity, with 1 in 16 of all inbound email traffic being affected.

* Virus activity in the US fell by 0.26 percent to 0.73 percent (1 in 135.7) of emails, pushing it to the bottom of the list in October, closely followed by the Netherlands with 1 in 134 of emails.

* Australia, previously at the bottom of the list, saw the biggest increase in viruses to rank 12th in October, increasing by 0.4 percent to 1.2 percent (1 in 84.1) of email traffic.

Vertical/Industry Trends

* Education, Manufacturing and Telecoms remain in the top 5 vertical listings for spam attacks, all achieving 10.0 percent or higher increases this month.

* IT Services spam levels rose the most with a 18.2 percent increase, taking it to third position.

* Virus traffic destined for Business Support Services fell by 2.8 percent to 3.3 percent (1 in 30.3) of emails, the most significant decrease of all sectors but it still retains its position as the most attacked sector.

The October 2006 MessageLabs Intelligence Report provides greater detail on all of the trends and figures noted above, as well as more detailed geographical and vertical trends. The full report is available at .

[SusanMac]

The system might also know that your IP address is already registered on the site.

[sarah2397]

I've noticed recently that to register to many sites you have to type in a funny looking encoded word. I heard that this step is implemented to stop spam bots that are not capable of reading and entering the word. Only individuals reading the word from their computer screen will be able to view and enter the word. Maybe CL registration needs to include that??

[tennismate]

I applaud whatever it takes to get rid of the spammers!

[Gumbeaux]

The system might also know that your IP address is already registered on the site.

I had thought about that but our newest member, CookingToShare, joined four days ago. Nobody has joined since then which leads me to believe that new membership is blocked.

[Wendy w]

Well, dang, I guess we'll just have to start creating our own antics!

Haven't we always?? :p ;)

[Gumbeaux]

It's nice having spammers kept at bay. :D

[bobmark226]

It's nice having spammers kept at bay. :D

Ditto the "Hi! I'm new here!" posts! :)

Bob

[ErinM]

It's nice having spammers kept at bay. :D


But the spammers are so. much. fun. to make fun of! The language they use is unreal!

[badunnin]

I applaud whatever it takes to get rid of the spammers!

Included closing the community? Not I.

[Robyn1007]

I applaud whatever it takes to get rid of the spammers!

I find that interesting since had this happened a month or so ago you wouldn't have been able to register.

[PAMMELA]

I find that interesting since had this happened a month or so ago you wouldn't have been able to register.


:confused: Tennismate is not a spammer, just happens to be a "new" member.

[badunnin]

:confused: Tennismate is not a spammer, just happens to be a "new" member.

Right, but if keeping out spammers means closing registration, we all theoretically could have been turned away. Had this incident come a month ago, tennismate could have been turned away....

[PAMMELA]

Right, but if keeping out spammers means closing registration, we all theoretically could have been turned away. Had this incident come a month ago, tennismate could have been turned away....


ahhhhhh.....ok I see. Lightbulb. We do not know for sure yet what is going on though, right?

[Robyn1007]

Bethany knew exactly what I meant. I didn't mean to imply that tennismate is a spammer.

[CLModerator]

Hey-
We're upgrading the registration process to include the encoded word registration, so hopefully that will eliminate some spam. Registration was closed for that purpose, but turns out we're going to implement post-holidays. I'll reopen registration tomorrow.
Jennifer

[Gumbeaux]

Hey-
We're upgrading the registration process to include the encoded word registration, so hopefully that will eliminate some spam. Registration was closed for that purpose, but turns out we're going to implement post-holidays. I'll reopen registration tomorrow.
Jennifer


Thanks for the info!

[Robyn1007]

Jennifer, thanks for the update!

[tamawrite]

Thanks Jennifer. We appreciate you! :)

[Gumbeaux]

The party's over and the spammers are back. Please join me in giving a big unwelcome to our newest member, travelnews154 (http://community.cookinglight.com/member.php?u=25523) .

[ErinM]

Now Gumbeaux, he/she hasn't posted anything yet. He/she may be one of those "Hi, I'm New Here!" posters. Time will tell... ;)

[Gumbeaux]

Now Gumbeaux, he/she hasn't posted anything yet.

Call me the CL skeptic, but when I see that a person has joined every forum known to man, I have my doubts about her/him being a legit member. :rolleyes:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/bayoutitan/travelnews154.jpg

[ErinM]

Hmmm. Good point. But, if the person never posts anything, does it matter?

[Gumbeaux]

Hmmm. Good point. But, if the person never posts anything, does it matter?

Yep, because he is still there phishing for all kind of information that he shouldn't have access to.

[ErinM]

How? I mean, if you look at the members list, we have tons of individuals who sign up and never post. Is it just because this person is on every message board known to mankind that makes them a 'serial spammer' or whatever they're called?

I thought with phishing you had to receive and email or something and then click on a link. If nobody ever clicks on the link, no harm done, right?

[Gumbeaux]

I thought with phishing you had to receive and email or something and then click on a link. If nobody ever clicks on the link, no harm done, right?


Spammers have found ways to hack some vBuletin forums. I have seen it several times. If they get inside they could get access to the email addresses that people use to register for membership. This is the reason it is a good idea to use a Yahoo!, or some other free email service,to register.

[Escher]

Ditto the "Hi! I'm new here!" posts! :)

Bob


You're on to something, there....

[bobmark226]

....and then there are the other type of Spammers, example of which I believe arrived here just this morning, who post a dozen responses to posts saying absolutely nothing, but have a link to share....

IMO, this kind of littering is worse and far more annoying than the one-shot XXX, or whatever, SPAM posts.

Bob

[SusanMac]

Thx Jennifer for jumping in quickly to clarify things. It seemed a lot of people were jumping to conclusions before we really knew anything at all.

[lindrusso]

....and then there are the other type of Spammers, example of which I believe arrived here just this morning, who post a dozen responses to posts saying absolutely nothing, but have a link to share....

Speaking of which, whatever happened to whats-his-name who was going to be a new daddy and who wasn't really just here to promote his new cooking site??? :rolleyes:

[bobmark226]

Speaking of which, whatever happened to whats-his-name who was going to be a new daddy and who wasn't really just here to promote his new cooking site??? :rolleyes:

That would be Rex. I believe a number of posters here (who shall remain nameless :) ) went over there and gave them a dose of their own medicine, at which point I assume he thought better of it.

Bob

[Robyn1007]

Speaking of which, whatever happened to whats-his-name who was going to be a new daddy and who wasn't really just here to promote his new cooking site??? :rolleyes:

Hehe, I forgot about him! I was wondering about our new member myself. I did google the site she advertises and they basically write papers for a fee. Um, yeah, stand up business there. :rolleyes:

[PAMMELA]

....and then there are the other type of Spammers, example of which I believe arrived here just this morning, who post a dozen responses to posts saying absolutely nothing, but have a link to share....

IMO, this kind of littering is worse and far more annoying than the one-shot XXX, or whatever, SPAM posts.

Bob


I know exactly who you're talking about. Posts like, "I don't know anything about X, but good luck!" :rolleyes:

[mom2garret]

Speaking of which, whatever happened to whats-his-name who was going to be a new daddy and who wasn't really just here to promote his new cooking site??? :rolleyes:

Gotta love:

Paper or Plastic?
Canned or Fresh?

Bob is dead on about Rex getting a taste of his own medicine. After looking at his other site, it was obvious that he was asking a bunch of questions just to rack up his posts :rolleyes: