Robot posts

[jgbackes]

Can one of the moderators please disable the robot accounts that have been appearing. I worry that at some point they are going to inject a cross-site scripting attack and someone on here will compromise their own computer.

[KSagal]

I agree. It is a concern that I have had as well.

[Tritium]

Don't think that'll be happening any time soon.
Maybe they haven't seen them or just don't care.
All I know is, JohnG last logged in yesterday.

[KSagal]

Originally Posted by Tritium

Don't think that'll be happening any time soon.

Based on what? Robots who get thru the filters have gotten thru the filters. How can anyone be SURE of what they carry with them?

[Tritium]

Originally Posted by KSagal

Based on what? Robots who get thru the filters have gotten thru the filters. How can anyone be SURE of what they carry with them?

I edited to clarify, I meant deletion.
Of course it is always possible for the bots to do that.

[KSagal]

I am glad you clarified. Your current posting is very different than the original by my reading of it...

I believe that John G. does care, and he and whomever else runs this site has done a good job on the robots and other spam over the years.

Some breaches are much harder than others to filter out, and it all takes time. I do not suspect it is unreasonable to feel it will be corrected soon, as they do not usually even take this long to make the correction. Given their past record, I feel it is likely to be sooner rather than later.

I am sorry you feel as you stated you feel. I am much more optimistic.

[eJM]

Originally Posted by jgbackes

I worry that at some point they are going to inject a cross-site scripting attack and someone on here will compromise their own computer.

That would be quite unusual for a spammer like we've seen recently to do. I've never seen it happen like that with this forum software.

I can't be sure, but I think there may be a bad-word filter set up to block all links, which is why we haven't seen any links in those spam posts. The spammers will just have to be satisfied with the huge amount of keywords and phrases, or maybe have a link in their profile.

Even though the version of the forum software used here isn't the latest version in the series, it's probably still patched and secure. This software is about the safest you can get in forum software.

But the worry is still there that a spammer or generally bad guy will post a link to a site that hosts malware, spyware, etc. It's one reason I never follow those shortened URLs (bit.ly and the like). If I can't see the actual destination, either in the link appearing on the page, or in the status bar at the bottom of most browsers when you hover over a link, I ain't clickin' it. I guess it also depends on who posts the link too. But it's not just a matter of trusting that person, but trusting the person who may have sent them the link.

I use the same forum software on my flooring forum. There are a number of different ways the webmaster can protect their members and visitors from spam and other ne'er-do-wells. The best we can do to help our administrators and moderators is to not reply to obvious spam posts, but to use the Report Post feature instead. It's that little scales of justice icon in the bottom-left part of every post, under the user's info. Click it, type "spam" or something like that and submit it. An email goes out to the admins and moderators and they will deal with it when they can. Posting replies to it just tells the search engine crawlers that it must be a relevant discussion. That is the least of what the spammer wants, so don't give it to them.

Jim
PS: Jeff, I'm still enjoying our short visit recently - every time I think about it, which is often. I had a great time. Mighta been more fun had them bikers taken our challenge. Thank you and your beautiful fiancé for your hospitality and generosity.