Ssdt Site Forums

[ishy]

I see the SSDT web site forums are offline, looks like the are under attack from spam bots.

Our club site was hit by the spam bots, made it very hard to allow members to post without all the posts for Russian porn etc.

We don

[big john]

I'm not sure what a spam bot is?

Not good news then!

Big John

[ishy]

Hi John, if you look at the new users on the SSDT site you will see they are signed up with no proper names just random letters, automated computers serch for sites they can sign up for and then post spam to that site.

We changed our site so that you had to be verified before you could post, and there were hundreds of the random letter names without proper email addresses, it was a right pain to try and sort them all out each day, I give up in the end.

[atomant]

Installing a decent CAPTCHA for new members is the way to go. A CAPTCHA is where you get a picture of letters and have to type them in.

Some companies are employing people to get round the captcha. we have seen them on TC sometimes. Nothing you can do about that unless you vet everyone personally before letting them have access to post

For your benefit BJ, SpamBots are little computer programs or scripts that run on a webserver finding forums on the internet, then automatically joining them with random names, then posting spam.

Edited November 18, 2009 by AtomAnt

[big john]

For your benefit BJ, SpamBots are little computer programs or scripts that run on a webserver finding forums on the internet, then automatically joining them with random names, then posting spam.

Thanks, didn't know that!

Big John

[pa.]

I use this site http://www.stopforumspam.com/ to check new members on Trials Australia. If their IP address or email domain is a listed there I ban that IP or email domain. I have also used the file of IP address that you can download from there to stop them from registering. There also Mods available from there to integrate into a forum software.

[pa.]

The header of the SSDT site is a little old.

[bigfoot]

I think there may be some news about the site for 2010 anyway. Not that I have anything solid just a passing comment I heard a while back about the plans for next years events. I'm sure HL will appear soon and update everyone if its not all secret.

[highland lassie]

Now this is spooky - I have just signed in to start a new thread about the SSDT site and found this!

Here's the script. The SSDT site, as we all know, is not the easiest to navigate - it's designed as a bulletin board style site for getting information across, but with so much data in one place it ends up being a bit of a shambles. As most of you will be aware, the SSDT is run by a small (but fab!) team of volunteers, and we do pretty much everything ourselves. Unfortunately web design is not something that any of us have particularly strong skills in, and as we generally don't have spare cash to throw around, we've had to make do as far as we can. Until recent weeks the site didn't give us any problems, but around three months ago we started getting inundated with spam postings. The settings of the forum were set to ensure that all new users had to be individually authorised by me, but that didn't work and the spammers got past it. Hud (who designed the site for us) even did a forum upgrade but to no avail, the messages still came through and I eventually took the forums offline around eight weeks ago.

Those of you that look at the site every so often will be pleased to hear that we've now made the break and are in the process of setting up an entirely new website, with the basis of it being to provide news and information relevant to riders, officials, spectators and simply fans alike. The existing site will be taken down in the next few days and a holding page will be in place until such time as the new site goes live - that's planned to be some time during the week commencing 14th December, but don't quote me on that....that's a busy week in SSDT world with the entries closing on the Friday!

The new site will not have a forum, at least initially. The forums are rarely used throughout the year, albeit for the odd question here and there, and sites like TC already provide SSDT discussion forums that I keep tabs on anyway. During the trial week I normally use the forums to keep folk updated throughout the day - for 2010 the new site will feature a blog that will be continually updated with the usual daily updates, so that won't suffer. During trial week, and occasionally during the year, there is the need to have discussion areas and so for those of you that like your online chats, we've set up a Facebook page and a Twitter account from which regular small updates will be given. They'll tell you when there are any updates of interest to the new site as well as giving you the opportunity to blether to us and meet other like-minded SSDT folk. You can find us on Facebook by searching for 'ssdtoffice@btinternet.com' and you can find us on Twitter under 'SSDTOffice'. That's the wonders of modern technology...now I just need to remember to update them both!

Anything more you want to know, just shout!

[Andy]

This is the big problem with Forums or any website component. If there is a chance to peddle their wares then the spammers will seek any hole they can to take advantage of it. You can't just install something then assume all will be fine. You have to be constantly on your toes to be ahead of them - particularly with free software solutions. I can't criticise the SSDT folks over this though - they've enough to worry about without thinking about their website and I know Hud is an unpaid volunteer who's given them a lot of help over the years

In terms of TC, it's a bit different due to being much bigger and a year-round site. I pay annual fees for support/upgrades on several components of the site (TC Supporters - that's where quite a lot of your money goes - ongoing maintenance). Because of that, I'm notified of any "holes" that are identified and apply fixes as quickly as possible. I also subscribe to security bulletins that tell me daily of any other possible vulnerabilities and have put additional challenge/response measures in place to prevent spam by new registrations. I'm notified by email of EVERY new registration. I've learned the usernames, IP Addresses and email addresses they use and generally kill them before you lot even know they've registered :; Yes, you'll see the odd spammer get through as we can never stop them totally, but it's not en masse and is quickly nipped in the bud.

If Clubs want to have their own dedicated forums then they need to think ahead and perhaps get donations from Members to buy a paid-for solution that has ongoing support and upgrades for security holes. Alternately, I could supply a dedicated forum for any Club where you don't have to worry about security or spammers. Your own Forum(s), your own moderators...it's possible.

[dab-man]

Bit off topic but hows the entry count going this year HL compared to previous years?

[highland lassie]

Bit off topic but hows the entry count going this year HL compared to previous years?

It's pretty slow, but then it always is for the first few weeks - the last count was a week ago and we were just over the half way mark then. The last two weeks is when everyone panics and sends their forms in, and the bulk entries come in then too so we won't know what numbers we've got until nearer the time. However I do know of quite a few guys who just can't manage it this year with the jobs situation being the way it is, so I reckon there will be quite a few in the same boat....

[highland lassie]

That's the SSDT site offline now. You can still download your entry form from the holding page, and any other questions can be sent to the SSDT Office. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and the new site should be back up and running in mid-December, just before the entries close. Fingers crossed for a spam-free future!