Spam assassins at work

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:57 am

I just found this in a locked thread. Almost spilled my tea. Thought it deserved to be preserved for future generations:

[Thanks for spamming us - I'll delete you in a couple of minutes]
Your friendly moderator

I love you, guys!

Commander Learner · Post by **Commander Learner** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:48 pm

Geez, why would anyone spam a game forum??Emails?

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:43 am

Errmmm..., let me guess..., because the bot neither cares nor even knows what kind of forum it is invading?!?

Post by **Disembodied** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 1:52 pm

I don't think they're bots ... if it was possible for software to get past ReCaptcha then we'd see spammers popping up in the sorts of numbers we saw before ReCaptcha was added. I think these are low-wage human beings manually setting up accounts. Once the profile is manually set up, though, presumably it could then be handed over to a bot to run, so there's every reason to chop 'em quick when they turn up.

Edit: although of course, the manual workers setting these things up don't care what sort of forum it is, either. Still, at least we can assume they're having a miserable time while they're doing it.

Diziet Sma · Post by **Diziet Sma** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 2:01 pm

I've read somewhere recently that there are now websites that get people to solve ReCaptcha images as part of a game or "testing" program, or under some other inducement, whereby the people concerned are unaware that in reality, they are solving them on behalf of bots that submit them to the website in realtime, to get a human to help with the one thing they can't cope with...

So it may be that some bots CAN get past ReCaptcha...

Cmdr Wyvern · Post by **Cmdr Wyvern** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:49 pm

For a long while, the spam assassins had nothing to do; the antispam defenses were too good. Although I remember predicting that eventually the spammers would find a way past the recapta, which they did. Where they found spam assassins with itchy trigger fingers and ready weapons awaiting them.

So much for retirement. The clock tower is back in business.

Captain Hesperus · Post by **Captain Hesperus** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:52 pm

Cmdr Wyvern wrote:
So much for retirement. The clock tower is back in business.

"Out of dark, out of doubt, to the day's rising
I rode, singing in the sun, Light .50 unsheathing.
To hope's end I rode, and to heart's breaking,
now for wrath, now for ruin, and a red nightfall."
- Ripped raw and bleeding, then mutilated to fit, from The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien.

Captain Hesperus

CptnEcho · Post by **CptnEcho** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 7:26 pm

Captain Hesperus wrote:
Cmdr Wyvern wrote:
So much for retirement. The clock tower is back in business.
"Out of dark, out of doubt, to the day's rising
I rode, singing in the sun, Light .50 unsheathing.
To hope's end I rode, and to heart's breaking,
now for wrath, now for ruin, and a red nightfall."
- Ripped raw and bleeding, then mutilated to fit, from The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien.

Captain Hesperus

Éomer’s Song

The Battle of the Pelennor Fields

Out of doubt, out of dark to the day’s rising
I came singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
To hope’s end I rode and to heart’s breaking:
Now for wrath, now for ruin and a red nightfall!

http://www.geocities.com/licia_north/songs.html