So in case it's not obvious, we tend to get a lot of spambots. Because of how many of the blasted things try to register, we've got some automated systems in place to prevent spambots from even registering, but those systems occasionally block humans--please see the section on blacklisted IPs if you're one of those humans. Some spambots get through, though, and we're trying to get rid of those ones before they even post. Why do you need to know this? Because there's a risk (albeit a miniscule one, as we try to err on the side of caution with actual accounts) that you'll be mistaken for a spambot as long as your post count is zero. As such, it's in everyone's best interest (especially yours) for you to distinguish yourself from a spambot as quickly as possible.

What is a spambot?

A spambot is a computer program that creates an account for the express purpose of posting spam. The ones that show up here are usually designed to post ads for products or sites or simply boost their search engine ranking by creating as many links as possible. Clicking these links is strongly discouraged, as it is very likely that the sites they link to contain spyware, viruses, or other stuff you really don't want on your computer.

Worryingly, as of 2023, some spambots have recently gained access to human users' accounts (only three have been sighted thus far, but the risk is there). For the time being, we're only cleaning up the spam posted by the hijacked accounts and asking for the victims' consent to restrict their posting abilities until they regain total control of their accounts. If the situation gets out of hand, though, we may have to stop asking for permission.

What do we do to spambot accounts?

Ideally, our automated defenses keep them from even registering. However, on average, a few manage to get through each day. Our standard procedure for dealing with whatever spambots get past our automated defenses is to ban them, delete their posts, and then delete their accounts. The username is banned for life, any IP addresses the spambot used are also banned for life (meaning any new accounts or posts created through that IP address will be rejected), and the spambot's email address is banned for life (meaning any new account created through that email address will be rejected). After that, we delete the account and its posts--essentially, the spambot disappears from the forum like a dissenter from a dictatorship.

My current system for figuring out who among our newest users is a spambot is to inspect every new user's profile for signs of being a spambot. I classify each profile as either "guilty," "not proven," or "innocent." "Guilty" is reserved for accounts that show clear signs of being spambots, such as profile elements that are ads for something, to say nothing of blatantly spammy posts. Those are banned and deleted. "Not proven" means that the user in question has done nothing to convince me of their humanity, but also has done nothing to convince me that they're a spambot. I leave those users alone. A lot of users fall into this category since all they did was register and have neither posted nor customized their profiles. "Innocent" means that the user has sufficiently proven their humanity. Needless to say, those users are left alone, too.

What if my account has been hijacked by a spambot?

If your account is hijacked and we spot it posting spam, we will alert you. Please look into ways to cut off the bot's access on your end. We believe changing your password will suffice. If the bot continues to use your account to post spam, the account will be banned until we hear from you. Because of this possibility, though, it's crucial that your account show clear evidence of your humanity; we don't knowingly delete humans' accounts, but if nothing in the profile or prior posts points to you being human, there's a serious danger of us mistaking the account for one that was always run by a bot.

How do I prove I'm human?

Regrettably, the automatic systems already in place are insufficient to keep spambots from registering and posting, to say nothing of the occasional false positive. Below are some things you can do to help ensure you won't be "disappeared" by mistake if you've managed to register.

• Personalize your profile. Some spambots will make a signature or choose a generic avatar, list their interests, etc., but there are often telltale signs of their inhumanity in the way they do it--such as by having the name of a product or site in their custom user title. That being the case, personalizing your profile in a way that doesn't resemble spambot behavior--such as by putting an explicit reference to the Ace Attorney games in it--helps you stand out as human. Regrettably, spambots have been prone to altering the profiles of any accounts they hijack, so this isn't a guarantee.
• Don't advertise any sites in your profile. The one exception to the "personalize your profile" bit of advice is websites. Not all spambots bother with advertising sites in their profiles, but if there's a link to an obscure or dubious site in your profile, it's going to make you look suspicious.
• Post. As I pointed out in the beginning of this post, there is a risk that you'll be mistaken for a spambot as long as your post count is zero. Now, this doesn't mean you'll get banned for lurking; we respect your right to not post. That said, the content of a user's posts is pretty much decisive and incontrovertible proof of their humanity (or lack thereof), so posting is the best way to get out of the "possible spambot" category. Now that spambots have been caught hijacking accounts, any prior posts of yours double as evidence that your account was merely hijacked rather than fully a bot account.

What if I'm banned by mistake?

To my knowledge, this has only happened once and it was corrected before it was too late, so I doubt you have anything to worry about, but as with any ban, we have a system in place to address this problem. Most of us staff members have our respective email addresses and/or one or more of our respective IM addresses visible on our respective profiles, so just contact one of us through one of those media and explain your situation. Once your IP address has been removed from the banlist, you'll be able to register a new account here (sorry, but since we delete spambot accounts, restoring an old one is impossible). You can also contact the forum staff as a whole by sending an email to courtrecord@gmail.com.

I tried to register, but the site says my IP is blacklisted.

We get hundreds of attempted registrations from spambots each day. The ones I ban in my sweeps are just the few who get past our automated defenses. The blacklist is technically a bunch of different blacklists of IP addresses that have been known to be used by spambots; if your IP address is on one or more of the blacklists we use, you'll be blocked from registering. Sadly, we can't drop a blacklist without opening the door to a lot more spambots. There are ways to change your IP address, though, and you can also contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider) about the issue.

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Last edited by henke37 on Sun Jul 21, 2024 4:43 pm, edited 5 times in total.

Updated

Tis a good idea this pre-emptive banning.
Lately I've noticed many of the 'newest members' from the link at the main board page are just bots, even if they don't really post they have links and adverts in their profile and location. Will be a good way to curb these things.

On the plus side it might encourage lurkers to become more active in the community as well after they've made a first post

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What's a spambot?

Erm...it's like a program that is controlled by a computer and just spreads spam. In this case, it's a CR user that may or may not post. If it does, it only posts links to other sites. If not, the links are in it's profile. But they're never controlled by a real person. I guess Wikipedia can probably explain it better.

I feel like I've been a spambot my entire life

Basically spambots are programed to flood forums with links to random sites, which generally get revenue per view.

Something like that, lol

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Seems like our newest member is yet another spambot...

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=15154

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Why is it always the Russians?

Another one.

Here.

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I love reading their nonsense profiles (the ones in English anyway).

EDIT: lmao I just saw this. I thought it was a genuine account because of the name :B

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Another phpBB forum i'm on is set up to where the first 2 or 3 posts made by a new member have to be approved by a mod. IDK if it'd work here though.

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I think that would make things very slow for genuine members especially if there's no mods currently on. However it would probably stop the spam.

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thx

i joined on aug. 11 2011 so i got scared for a sec




also i don't have an avater or a signature so thx again for the tip




and i only have 2 posts (3 now) so this is a big help

So many spambots.

I am making good use of my report button.

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Found a new one- and it's posting too
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=15256
Looking at it's post I'm pretty sure it's a spambot.

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If we could put up a feature where after a user have received X amount of reports they are blocked from posting more until an Admin or Mod has dealt with the reported posts it may help.

A bot today posted like 8 topics and stuff which I battled against and would be good to shut it up for a wee while.
Then again most bots I've seen just post like one topic but it couldn't hurt.
Also then again it could open the forum up to horrendous griefing if trolls decide to create an account and report posts to freeze an account....but we ain't got anyone like that I think.

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For now, just report troublesome posts and the staff will respond as quickly as possible. Also, MiaFeyFan, there's no need to post spambots here. Just report spam with the Report function and someone will be on it once they see the report.

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^ Oh ok. Sorry about that. I'll remember to do that from now on

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In light of recent developments, I've updated the first post in this thread.

Recently, spambots advertising cryptocurrency (or more likely a scam meant to prey on cryptocurrency users) have gained access to at least two humans' accounts. Another account that appears to belong to a lurker also posted the same spam recently.

As things stand, we can only speculate as to how spambots gained access to some humans' accounts, so any concrete information on how they got in is welcome. We also don't know how many accounts have been compromised. A quick Google search on my end advises changing your passwords if you've been hacked, so I shall echo that advice here. It may be wise to change your password just in case given our current ignorance of how many accounts have been compromised.

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