Posted 6 years ago #
I have the option to only allow registered users to post comments in my blog, but I'm getting more than 10 spam comments/day catched for moderation.
I supposed that with that option turned on, such spam comments should never appear, since they are being posted by non registered users and so wordpress should reject it.
Why is this is hapenning?
PS: Using WordPress 2.02
- Carlos
Mainly because the spammers have learned a bit about WP.
Install/enable Akismet or Spam Karma 2.
Then install the Bad Behavior plugin.
That'll fix 'em.
Posted 6 years ago #
i'm having the same problem. WordPress is set up to REQUIRE people to be LOGGED IN before submitting a Comment, and yet im getting a ton of spam comments posted over and over again.
If you have the same problem - apply the same suggested remedy. See above.
The automatic scripts that spam you - are not people, so they just don't care about your settings :)
Posted 6 years ago #
Similar thing happening to me. Spambots are hitting my blog through the trackback function. I disabled that in my options 2 days ago but that didn't do a damn thing! But I just got smart... I never use that so I just deleted the wp-trackback.php file from my blog!
Posted 6 years ago #
The automatic scripts that spam you - are not people, so they just don't care about your settings :)
Then what's the point of even having the settings if they have no effect? Doesn't that make them placebo functions then?
Seems silly to have functions that can keep spambots from posting spam comments if they don't work.
If you use Akismet and BAd behaviour, you will feel a verry happy Blogger!
Then what's the point of even having the settings if they have no effect? Doesn't that make them placebo functions then?
The settings do what they were designed to do, stop people from posting comments. They mainly do this by removing the comment forms and such. However, the code to receive comments is still there. The spammers have picked up new tactics recently and do things like submitting the spam comments directly, bypassing these settings. Future versions may patch this minor hole, but for now, your best bet is simply spam stoppers. Akismet, Bad Behavior, Spam Karma, these plugins are your friends. They stop spam comments dead, period. Use 'em. Love 'em.
Posted 6 years ago #
Thanks for the tip x1984x
Spam seems to be a hot issue and I've heard tons of complaints about the trackback feature letting it in. I'm sure that there are plenty of first time blog users who who haven't thought much about the trackback feature, so it you're worried about spam here is my two cents regarding whether or not trackback is necessary:
Unless you plan on writing lots of articles about other people's articles and then sending them trackbacks in the hope of netting traffic it just seems kind of useless. And frankly I don't really care too much if somebody wants to say something about me on their blog so I don't need to receive them.
I don't like the trackback function anyway since (in my own personal opinion, so don't get mad) there's a bit of a desperate quality about telling someone "Hey look at me. I wrote about you, or the same thing as you, on my blog. I really want you to come and look at it." If it was important I'd notice the traffic coming in on my referral logs. And if my visitors care so much about the topic they can google it and get good quality results about it. Who knows what jerk is going to write some trash and then trackback to you.
And sometimes when I check other people's trackbacks it's annoying because another person just used something you said and commented on it in a useless and unoriginal way to get attention. So it seems to encourage spambots and also spamhumans. The more popular you are personally, the more I imagine that this would be a problem. Why can't the person just leave a normal comment saying what they want to say like everyone else (even including a link if they must). Sending a trackback seems to be a selfish attention getting thing to do if you ask me.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I suggest deleting trackback if it's becoming a problem - unless someone can convince me otherwise.
I have a draft email where I stick stuff I've deleted from my blog in case I ever change my mind and want to go get those things and put them back. You could make a file like that anywhere and put notes to yourself about where you got the things from.
P.S. Anyone who uses trackback please don't hate me. Just tell me why you like it and maybe I'll change my mind.
Actually, I love getting trackbacks. I don't often refer to other people's posts, but I do post a lot of code fragments and scripts on my blog, and when other people use them and comment on them on their own blogs, then it's cool to know about the fact and see what people are saying. To each his own there, I suppose.
But regardless of that: disabling comments, disabling trackbacks, etc, these seem like really drastic measures to take when solutions like Akismet work so danged well. I mean, really, enabling Akismet is not difficult. Yes, you have to get an API key by signing up on WordPress.com, but it's as zero maintanence as you can get and it *just works*. Spam gets caught, not-spam goes right on through. I have been getting about 40 spams a day now, Akismet hasn't dropped a beat. They don't show up and unless I go look for them, I never hear a word about them. Only once in several months of use has a legitimate trackback been flagged as spam, compared to hundreds and hundreds of spams simply disappearing as far as I'm concerned.
Really, these spam blockers for comment spam just work. Why anybody is not using them simply baffles me.
Posted 6 years ago #
Okay, that is very interesting Otto42. Maybe I am wrong about trackback. I also just got the idea that it must depend a lot on what type of blog you are running. Mine is very personal, but yours seems to really offer something to the public and you'd probably want to know how that was working out. So maybe for some people it is a really good thing.
And for some of us, maybe a bit unnecesary?
From the amount of complaints I was reading when I browse blogs I just assumed that spamware wasn't working or something. I don't know why someone would complain about a problem without having tried to fix it. But I will definetly think about what you said if I start getting spam. And for now I won't delete my trackback.
They mainly do this by removing the comment forms and such. However, the code to receive comments is still there. The spammers have picked up new tactics recently and do things like submitting the spam comments directly, bypassing these settings.
untrue. look at the code in wp-comments-post.php.
$status = $wpdb->get_row("SELECT post_status, comment_status FROM $wpdb->posts WHERE ID = '$comment_post_ID'");if ( empty($status->comment_status) ) {
do_action('comment_id_not_found', $comment_post_ID);
exit;
} elseif ( 'closed' == $status->comment_status ) {
do_action('comment_closed', $comment_post_ID);
die( __('Sorry, comments are closed for this item.') );
} elseif ( 'draft' == $status->post_status ) {
do_action('comment_on_draft', $comment_post_ID);
exit;
}
the problem is that some wordpress users can't differentiate between comments and trackbacks. they also don't know how the settings work.
Posted 6 years ago #
I think wordpress needs to release a security fix to put an end to this big spammer loop hole.
there's no loophole.
Posted 6 years ago #
How do I install Akismet?
Posted 6 years ago #
Excuse me, but did this API number only show up in a version after 1.5?
I've just been inundated with this comment spam too over the last couple of days. Today I got 163! So I came looking for advice, and found the simple instructions here at the forum. Only I couldn't find that API in my Profile. After checking realized that my version was only 1.5 so I went to my Fantastico, and upgraded. Still, no API.
I tried hitting register on my login, thinking maybe my WordPress wasn't official, but I got a message that my user name was invalid.
Huh? It's worked fine for about two years.
The newer version does allow me to activate the Akismet in the Plugin section, but then I get notices telling me that it still needs the API number. If only I could find it!
That's why I'm wondering if perhaps my installation is from before that came to be.
Blessings & Thanks,
Bouquet
P.S. I should add that I have WordPress on two different sites. I checked in Dashboard=> Account=> Profile AND a number of other places, and no sign of the API at either one.
you need to signup for a wordpress.COM account. you're at .ORG. the API key is at .COM. once you're in your .COM account, you'll find your API key.
Posted 6 years ago #
why no one mentioned captcha? I enable all the comments/trackback/pingback features without using any of the plugins you guys mentioned, and got absolutely no spam at all, a blog about this (yes, I use another plugin, but in a total different approach of distinguishing between human and bots)
http://liucougar.scim-im.org/blog/archives/9
for one day, I disabled the plugin and I got 10 spams in less than 5 hours, I think.
Posted 6 years ago #
I get around 2000 spams a week!Akismet solves most of my woes.
Posted 6 years ago #
I don't understand why this isn't considered a problem with WordPress. Sure, there are workarounds that we can do to handle this strange scenario, but why should I have to use spam-handling software when, as far as I'm concerned, I've turned off comments entirely.
Why is it possible to receive comments on a blog where comments are not allowed at all?? I understand that the spammers are tricking WordPress, but why are they ABLE to?! How can this NOT be considered a problem with WordPress?
Even with comments off, I STILL must manage comment spam? Seems silly to me. How can this make sense to anyone (as it apparently does)?
what did you do to think that you turned off comments? do you have trackbacks enabled on posts?
if you truly turned off comments and trackbacks on your posts, you would not get any comments and trackbacks.
Its Not only a problem with WordPress, but all the blog software. Before I used Pivot, and there I realy had a problem. WordPress and the use of Akismet and Bad Behauvior is the best combination you can get.
untrue. look at the code in wp-comments-post.php.
My mistake. You are correct. This is a case of users disabling comments and then receiving trackbacks and not understanding the difference.
Posted 6 years ago #
Thanks, Charle97!
I wasn't aware of the WordPress.com site.
And Wow! this seems to do the trick! I had already deleted 98 today, before I found this answer, and followed the instructions. Between that and activating Akismet another 4 spam comments had come in, but they were already quarantined!
I think I can breathe again.
Blessings & Many Thanks, Charle97!
Bouquet
Posted 6 years ago #
What I don't understand is why comments can't be completely disabled.
I can disable comments on new posts (doesn't apply to the 2000 previous posts)
I can require comments by registered users only, but the spammers seem to be able to override that. I don't allow any new users to register. The spamm still keeps coming
I can re-name my comments php file, but they can still comment.
Yes, I have Akismet, and it works great. But why doesn't WordPress just give me the option to completely turn off ALL comments? Not all blogs need comments.
Spammers have gone nuts lately. I have over 7000 spam comments caught by Akismet. Over 6000 of them have been in the last week.
I just want to eliminate comments as a part of my website, but nothing seems to do that!!!
switch off comments plugin
jefuchs: These are coming in as trackbacks, not as comments. Rename your trackbacks file as well to disable those, if you want.
how do you know if you don't examples?
charle97: I'm assuming that the recent mass amount of spam that everybody is complaining about (and which I've also been seeing on my own blog) is all coming from the same people. It's a fair assumption given that it just started recently and all the spam looks pretty much the same.
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