Massive spam in my comments last few days

1. 88

   Dorsiposted 10 years ago

   I started getting a few spammy comments a few days ago. I posted a thread and someone suggested changing my comment settings to allowing only signed in users being allowed to comment and approval before they were published. So I changed my settings. Today the spam was even worse, took me a half hour just to delete all of them. I turned my comments off but don't want to leave it this way because I want people to be able to leave comments. What to do now?
   
   Thanks for any advice you can give me. This is the first time this has happened to me in 5 years.
   
   And oh yeah, the comments are mostly posted by "anonymous" and they are not showing up as spam when I first view them. Usually HP identifies the spam first. That is not happening now.

   replyreport
   1. 89

      WryLiltposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      So there is a person with an actual account called anonymous? Maybe email HP and they can help.

      replyreport
   2. 0

      delleaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Are they targeting specific hubs or are they blasting all of the hubs that you've written? If they are after specific hubs it may help to indicate why they are doing it in the first place, whom may be offended, etc.

      replyreport
   3. 0

      delleaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Forgot to note (as the others have) that allowing only signed in users to contact me AND having comment approval on, has helped to reduce spam to nearly zero, plus it lets me know when comment spam occurs so I can instantly delete it.

      replyreport
      1. 90

         Pcunixposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I have both those turned on and am STILL getting half a dozen or more daily.
         
         The "signed in users only" appears not to be working as these include anonymous comments.

         replyreport
   4. 72

      Matthew Meyerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Sorry you got so many SPAM messages.
      We do try to prevent spam comments that appear automated or come from the same IP, but it can be difficult to systematically identity all SPAM comments as they are posted.
      I looked at the comments and they are from a bunch of different IPs.
      Continue to delete them and that will help the system determine what is SPAM and help prevent the same IPs from posting going forward.

      replyreport
2. 90

   LCDWriterposted 10 years ago

   I have my comments set to where I must approve them all.  When people don't see their spam they get tired of it and go away.  It is not worth the effort for them to just spam me because I delete it and no one ever sees it.  Maybe try that for a few days?  It allows people to comment but gives you final control.

   replyreport
3. 61

   LindaSmith1posted 10 years ago

   LCD Writer said it all.  I set my comments so I have to approve first on every site I write on if possible, and even do it on my own blogs.  On sites where I can't set comments up for my approval first, they do have a delete option so I can delete all unwanted, spam comments.

   replyreport
4. 76

   Anti-Valentineposted 10 years ago

   ^ Ironic. A forum thread about spam, and here's a spammy post in it!
   
   Edit: it's gone now.

   replyreport
5. 95

   Winterfateposted 10 years ago

   Yep, getting spammed as well. Those IPs are all over the place. Could it be someone infecting computers with viruses to create a spam bot network?

   replyreport
6. 94

   vocalcoachposted 10 years ago

   At one time I was getting quite a bit of spam.  I consistently deleted them and it stopped.  Sorry to hear you're having to deal with this annoyance.

   replyreport
7. 41

   meghanathreddybposted 10 years ago

   Earlier, I was also facing the same problem like you. But now I'm free from that spam war. Try using Anti-spam plug-ins. It's working well with me.

   replyreport
8. 88

   Dorsiposted 10 years ago

   I turned my comments off for a couple days then turned it back on last night. Inbox full again - all from anonymous.

   replyreport
9. 90

   LCDWriterposted 10 years ago

   Mark them as spam for hubpages before you delete them.  That way they will start marking the sources.  I have very little spam since I have to approve all comments.  They post, see that it doesn't show up and go away.

   replyreport
   1. 90

      Pcunixposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      They don't seem to go away for me.. at least not yet..

      replyreport
      1. 90

         LCDWriterposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         It really is an annoying problem!  Sorry you're dealing with it.

         replyreport
10. 95

    Winterfateposted 10 years ago

    Got nearly a dozen spam posts in the last 12 hours. O_o

    replyreport
11. 85

    justmesuzanneposted 10 years ago

    Yes, I'm getting exactly the same thing. This "anonymous" is running through all my hubs posting completely unrelated nonsense. It is happening so rapidly that it cannot be an individual doing it. It's some kind of bot.
    
    I, too, have my set my comments settings to allow only signed in users to post, and all comments have to be approved, so they are not appearing for anyone but me to see. I cannot imagine what the motivation for this is other than just to show that someone can bypass the content settings.

    replyreport
    1. 85

       Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       What this says to me is - change your settings to allow non-signed in people to comment.
       
       By allowing only signed-in users, you're preventing the vast majority of your readers from commenting, which is a good way to alienate readers who might otherwise become fans of your writing!   As you've seen, it doesn't stop the spam, so why bother?
       
       Setting your comments so you have to approve them is a good strategy though.

       replyreport
12. 95

    Winterfateposted 10 years ago

    Got nine more spam posts. I don't know whether to be honored that the spammer is going through my hubs that have no traffic or irritated that it's forcing me to spend so much time cleaning out its tripe.

    replyreport
    1. 85

       justmesuzanneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       They have gone through mine a couple of times from my first Hub in 2008 to the one I posted yesterday. While I am deleting their comments, they are continually posting more. I deleted all of them before I went to bed last night and got  up to find 25+ new ones. No one but me can see them, and I delete them and report them as soon as I see them, so I don't know what their motivation could be.

       replyreport
       1. 95

          Winterfateposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Oh yes, I set the moderation on my comments so that I had to approve comments beforehand, but it's still annoying. I don't know what their motivation could be either.

          replyreport
       2. 90

          Pcunixposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Spammers aren't bright.  Also, this stuff can be automated, so nobody necessarily knows it isn't sticking.
          
          I get the same junk at my other site.  They never get published, but they never stop trying until I see them often enough to block their ip.

          replyreport
          1. 85

             justmesuzanneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             I'm sure it is automated. It's happening too fast to be manual...

             replyreport
13. 94

    prokidwriterposted 10 years ago

    I think I've gotten 40 spam comments in the last 24 hours. Looks like HP is getting attacked.

    replyreport
    1. 85

       justmesuzanneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Mine have died down some. Now I'm just getting half a dozen or so a day...

       replyreport
14. 61

    LindaSmith1posted 10 years ago

    Check off  Only signed on users can comment as well.

    replyreport
    1. 90

       Pcunixposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Yeah.  At first I thought that wasn't working because I kept getting spammed after I turned that on. 
       
       But it did "take" later and I've had no more spam (at the cost of no comments from real users who don't want to create accounts).
       
       I'll uncheck that after this attack dies down..

       replyreport
       1. 59

          paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Well, look what the cat drug in... Missed ya.

          replyreport
          1. 90

             Pcunixposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             That darn cat :-)

             replyreport
15. 61

    LindaSmith1posted 10 years ago

    The one good thing about setting so we have to approve comments is that nobody sees them til we approve them, if we choose to do so.

    replyreport
    1. 85

       justmesuzanneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I have always had "only signed on users can comment" checked, and after this started, I reset it. It doesn't make any difference. "Anonymous" just keeps on posting, but since all comments have to be approved, no one but me ever sees the nonsense.

       replyreport
16. 90

    Rochelle Frankposted 10 years ago

    Now I don't feel targeted-- http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/115082#post2446667
    
    At least we are getting some traffic - ha

    replyreport