phpBB 3 - problems with bots

[excalinator]

Hi guys,

I have a phpBB forums, but since the last month there are a lot of bots signing up and creating a lot of topics with disgusting content. I have a captcha, but apparently it doesn't work. How can I make sure this stops?

 

[CyberFreak]

Use the inbuilt Q & A and set some questions that can't be easily Googled. That works better than the inbuilt GD Captcha. Also you could consider adding Anti-spam ACP aswell.

 

[USHost247]

Use questions such as:

What is the name of this forum?
What is "popcorn" spelled backwards?

Questions like that work for me. Also, get an API for stopforumspam.com and get the mod that submits to the database.

 

[CyberFreak]

Anti-spam ACP queries the stopforumspam.com database upon registration and allows you to submit spammers that get through.

 

[excalinator]

Thanks! Could someone maybe help me out with how to insert these changes at the forum?

 

[Gio]

I suggest you add The Sortables captcha plugin. This is what I have been using, and ends up killing all the spam. 🙂

 

[thedudeman]

I agree with the others that it can not be stressed enough to set up Q&A for registration.

My forum is on IP.Board, and while it has the excellent Anti-Spam service, having to clear out tons of autobanned members is tiring. I setup a Q&A that says, "2, 4, 6, what comes next in the sequence?", and I have not had any new spam registrants.