Tag: spam

  • I posted this to my coworking space’s Slack, with the caption “If you’re going to spoof caller-id, maybe choose a valid phone number?” Based on the response, the problem with the number wasn’t as obvious as I thought. Can you spot it?

  • Slashdot Comment Spam

    On Slashdot (which I am likely dumber for reading) comment spam takes a slightly different form. Instead of earning PageRank, commenters earn karma. The end result is that instead of creating links to sites in order to screw with search engines, the spammers try to post good comments with the least amount of effort. Take…

  • Notes on mod_security vs. spam

    I set up mod_security, a web firewall for Apache, to deal with comment and trackback spam on my server. This isn’t a complete guide to mod_security, just the information I wish I had when I started. I’m using mod_security because my server has lots of different blogging tools installed, and there’s no way to centrally…

  • Portrait of a broken spam blocker

    For HME.PVRblog.com users get their password via email when they register. Occasionally someone will have a spam blocking service that requires people who send email to verify themselves by going to a site and passing a Captcha. I just got one of those requests from Earthlink, and the damn thing won’t accept my input. I…

  • nofollow

    "nofollow" seems to be the name people are giving for the new anti-PageRank tool, it’s been pretty well received but there has been some criticism. nofollow is not a panacea. Large-scale social problem don’t have easy answers, like stopping the spread of STDs (which I’ve heard comment spammers have plenty of). One person implementing it…