Receiving spam "replies" to my subcribed posts

[phkhgh]

I've received several spam replies to topics I'm subscribed to. Is there a way for PC Guide to stop this?

My guess is, since in this case, spammers don't know subscribers' emails, they post a spam / scam reply and add phishing or advertising links to their replies.

I guess this is an ongoing problem for many forums. Honestly, out of hundreds of sites I've posted on / replied to topics, only gotten this type spam from 2 or 3.

Since spammers aren't directly sending the notifications of replies to topics, they can't add web beacons. But they do contain advertising / phishing links.

** If the spam topic reply was cleverly worded AND if names of links were cleverly worded to appear as providing a solution to a problem (and they misdirected users to other sites), could be real security issue for PC Guide users.

[PrntRhd]

Please notify any/all of the moderators with the identity of those who send spam so we can stop this.
Samples are also helpful.

Is this spamming via PMs?

[phkhgh]

Thanks. I did send a direct email about this, to head guy for PC Guide on 9/9/11 - no reply. Now, I've gotten another similar spam "reply to a topic I subscribed to." (see below) Not sure who else might be better to contact - suggestions?

No, it's not PMs. I get "regular" looking notifications that," <name> has replied to a thread you subscribed to..."

Today, 9/20/11, I got another spam msg about reply to SAME topic: http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=74399 Yet, the "spam" replies didn't show up in the thread when I look on the forum - as soon as I received the email notice. Maybe their system / a moderator deleted it? Or, someone has hacked the system & somehow is "replying to topics" (w/o it actually showing up in the thread), but causes PC Guide's system to send out notices to all that subscribed.

The email from the forum says the topic is www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=74399, which is a valid topic on the forum. Since I have in my acct settings, to include the message when someone replies, I get what are usually jibberish replies, usually along w/ 1 or more links. Of course, I don't click those links, but the "apparent" name of link isn't anything that'd be related to the post.

On some, the words are meaningless - not actual sentences. Others, hard to tell if writer just writes extremely poor English. Here's the quoted reply (links removed) in today's email notice from the forum:
Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
etin/FF/extension mix than any one of them by itself. I had the problem here for a long time until one day, Ugg boots uk (http://xxxxxxxxxxxx)
uggs uk (http://www.xxxxxxxxx) after a FireFox update, I noticed that I wasn't getting logged out any longer.

SOMETIMES, I get spam (not from forum reply notices), that have total jibberish in the body & perhaps a link. Usually, these are in my spam box, and if I look at them at all, I view in text mode, so no web beacons, etc. can relay back that the msg's been read, AND the email address of who read it (me, or you, if viewing msg in HTML!!!)

For those unaware, if you even open an HTML spam email (where body of msg is viewed), spammers can included hidden "bugs" in the msg, to send them notice that the msg was read, and also send your email address to them. Don't even open a suspicious email in HTML mode. You do NOT have to click links in a spammer's email, in order for them to get info about you.

[FTT]

If all you are getting is a notification of a reply to a thread you are subscribed to, it means nothing more than someone (spammers included) has replied to that thread. You are probably returning to the thread after one of the moderators has banished the Spammer from the forums.

Simple solution: Don't subscribe to threads. I have NEVER used that option and I don't even use the 'recent posts' button either. Never will. I just come to the forums and view which new posts I want to at my own discretion, not using some link from within my email that may lead me to an already deleted Spam post in a thread I may have been interested years ago but has been dormant for quite some time.

As to the second part of your second post, don't think you're safe just because you view in text only. The email reached you. Whether it went to your Spam folder or was delivered to your email InBox. It was a successful send and did not bounce back to the Spammer as 'undeliverable'. So the Spammer can deduce it is a live (working) email address.

Personally, I think you are over-reacting or being paranoid without need. I have had once or twice received PM's from Spammers but just deleted them after reporting them. I've done it here and through my isp as well as my satellite accounts such as Yahoo Mail. New members cannot even send PM's until they have a post count of 5 minimum so those attempts are extremely rare.

Your email address is or is not viewable in your profile as you see fit how to set it. Simply leave it hidden and the worst a Spammer can do is send you a PM after he has posted the minimum number of posts here at PCG which is usually enough time f or the mods to find him and boot him from the site.

YMMV

[phkhgh]

Thanks for input, FTT. Some of what you say is correct. I have to say, as far as current posts that I want / need help on a problem, I need to enable reply notification. I think it's possible to remove subscriptions to older topics, though.

I don't know how ? 98% ? of forums seem to avoid this problem. This has only happened 3 -4 times in 15+ yrs. Unless their systems are different somehow, I don't know why I've never received "spam replies" to my topics, on too many other forums to count, for 15 yrs. Maybe PC Guide admins / owners should talk to other forums to see how they prevent this.

If spammers conclude just because their email doesn't bounce back, it's a good email (or certainly, that it got to recipient) would mean that - (just for me, not to mentions billions of users) - that the thousands of spam msgs that get filtered - in my accts, & I never see / look at, are considered "good" by spammers. Multiply thousands of spam msgs for me / yr that get filtered (but don't bounce back) times billions of users.

If a user's email provider / client is filtering most spam, and users don't look at (= "read") it, esp. in HTML mode, that's really all they can do. That's for any email.

So you think I'm over reacting? Well, there ain't room enough in this town for both of us!:) Consider: a forum user subscribed to a recent post & is urgently needing help. A notice comes that a reply has been made. Of those selecting "send copy of reply" in settings, SOME (not me) might foolishly click on a cleverly worded / disguised link, IF it seemed relevant to the topic.

[PrntRhd]

Thanks. I did send a direct email about this, to head guy for PC Guide on 9/9/11 - no reply. Now, I've gotten another similar spam "reply to a topic I subscribed to." (see below) Not sure who else might be better to contact - suggestions?
I did send an email to IXL (Charles) on the your thread/subject. Sometimes spam filters keep legit emails from going through.

[FTT]

Well, there ain't room enough in this town for both of us! :)

Going somewhere Sam old boy? I'm not. :p I'll jes build us here a bigger town! :D
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040192/quotes


Consider: a forum user subscribed to a recent post & is urgently needing help. A notice comes that a reply has been made. Of those selecting "send copy of reply" in settings, SOME (not me) might foolishly click on a cleverly worded / disguised link, IF it seemed relevant to the topic.

As I said. I don't subscribe to nor do I request a copy of the reply in my email. I simply return to the site and review topics I care about. I'm not telling you what to do, I'm telling you what I do to circumvent the problem. You seemed to have missed my acronym above so I will spell it out for you: "Your mileage may vary". Maybe ixl can fix it. He's never ceased to amaze me yet... ;)

I understand the issue you have with clever spammers. Perhaps the only way to remove the possible threat is to remove the feature with this type of forum software. But also, as you say, one can look into other forums which do not have the problem and see how they dealt with it. But also perhaps the only reason it has not happened to you in other forums is because it has simply not happened at those forums.

A cleverly disguised link in Firefox is always shown near or in the taskbar and if you take the time to just glance at it, you will see the intended link immediately as your cursor hovers over the link. I can write in random words, surround them with hyperlink commands (url) and actually make it want to go elsewhere. Example: Random Words (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?p=471852#post471852) In FF you would see my link just brings you back to this thread because as you hover over the words, the link is displayed on the bottom of your monitor as: http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?p=471852#post471852

You're asking for a software solution which is fine. Especially for computer challenged people (not inferring as you or I but say, mom and pop or others who want things easy), I am merely suggesting one become a more cautious surfer. TEHO

[mjc]

The forum software, not anyone posting a reply to a thread, is what sends out the notifications. So, no the spammers are NOT personally sending anyone spam, they are just replying to the thread.

Most of the time the lifespan of a spam reply to a thread is measured in minutes. Long enough for the reply notifications to have been sent out, but not long enough for the post to actually be there when the notification is received/acted upon.

[Cuc Tu]

I'm just curious as it may be relevant to the topic here, but why does PCG have so many apparent spammers? Take for example AVSforum, which has about a million members and 20 million posts, and I've never seen a single spam post.

[ixl]

Sorry about these issues. I'm really not sure what's going on but will try to figure it out offline.

Thanks for telling me, PrntRhd.

[123456]

Holy cow, he's alive! How goes it, ixl?

I've been PM-spammed several times here, but not recently.

[Whyzman]

Any forum, blog, or discussion, where users are allowed to post is a target for spammers.

The initial lines of defense are the forum's software, beginning with registration. In an attempt to thwart the ease with which spam generating software programs could register, random questions requiring definitive answers, or images with cryptic text have been added. However, this just meant that the spammers needed more sophisticated software.

The game afoot is to quash any spamming, but especially automated spamming. And, as you can see, adaptive measures are constantly being taken on both sides.

Bucket loads of money are spent by any goods or services company to make their sales pitch. As the forums have become more adept at stemming the tide of automated spamming, spammers are now resorting to hiring cheap labor to personally deal with forum registration vetting measures.

Once registered, forum software can still make things difficult, but the Achilles' Heel, of especially a help forum such as the PC Guide, is allowing direct interaction.

The last line of defense are members and moderators. We moderators can't possibly inspect every posting. I would submit that together we do a pretty darn good job of holding down the fort... ;)

I suspect what is happening is that oft times we mods have been alerted by members that a spam post or thread has descended upon us, and we have responded so quickly that the "trash" has already been taken out and deposited into the Bit Bucket, before your subscribed to threads are revisited.

However, the subscription emails have already gone out that a new response post to a thread exists. There's really no notification when a thread is revisited as to whether any spam and a member's "mods informed" posts have been excised and dumped. This probably results in some head-scratching by a revisiting member who was alerted by email subscription to a new thread response. I don't know if there's any way around that... You get there and there appears to be nothing new added to the thread..

[edit]... Sometimes what you will see if we mods have visited a spam posting is a "neutered" link. Oft times we will neuter a link without sending the offending post to the Bit Bucket. If you see one of these neutered link posts, you will nearly 100% of the time also find that the poster has also been "banned." Other "jibberish" is sometimes accomplished by us utilizing a nifty "devoweling" software program written by moderator Paul Komski that extracts all vowels from a post.

Correct you are though, phkhgh, in that malicious links can exist at any time. I always look at the "newness" of the poster before I click on anything. Other than that, it is always advisable to employ the same caution you would anywhere on the net.

[jlreich]

I am subscribed to many many threads and get spam posts regularly. Usually I get several at one time when a spammer scumbag manages to hit several threads before said scumbag is booted by a mod. It's just the way it is.

Only way to avoid it is as FTT said don't subscribe to anything. Personally it really doesn't bother me. It isn't like I am going to click on any link anyway. I just delete the spam replies.