lilo@suddenenlightenment.us
New spammer alias, same game.
The gambling folks are back at it again, but this time we have more powerful tools to deal with the likes of lilo@suddenenlightenment.us and sunny@moonlightshadow.us
Interested? Read on below.
As a side note, I'm sick as a dog. Edinburgh has undergone the transformation that all it's denizens know and loathe. The sun now sets before five and rises after seven. It's cold and raining constantly. My throat feels as though someone has cleaned it with a scrub bud that had been dipped in Drano.
I'm miserable.
First, if you are using either Wordpress or MovableType, there's a blacklist plugin. Both are fairly easy to use and install.
There are two different blacklist plugins for Wordpress - one holds all comments for moderation. I don't recommend this approach; bloggers and sysadmins, just like internet connections, have limited bandwidth.
The second blacklist plugin is modelled after the MovableType blacklist plugin that Jay Allen wrote before leaving Hungary.
You can find the Wordpress plugin that uses Jay Allen's blacklist.txt file here.
Download it and install it, then go get the blacklist.txt file from this plugin.
If you are running MovableType 3.01, get version 2.0e of the Blacklist plugin here.
If you are running MovableType 3.1 or better, go and get the latest version of the plugin pack, which has a bunch of plugins, here.
The blacklist.txt is also updated via RSS feed; to have your blacklist updated automatically, which I don't recommend just yet, go and get the RSS blacklist plugin from chuyeow at his Blacklist updater site. I think that chuyeow has written a great piece of software here; I eagerly look forward to the day that I can use it. I'm not going to start just yet, though. See below for the reasons why.
I don't recommend using an automatic updater because you can spoof entries into the automatically updated blacklist database with a carefully crafted email, so I'm carefully munging mine at the moment. Admittedly, I'm speculating slightly - I don't know what scripts Jay is running on his automatic email munger - but it did occur to me that if the main blacklist.txt was compromised, then the whole scheme would be damaged.
In a couple of days, when I'm feeling well again, I'll post a list on how to track someone's IP address using comments and the best manner in which to notify ISPs.
Ciao!
- Nathan
Comments
Hola! Saw your comment on j's blog, and I sent you a list of 80-odd IPs we saw. Unfortunately, google likes deadsquid, and anything that gets posted there shows quickly - which is prolly why "sunny" found all the blogs so quickly. There are four WP blogs installed, and they all have BL protection now. It's all good.
cheers,
kev
Posted by: kev | October 22, 2004 5:15 AM
Sweetheart,
I am sorry that you aren't feeling well, but you can't be feeling too badly. The reason I say this is that you had way too much fun with this entry. Now, what I want to know is what is a dog in the manger and what is a dog's breakfast? Hope you feel better soon. By the way, your brother is 20 years old today! Boy, do I feel 'elderly'. If I knew how, I would like that word to my blog entry on the same topic, but I don't.
Posted by: Nannie | October 22, 2004 2:55 PM
Cheers! to the wonderboy of blogdom:)
Posted by: Rachael | October 22, 2004 5:14 PM
Good job with the updates Nathan! I can already hear the bad guys like Sunnyboy gritting their teeth!
Honestly, thanks for posting this helpful information. I changed the mt-comment-post.php file name on my son's site and installed both blacklist plugins, one on MT and the other on WP, with the updated blacklist.txt file you modified...and guess what...all spamming has stopped from the gambling guys.
Sorry to hear about your sore throat! I find that taking a zinc lonzenger and getting extra sleep helps combat those pesty microbes.
Cheers!
Gus (from Arlington, WA)
Posted by: Gus | October 22, 2004 9:25 PM
Bad news, Nae. He's Baaaaaaaack! Check out my comments.
Feeling better yet?
Posted by: Nannie | October 26, 2004 3:53 AM
Dear Nae,
I am sending you some virtual chicken soup. I roasted two little fryers for Gramma's birthday, so I had some carcasses. I started a soup last night with a few carrots from the garden, a few parsnips, some parsely and thyme also from the garden. It smells yummy. I send it your way.
Posted by: Nannie | October 26, 2004 7:36 PM
I am virtually drooling (hah ha ha! - I crack myself up!:)
Posted by: Rae | October 28, 2004 2:01 PM
Oh, I forgot to mention the shallots and garlic -- also from the garden. It is still brewing on the back of the stove. I used Gramma's mother's stockpot (or corn pot, or whatever you want to call it - Gramma Holda) that is almost an early pressure cooker. The lid fits very tightly and you can actually latch it on. It has been great! Much less evaporation, so the flavors are trapped in the broth, not disapated into the atmosphere. So the smell is only if you stick your nose into the pot, but boy, does it smell good then.
Posted by: Nannie | October 28, 2004 3:27 PM
Nathan, Mara, Rachael and Mendon...destination: home!
Posted by: Mara | October 28, 2004 4:31 PM
Dearest Nae,
I am afraid that lilo.starshine.moonbeam has the best of us. They have infected Daddy's site, and angie's, too. I am sorry. Maybe we should consider registering commenters. It feels like a losing battle.
Posted by: Nannie | November 1, 2004 3:20 AM