Small antispam update

[USEC_OFFICER]

Ban IP adresses? (As a last resort)

[Insectoid]

it's not hard to get a new IP.

[Tony]

USEC_OFFICER @ Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:50 pm wrote:

Ban IP adresses?

So what would you do if some machine behind its network's router is compromised and is sending out spam?

An IP could include a school's class, all of the school, or in some cases a whole school board behind the same public address.

[ProgrammingFun]

Tony @ Wed Apr 07, 2010 3:13 am wrote:

USEC_OFFICER @ Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:50 pm wrote:

Ban IP adresses?

So what would you do if some machine behind its network's router is compromised and is sending out spam?

An IP could include a school's class, all of the school, or in some cases a whole school board behind the same public address.

Yes, but you could ban that certain IP from CREATING accounts.
If someone at school wants an account, they can easily make one at home.

For example, Wikipedia has banned TDSB schools from editing any articles or creating accounts (although signed-in accounts on school computers can still make edits).

[Dan]

Most spammers only use an IP once and then never again. Also most of the time this is an IP of an infected computer which means it's a home ISP. Blocking all of bell, shaw, cogoeco, etc is not an option.

When it is clear that the spammer is coming form a data center and not a home or school based ISP we do block the range of that data center but it does lite to help since they rarely come back any way.

The effect of spam on this site is so small, it hardly seems worth it to block school users from crating account because they possibly become infected, by that logic we might as well just turn off user registration.