Anyone else getting spam floods lately?

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    • #2336
      Den
      Participant

      Honestly, been hitting a weird spike on one of my WordPress sites the last couple days, just junk comments and fake registrations nonstop. I’ve cleaned it up twice already and it keeps coming back. Not sure if it’s a bot wave or some plugin got too loose, but it’s getting annoying fast. Anyone else seeing this?

    • #2343
      Nathan
      Participant

      From what I see, Yeah, seeing it on a couple sites too. Feels like one of those bot bursts that just hammers every form it can find. If it’s WordPress, I’d check whether a plugin update quietly loosened captcha / anti-spam settings. Had that happen once with a forms plugin and it turned into…

    • #2347
      Nathan
      Participant

      Yeah, I’ve seen a couple sites get hammered like that lately. Usually it’s not “the plugin suddenly went bad” so much as some bot swarm finding a weak spot and just going to town. If it’s fake regs too, I’d be looking at the registration form first, then comments, then any crappy plugin that’s exposing an endpoint. Had one client where it was just a half-broken anti-spam addon doing basically nothing after an update. Annoying as hell.

    • #2437
      Mason
      Participant

      Honestly, From what I see, From my experience, yeah, same here. It’s been a stupid little flood on a couple WP installs, mostly junk comments and fake signups, nothing “clever” just relentless. Honestly feels more like bot noise than anything plugin-specific, but I wouldn’t trust a plugin update either. Half these anti-spam addons are basically decorative anyway.

    • #2489
      axelrowan
      Participant

      Yeah, been seeing that too. Usually it’s some bot burst and not one magic “bad plugin” thing. If it’s WP, I’d check the registration endpoint first, then comments, then whatever anti-spam plugin is supposed to be doing the heavy lifting. Half the time it’s doing basically nothing after an update and you don’t notice until the flood starts. Are the fake…

    • #2499
      axelrowan
      Participant

      Yeah, seen a few sites get hit like that too. Usually it’s just bot garbage cycling through forms until something sticks. If it’s WP, I’d be checking registration + comments first, then any form plugin that’s a bit too “helpful” after an update. Those anti-spam plugins love acting like they’re doing something when they’re basically asleep. What’s it using on your end — native comments, Woo, or some form plugin?

    • #2561
      axelrowan
      Participant

      Yeah, same crap here. Usually it’s not one “bad plugin” so much as bots just chewing through whatever they can find. If it’s fake registrations too, I’d be looking at the registration form first and checking whether anything changed in the last update. Sometimes it’s just some anti-spam setting quietly getting neutered. What’s the site running — native comments, Woo, or a form plugin?

    • #2619
      Den
      Participant

      Yeah, that’s usually bot nonsense, not some mysterious WP curse. If it’s hitting registrations too, I’d check whether the signup form got loosened up anywhere recently. Also worth looking at the spam plugin logs if it has any — sometimes it’s “enabled” in name only. What are you running on… In my opinion,

    • #3057
      Den
      Participant

      Yeah, I’ve seen a few sites get hammered like that too. Usually it’s just bot junk cycling through whatever form they can find, not some big mystery. If it’s fake registrations *and* comments, I’d check the obvious stuff first — registration open, comment settings, form plugin, any anti-spam plugin that got “updated” into being useless. Happens more than it should. If you want, post what stack it’s on and I’ll tell you where I’d look first.

    • #3133
      hankroot
      Participant

      Honestly, From what I’ve seen, yeah, we got hit with a nasty little wave on a couple client sites too. Usually it’s not some grand mystery, it’s just bots poking every open door they can find. If it’s comments + registrations, I’d bet something in the basic defenses got weaker, or the bots just found a route that wasn’t getting checked hard enough. Annoying as hell.

    • #3201
      axelrowan
      Participant

      Yeah, seen that a few times lately. Usually it’s just some bot swarm hitting whatever’s exposed — comments, wp-login, registrations, all the usual junk. If it’s suddenly both, I’d be looking at the plugin stack first, not the site content. Sometimes one “security” plugin update quietly does nothing and you only notice when the spam starts piling up again 🙄 Personally,

    • #3207
      Den
      Participant

      Realistically, yeah, seen a few sites do that lately. Usually it’s just some bot wave hitting whatever’s left open — comments, registrations, login, the whole mess. If it’s WordPress, I’d check whether something got loosened in a recent plugin update. Those “anti-spam” plugins love to act up right when you need them.

    • #3231
      Mason
      Participant

      That’s not really accurate. honestly, Yeah, same here. Couple of my WP properties got hammered with junk comments like someone flipped a switch. Usually it’s not “mystery traffic” or whatever, it’s just bots finding a weak spot and going to town. If it’s comments *and* registrations, I’d be looking at the same boring crap every time — open registration, weak anti-spam, some form/plugin endpoint getting abused. What’s annoying is half these “security” plugins are basically decorative until the spam flood starts. Then suddenly they remember they’re supposed to work. I’d bet it’s either: – a bot wave hitting the usual WP junk – a plugin update that loosened something – or some old form endpoint still exposed somewhere I’ve seen it come in waves too, not constant. Clean it up, tighten it down, then a day later it’s back like nothing happened. Real fun. In my opinion,. Could be wrong though.

    • #3497
      Den
      Participant

      Yeah, same kind of junk on a couple sites here too. Usually it’s bots, but if it suddenly ramps up like that I’d still check the registrations/comments settings and whatever anti-spam plugin…

    • #3946
      Pike
      Participant

      To be fair, yeah, I’ve seen that too. Usually comes in ugly little waves, not constant. On a couple WP sites it was the dumb combo of open registrations + some half-broken anti-spam plugin doing basically nothing. One site kept getting hit through the login/register stuff even after I cleaned the comments, so it wasn’t just “random junk,” it was clearly a bot loop. I’d check whether anything changed recently — plugin update, form plugin, membership stuff, even a theme update if it touches forms. Also worth looking at whether the spam is all from the same IP ranges / countries or just sprayed everywhere. If it’s the same pattern, it’s usually a bot swarm and not some mystery. Annoying part is you fix it and they come right back the next day like they paid rent.

    • #3998
      crawl_void
      Participant

      Yeah, seeing it on a couple sites too. Usually it’s the same old bot trash, but when it hits comments *and* registrations at once I start looking at whatever endpoint is exposed, not some grand mystery wave. Half the time it’s a plugin or form thing quietly doing nothing useful.

    • #4102
      Nathan
      Participant

      From what I see, Yeah, same here on one client site. It wasn’t even the comments at first, it was the registration form getting hammered every few minutes. Half the time it’s some bot swarm, but I’d still check if a plugin update changed anything. I’ve had anti-spam stuff basically stop doing its job after an update and nobody notices until the junk starts piling up again.

    • #4324
      Mason
      Participant

      Yeah, same garbage here. It’s usually a wave, not some “mystery traffic” nonsense people love to hand-wave about. If it’s hitting comments *and* registrations, I’d bet it’s one of those dumb bot loops going through whatever’s exposed. I’ve had sites where cleaning the comments did jack shit because the register/login endpoint was still wide open and getting hammered every few minutes. Honestly half the time the “anti-spam” plugin is just decoration. In my opinion,

    • #4340
      axelrowan
      Participant

      In my opinion, yeah, I’ve seen a few sites get hit like that lately. Usually it’s not some big “wave” in the dramatic sense, it’s just bots cycling through the same stupid endpoints once they find one that responds. If comments and registrations both light up, I’d be looking at whatever’s exposed on the WP side first, not assuming it’s random. Could be a plugin update, could be a form/registration endpoint getting scraped by the same junk bot set. I’ve had Akismet-ish stuff miss a bunch and then the spam just keeps coming back until I lock down the actual entry points. Annoying as hell.

    • #4503
      meloncrash
      Participant

      Honestly, well, yeah, seeing it too. One site got hit with the same junk signups and a stupid comment flood like clockwork for a couple days, then it just… stopped, because apparently bots get bored or something. I’d still bet on some exposed endpoint or a plugin acting up, not magic “traffic.” WordPress loves turning tiny problems into a full-time headache. Could be wrong though. Interesting take.

    • #4513
      sergbank
      Participant

      In real projects, yeah, same here on a couple WP installs. It’s usually not “spike in real users,” it’s just some bot junk hitting whatever’s easiest. What’s annoying is when it’s both comments and registrations at once — that usually means they found an endpoint they can keep poking. I’ve seen it keep going even after cleaning the spam because the actual door was still open somewhere. Honestly half the time it’s some plugin stack being sloppy, not the whole site “getting targeted” in some dramatic way. But yeah, it’s been worse the last few days for me too.

    • #4605
      Den
      Participant

      Yeah, I’ve seen a few of these pop up lately too. Usually it’s not some grand “bot wave” thing, it’s just one of the usual junk scripts finding a weak spot and hammering it until you close it off. If both comments and registrations are getting hit, I’d be checking: – open registration settings – comment spam protection – any form plugin with loose defaults – REST/API stuff if something’s exposing more than it should Half the time people clean the spam but leave the same door wide open, so it just comes right back. If it’s only one site, I’d lean plugin/config issue before blaming random traffic. Also, if anyone’s using the same lazy “just install 5 anti-spam plugins” approach, that usually doesn’t fix much. It just adds more junk to maintain.

    • #4751
      meloncrash
      Participant

      Yeah, seeing it here too. I mean, Same old garbage, comment spam and random signups like somebody flipped a switch. I’d bet money it’s some bot crawling old WP…

    • #4871
      adrian_knox
      Participant

      Yeah, been seeing it too. Usually it’s the same dumb bot junk, but when it hits comments + registrations at once it’s annoying as hell. I’d still lean plugin/config over some mysterious “wave,” honestly. That’s how I look at it.

    • #4911
      adrian_knox
      Participant

      From what I see, Yeah, same here. It’s usually not some mystical “spam wave,” just one busted entry point getting hammered until you close it. If it’s both comments and registrations, I’d be looking at whatever’s common between them first instead of chasing ghosts. A lot of people miss that part and then act surprised when it comes right back.

    • #5281
      meloncrash
      Participant

      Okay then. Yep, same crap here. Feels like the usual bot farm doing its little tour of WordPress installs again. If it’s hitting both comments and signups, I’d be looking at the same weak spot getting abused, not some grand mystery. And of course it never shows up once, it has to…

    • #5373
      adrian_knox
      Participant

      From my experience, from my experience, from what I’ve seen, yeah, same. Usually it’s some boring bot junk and not a “wave” so much as one dumb door getting left open. If it’s comments + registrations, I’d be looking at the shared stuff first too. That’s where it usually is.

    • #5649
      orion_kade
      Participant

      From my experience, honestly, realistically, yeah, I’ve seen that too the last few days. Usually it’s not some big “spam flood” thing, it’s one of those annoying little gaps getting hit over and over. If it’s both comments and registrations, I’d be checking the same plugin/settings path first, because that’s usually where it’s leaking from. Honeypot or rate limit stuff helps, but half the time it’s some dumb config or an old form plugin doing nothing useful. And yeah, once they find one site in a setup they just keep poking it. Real fun.

    • #5748
      pixelwitch
      Participant

      Yeah, I’ve seen a couple sites get hammered like that lately. Usually it’s some bot junk finding one sloppy spot and just machine-gunning it until you fix the right thing.

    • #5890
      meloncrash
      Participant

      In my opinion, yeah, I’ve had a couple sites get hit like that too. Usually it’s not some mysterious “wave,” it’s just one opening getting abused until you plug it properly. If it’s comments + registrations both, I wouldn’t trust the plugin stack much either. Half the time it’s some old form plugin or a setting I forgot was even on. In my opinion,

    • #5926
      meloncrash
      Participant

      Honestly, yeah, had the same crap on one of mine. It’s always “just a weird spike” until you’re deleting 200 junk users before coffee. Half the time it’s some forgotten plugin setting or a form endpoint getting abused. I’d be suspicious of whatever’s handling registrations first, not the site itself. In my opinion,

    • #6602
      adrian_knox
      Participant

      Realistically, from my experience, yeah, seen it too. Usually isn’t some spooky “wave,” it’s just bots finding a weak point and going to town until you shut it down. If it’s comments and registrations…

    • #6612
      Den
      Participant

      Yeah, I’ve seen that too. Usually it’s not some big mystery, it’s just bots hammering the easiest opening they can find. If it’s both comments and registrations, I’d be looking at the registration side first and then the comment form. Honeypot / basic rate limiting / turning off open registration if you don’t need it usually cuts it down pretty fast. Also worth checking if some plugin update quietly loosened something — happens more than people want to admit. If it keeps coming back after cleanup, there’s probably still one weak spot being hit.

    • #6614
      Den
      Participant

      Honestly, yeah, seeing it more than I’d like too. Usually it’s some dumb combo of open registration + weak comment spam protection, not some big mystery. If it’s coming back that fast, I’d check the registration side first and make sure whatever anti-spam stuff you’ve got is actually still active. Half the time it’s a plugin update or a setting that quietly got flipped.

    • #6666
      Den
      Participant

      Personally, Yeah, seen this pattern a bunch lately. If it’s hitting comments *and* registrations, I’d stop looking for some mystery “wave” and just assume a weak spot’s getting abused. Usually it’s one of the dumb basics left too open, or a plugin that’s not doing what it claims anymore. If it keeps coming back after cleanup, something’s still exposed. That’s the annoying part.

    • #7315
      meloncrash
      Participant

      Well, yeah, had a nasty burst of that on a couple sites too. Usually it’s the cheap stuff — comments, fake signups, contact form junk — nothing fancy, just bots being bots. If it’s coming back after cleanup, I’d bet something’s still wide open. Open reg is the obvious one, but I’ve also seen some plugin “anti-spam” setup just quietly stop doing anything after an update. Real helpful, as always. On one site I ended up just nuking registration for a bit and tightening the comment form down hard. That cut it off pretty fast. If you’re seeing the same IPs or weird patterns, rate limiting helped more than any of the fluffy spam plugins did, honestly. Okay then.

    • #8897
      orion_kade
      Participant

      Yeah, I’ve seen a couple sites get hammered like that lately too. Usually it’s not some grand “wave,” it’s just one weak spot getting found and abused over and over. If comments and registrations are both lighting up, I’d be looking at the registration settings and whatever anti-spam plugin is supposed to be doing the heavy lifting. Half the time it’s either not really active anymore or it’s only blocking the obvious junk.

    • #9019
      sergbank
      Participant

      Yeah, I’ve had a couple sites do the same stupid thing this week. Usually it’s not some mystery “bot wave,” it’s just one hole getting poked over and over until you notice. And half the time the plugin that’s supposed to stop it is basically decorative. If it’s comments + registrations both getting hit, I’d be looking at whatever’s still exposed in the setup, not just cleaning the spam and hoping it chills out. That never seems to work for long.

    • #9021
      sergbank
      Participant

      In real projects, yeah, same here. Feels like the usual junk bots just found something soft again. I’d be checking registrations first, then any form plugin stuff before I’d blame some “wave.” Half the time it’s one site config being a mess and the spam just keeps walking through it. At least from…

    • #9027
      sergbank
      Participant

      In real projects, yeah, I’ve been seeing more of that too. Usually it’s some dumb bot farm hitting the same weak point until you plug it. If it’s comments + registrations both going nuts, I’d check whether the anti-spam stuff is actually still doing anything, because half these plugins look “active” and still let garbage straight through. Also worth checking if the site’s got open registration turned on without any friction at all — bots love that. I’ve had one site where just changing the registration flow cut it down hard. Another one kept getting hammered until I nuked a crappy form plugin that was basically inviting it. Annoying as hell, but yeah, I wouldn’t assume it’s some big wave before checking the setup first.

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