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Anyone else getting hit with a stupid amount of spam lately? I’m talking fake registrations, junk replies, the usual nonsense. I cleaned it up yesterday and it’s back again today. I’m running basic moderation and a couple anti-spam plugins, but it feels like it’s getting worse instead of better. Maybe it’s just my site, not sure. If anyone’s had decent luck with blocking this stuff without making the forum annoying for real users, I’d like to hear it.
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Yeah, seeing the same thing on a couple boards lately. Feels like the bots just got a bit less dumb, honestly. If you’re only using basic moderation + a plugin or two, they’ll usually just keep poking until something sticks. I’d check whether the registrations are all coming from the same few IP ranges / user agents first. Half the time it’s not “more spam,” it’s just one wave cycling through. In my opinion,
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Well, yeah, same here, but I don’t think it’s always “the bots got smarter” so much as they just don’t care if they burn accounts anymore. I’ve had better luck with boring stuff like rate-limiting registrations, making first posts go to moderation, and killing the obvious throwaway email domains. The plugins help a bit, but on their own they’re usually just a speed bump. If the spam is coming in waves, I’d also check whether they’re hitting the same form endpoint over and over — sometimes that’s the real mess. And honestly, if you’re not already, adding one extra friction step for new users usually cuts it down without wrecking the forum. Not perfect, but way less annoying than playing whack-a-mole all day. I mean,
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Well, from what I see, Yeah, I’ve seen that too. Annoying part is the plugins usually catch like half of it and then the rest just keeps dribbling in. I’d probably look at where it’s coming from before assuming the site’s just “hot” right now. If it’s the same junk domains/IPs over and over, you can usually shut a lot of it down pretty fast.
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Yeah, same pattern here. Half the time it’s not even “more spam,” it’s just one campaign hammering the same weak spots until you tighten the screws. I’d be looking at logs before touching more plugins. If it’s the same IP blocks / ASN / UA junk, you can usually cut a big chunk without making legit users jump through hoops.
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Could be a wave, but I wouldn’t assume that too fast either. I’ve seen “sudden spam floods” turn out to be one dumb endpoint or form getting abused because the plugin missed a change after an update. If it really kicked off right after the latest update, I’d be checking: – registration source / referral junk – repeat IPs or ASNs – whether the anti-spam plugin is actually still firing on the right hooks – any form that got a little looser after the update Also, half these spam plugins get worse after an update because they start blocking less obvious stuff and let the obvious garbage through anyway. Been there. Annoying as hell. If you want, I can tell you what I’d check first in the logs, but honestly I’d start there before adding more junk filters.
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From my experience, yeah, I’d be suspicious of the update first, not “the internet got worse overnight” or whatever. Seen this a few times where a plugin update quietly loosens one hook or misses a form endpoint, and suddenly the garbage pours in. Logs will tell you pretty quick if it’s the same IPs/ASNs and the same signup path getting hit over and over. If it’s random junk rotating constantly, that’s a different headache.
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Technically, yeah, I’d stop trusting the plugins first honestly. Had one setup where the “anti-spam” stuff was basically just letting the obvious junk through after an update, and it looked like the site was suddenly getting hammered when really the filter just got dumber. If it’s fake regs + junk replies at the same time, I’d check the whole signup/post path, not just the moderation settings.
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