[Bogus Signups] Help! - geek/talk: Signature-free discourse for serious web publishers

IanMiller · 01-28-2003, 10:05 PM

OK guys, I need help from all you hackers and experienced pros out there. We manage several affilaite programs. Tonight, one of them is getting some kind of bot, signing up affiliates left right and center. In the past hour we had over 300 sign ups...all using different legit e-mail addresses of legit webmasters, and all going to various address on main street in New Jersey.

1) anyone know what is going on and how to stop it?

2) Other than malice, what could be the motive?

**Jan** · 01-28-2003, 10:26 PM

Can you check your logs and get an IP to block?

**Czar** · 01-29-2003, 08:12 AM

Ian, do the names of the individuals joining the program match those on their whois records? Is one of the names on the forms or the whois records Liu Jun?

IanMiller · 01-29-2003, 09:32 AM

Thanks for the help!

We are checking into the IPs now, to see if it can be blocked

The e-mail addresses were all different and they all appeared to be from legit wwebsites...but all differnt ones. Running whois on them did not end up giving me the same site owner twice. The names given on the sign up form were all bogus.

It looks malicious, but I am still trying to see if they are trying to **** us somehow

Thanks again

Ted S · 01-29-2003, 03:11 PM

Have you tried adding a unique key to each signup liek altavista does for search engine submissions? This often cuts bots down to 0.

**Czar** · 01-30-2003, 09:19 AM

I'm still in the opinion that this does bare the hallmarks of a **** artist(s) that many online merchants and ad networks know only too well. If any of the whois names do turn out to be Liu Jun, and if all of the suspicious applications have mailing addresses in Canada, NY and NJ, feel free to contact me privately about this.

I'm only continuing down this line since if it is the same party completing these applications, they're doing so manually, so blocking bots may have no effect.

Rhea · 01-30-2003, 03:55 PM

Could it possibly be a competitor of yours? Have you received any irate email lately? It's astonishing the lengths some people will go to inconvenience or harm another over the merest slight or perceived offense.

Good luck.

Steve_S · 01-30-2003, 07:01 PM

OK....I checked on Czar's close friend and looked at my abuse check list

</joke>

Another option, if you determine that the "abuser" is NOT using a bot: Consider and explanation on your join page and then implament a click back from the email you send to complete the join procedure.

The no click backs just hang out in a special cue which you can purge anytime you wish. vB uses this technique.

HTH

lmergen · 02-15-2003, 02:13 PM

Easy...

Generate an image on the signup page stating 4 characters, "yx5p" for example (each request different) and ask the potential member to enter those in a field and compare them at the end.

A smart bot that can analyse that.

01-28-2003, 10:05 PM	#1
IanMiller Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Montreal Posts: 17	Help! OK guys, I need help from all you hackers and experienced pros out there. We manage several affilaite programs. Tonight, one of them is getting some kind of bot, signing up affiliates left right and center. In the past hour we had over 300 sign ups...all using different legit e-mail addresses of legit webmasters, and all going to various address on main street in New Jersey. 1) anyone know what is going on and how to stop it? 2) Other than malice, what could be the motive?

01-28-2003, 10:26 PM	#2
Jan Join Date: May 2001 Location: Beautiful Darwin Posts: 4,752	Can you check your logs and get an IP to block? __________________ Real Ghost Stories Darwin NT World Travel Forum

01-29-2003, 08:12 AM	#3
Czar Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia Posts: 9,488	Ian, do the names of the individuals joining the program match those on their whois records? Is one of the names on the forms or the whois records Liu Jun? __________________ Czar Follow Geek/Talk's Twitter Feed to stay up to date with new discussion threads and online ad industry highlights. Important GeekVillage Links: Home \| Rules \| Posting Guide \| Report Trouble \| Feedback \| Advertise on GV

01-30-2003, 09:19 AM	#6
Czar Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia Posts: 9,488	I'm still in the opinion that this does bare the hallmarks of a ** artist(s) that many online merchants and ad networks know only too well. If any of the whois names do turn out to be Liu Jun, and if all of the suspicious applications have mailing addresses in Canada, NY and NJ, feel free to contact me privately about this. I'm only continuing down this line since if it is the same party completing these applications, they're doing so manually, so blocking bots may have no effect. __________________ Czar Follow Geek/Talk's Twitter Feed to stay up to date with new discussion threads and online ad industry highlights. Important GeekVillage Links: Home \| Rules \| Posting Guide \| Report Trouble \| Feedback \| Advertise on GV**

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01-29-2003, 09:32 AM	#4
IanMiller Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Montreal Posts: 17	Thanks for the help! We are checking into the IPs now, to see if it can be blocked The e-mail addresses were all different and they all appeared to be from legit wwebsites...but all differnt ones. Running whois on them did not end up giving me the same site owner twice. The names given on the sign up form were all bogus. It looks malicious, but I am still trying to see if they are trying to **** us somehow Thanks again

01-29-2003, 03:11 PM	#5
Ted S Registered User Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Irvine, California Posts: 667	Have you tried adding a unique key to each signup liek altavista does for search engine submissions? This often cuts bots down to 0.

01-30-2003, 03:55 PM	#7
Rhea Registered User Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex. I could pinch them. Posts: 1,887	Could it possibly be a competitor of yours? Have you received any irate email lately? It's astonishing the lengths some people will go to inconvenience or harm another over the merest slight or perceived offense. Good luck.

01-30-2003, 07:01 PM	#8
Steve_S Join Date: Aug 1998 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Posts: 5,223	OK....I checked on Czar's close friend and looked at my abuse check list </joke> Another option, if you determine that the "abuser" is NOT using a bot: Consider and explanation on your join page and then implament a click back from the email you send to complete the join procedure. The no click backs just hang out in a special cue which you can purge anytime you wish. vB uses this technique. HTH

02-15-2003, 02:13 PM	#9
lmergen Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Enschede, The Netherlands Posts: 186	Easy... Generate an image on the signup page stating 4 characters, "yx5p" for example (each request different) and ask the potential member to enter those in a field and compare them at the end. A smart bot that can analyse that.