Suspicious Spam posts on SWJ

**AdamG** · 02-21-2015

Got one.
Didn't open.
Advise y'all take appropriate action.

**Majormarginal** · 02-21-2015

I got one too.

**OUTLAW 09** · 02-21-2015

Early this week when I would answer a posted comment and you normally get the SPAM challenge on the Save command it would take 4-5 repeats with a new SPAM challenge each time with the warning that if it continues then report you being blocked.

It was also as if someone or thing wanted me to be blocked.

Interesting was if you kept putting in the new SPAM challenge it would by the
4th or 5th time actually load then the comment.

This normally indicates someone inside the network has access to the internal operating structure or a glitch in code.

Problem went over three days and has not come back.

**Bill Moore** · 02-22-2015

Darn, I was feeling special for awhile, but now I see everyone else received a spam message also.

Outlaw, I rarely go to your links because I was getting the spam notices each time I tried to open one. Now I know the rest of the story. P.S. I can't open twitter links regardless. It would probably be good to get an account, it would force me to be more concise.

**Cyclic** · 02-22-2015

I didn't get one. I joined in 2014.

**OUTLAW 09** · 02-22-2015

Originally Posted by Bill Moore

Darn, I was feeling special for awhile, but now I see everyone else received a spam message also.

Outlaw, I rarely go to your links because I was getting the spam notices each time I tried to open one. Now I know the rest of the story. P.S. I can't open twitter links regardless. It would probably be good to get an account, it would force me to be more concise.

Bill---thanks for the feedback then in fact the Russian disinformation group has in fact gotten inside the SWJ network--had suspected it for awhile after an exchange with one that comes and goes--the reason I say they are inside is the note that every link was tied to spam for you--regardless of what many think the social media world especially those in Europe have been direct targets of this Russian group in the last three months as they have been quite effective in carrying an opposite message than the Russian side does and they have been quite successful in countering Russian disinformation.

The Russian side is getting a tad to aggressive lately so this gauge does in fact show that the social media responses are hurting their efforts.

One workaround if the spam pops up on a twitter link if it is say a photo--cut and paste and I know it a royal pain but cut and paste the twitter pic link into Google as Google scans their entries since Snowdon.

In the future I will not point to a twitter link and see if I can find another route to the document or article.

By the way in the world of industrialization of hacking spamming and DDoS attacks have been extremely effective in cutting a non liked site and are or company.

Would be interested if others have had the same issue of spam popping up on a given link I have posted and when did it start.

**selil** · 02-22-2015

An IP pivoting from inside the Russian Federation took down my blog earlier today. It's on a cheap shared hosting server so a DDOS against is pretty trivial. Then they tried for about an hour using a sql injection attack which didn't work. I kind of shrugged.

**blath** · 02-26-2015

I just got one today, I joined in 2009.
I had only made one post, the attacker is (along with what ever else their doing) probably going through the membership list (if one is not available probably auto-created one by having something auto load every single thread) aiming at low post counts perhaps hoping they lead to abandoned e-mail addresses so more attack attempts can be made.
I'll forward the password attempt notification to the webmaster address to add to the IP block.
Hopefully they weren't spoofed IP / belonging to any current members though they can always access through some other network. And IPs change a lot. Though that kind of worry shouldn't be a biggie.
The blocks are good and will force a persistent attacker to make more movements and create a bigger foot print.

Thanks for this thread, benevolent wishes to everyone's endeavors and hopes for 2015.
- blath