HELP! Multisite removed, no more comments!

  • First off, I am on GoDaddy Hosting. I have never used their services and also I haven’t used WP either. This is all a FIRST for me. Here is my URL: https://shannonenterprisesonline.com When I first installed WP I was only going to have the one web site but after reading up on Multisite and what I could do with subdomains and WP plugins for mapping other URL’s, I decided to go with the Multisite (Network) route. When I only had the one site up I was getting an average of 3 to 5 comments a day with no spam. When I changed it to Multisite (adding the line of code to the WP.config.php file) (I think that was the file, I would have to look at my notes again) everything CHANGED. I started getting over 500 comments a day and they were all spam. Them it jumped to 1000 a day. I added the Akismet plugin and all the spam was then put in the spam folder but that did NOT help with the problem, the spam and why I was getting so much just because I changed to MU. So I removed the Multisite code and all the comments STOPPED.

    Can anyone tell me why this is happening and how to get my multisite up and running, without all the spam coming back? I haven’t done any changing of permalinks or any other change that I can think of that would result in all this spam. Not to mention all the good comments no longer reach my box either. I would appreciate any and all the help this community could give me!

    Thanks, in advance, for your kind attention and forth-coming response, [sig removed]

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

  • use these 2 plugins to stop all that junk
    https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/bad-behavior/
    https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/cookies-for-comments/

    Moderator Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)

    (@ipstenu)

    ?????? Advisor and Activist

    There’s no correlation to MultiSite and spam. The code that cause you to turn on MultiSite doesn’t attract more than not, so that’s a bit odd.

    What plugins were you running?

    Spammers can;t read your config file.

    They CAN try and make spam blog when you are running multisite and have open registration. But that’s not the same as comments.

    I’d love to see some access logs to see exactly what they were hitting and looking for.

    Thread Starter sfshannon

    (@sfshannon)

    Ipstenu, “What plugins were you running?”

    I am running Akismet, Jetpack, PJW MIME Config, WP Importer and WP-Members. None of these plugins have changed since the problem with the spam started, I have had them from the beginning of installing this site. Well except the Akismet that I installed just for the spam. I am learning how to use PHP slowly but surely and all the help I can get to work through this problem will be greatly appreciated.

    Andrea_r, re: access logs

    I have no idea how to access them. If you would step-by-step me through it, I would be happy to show them to you.

    I will say it again, the only thing that was changed that STOPPED all the spam was the code, in the WP.config.PHP file, nothing else was done.
    Thanks for all your help in this matter, Stephen Disability Retired United States Marine Corps.

    Moderator Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)

    (@ipstenu)

    ?????? Advisor and Activist

    I will say it again, the only thing that was changed that STOPPED all the spam was the code, in the WP.config.PHP file, nothing else was done.

    Yeah, no one can see that file. I mean, I can’t go to ipstenu.org/wp-config.php and see anything ?? I’d have to log into the server. So adding something THERE? Does nothing to attract spammers.

    Thread Starter sfshannon

    (@sfshannon)

    Ipstenu, I understand everything you just said but since that is the case then can you think of any reason why I would go from 3 to 5 ACTUAL comments a day to 500 to 1000 a day of nothing but SPAM? When the only change that happened was that CODE!! Any input or suggestions would be VERY helpful, at this point, as I am stuck between a rock and hard place.

    Thread Starter sfshannon

    (@sfshannon)

    There is one thing I haven’t mentioned, almost every one of the spam comments had to be for another web site as my site deals in Free information and the comments, that were coming in, were for different topics like Digital Camera Reviews, Human Growth Hormone and so many other topics but mine. Just thought you should know that too, Stephen.

    Moderator Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)

    (@ipstenu)

    ?????? Advisor and Activist

    The best I can say is that it’s a coincidence. That when you turned on MultiSite, a bot was scanning for the registration page (if you go to ipstenu.org/wp-register.php it tells you that the site is closed for registration – if you go to my other site at that URL it’s a 404) and used that as its marker for ‘I will spam this site!’

    Or your site just got hit because these things go in cycles.

    Or you pissed off a troll (happens to me all the time).

    There’s a blacklist under Settings – Discussion where you can input all those terms and it will prevent any comment from even being posted to moderate with those words in it.

    Also, as soon as that code gets pasted in your config, other parts of WP are activated. Spammers are checking those files to see if they work. As I stated above they cannot read your config file to see if those lines are there.

    Thread Starter sfshannon

    (@sfshannon)

    Not a problem guys, I am going to try and set up my sites using multisite and hopefully everything works out. If I need anything I’ll come to you, as the pro’s, to find the answers I need. Thanks for all your input so far, Stephen DisRetUSMC.

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
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