Help! My site is once again beset my spam

It appears that a lot of users are using cache plugins and not clearing their cache when they upgrade or change settings in the plugin so the comment form is still using the old values which is why people are seen as spammers (the incorrect values are being sent).

I have done another update to the plugin which adds a url to view the page with query args on the url in the error message to help prevent this and added some error codes so the user can tell you what happened.

I’ll update it later today

Zero spam comments on my site today, looks promising although guess I better now check that it is still possible for humans to leave comments!

Like the spam comments caught counter on the settings page – useful to know that the plugin is actually doing something. Note that the versions number shown here is out of date though – it is showing version 1.4 still.

Cheers for your efforts with the plugin Andy.

Andy, just installed the new pack as a fresh install. I deactivated the old one and deleted via FTP. I cleared my cache afterward and again this morning (and twice during testing last night with GASP removed).

When I installed the pack, it still held my old info, all the way down to the number of bots it had “stopped”. I am quoting “stopped” because about half of them were live friends I had helping me isolate browsers and platforms. I cleared the cache again after install.

While it works perfectly (and the last version did as well) on mobi sites, it was only on computers where the issues arose across most browsers (Chrome, FF, IE, Safari). The only one we did not try last night was Opera.

For now, it appears to be working. I am still concerned the fresh install held my old information. Any ideas why?

I haven’t seen issues with it on any pc browser I’ve tested with on this latest version..

be sure to ask the user for the error code on the error message

I’ve added them to 1.5.2 so it will be easier to track down users who cannot comment

Keep your fingers crossed. So far, attendees can comment. I have a few hours before the WP crowd arrives. They had the most issues. As long as they were not Gravatar connected, it did not seem to be a problem. (last release)

I think you nipped whatever it was. Thank you, Andy.

Thank you Andy! Still got spam but it’s half of what it was before. Thanks for updating it.

great to know @aptharsia! thanks for the feedback

I updated to the latest once it was available. The good news is that it seems to be once again stopping 100% of spam comments!

No other issues. Regular comments are coming in just fine and spammers are not.

Great job Andy and thank you!

That’s wonderful news Dave!
Thanks for letting me know ??

Andy,

I really appreciate the work you’ve put in on this but I’ve updated to the new version but it’s made no difference.

What am I doing wrong?

experiencing the same problem. does this still work on multisite?

all the spam coming in is with commentluv.

it’s important to remember that this plugin will not stop comments that just look like spam.

So if you have humans leaving messages that are spammy then it wont stop that.

it is to stop the automated bots that flood your blog with 50-100 comments a day so if you’re still getting spammy comments after installing it then you might be being targeted by human spammers who are interested in the keywords that your blog is good for

you can try switching on the refer check in the settings and see if that works for you but if you’re getting real humans leaving comments then it might not help with that.

the only thing that seems to work for me is my commentluv premium plugin with the new anti backlinker module which removes links from comments until the user has been whitelisted

no links = no incentive to spam

when they see that they get no links then they move on to spamming another site that does give links

sorry I can’t be more help but spam from humans is very difficult to prevent.

@usera – spam coming in with commentluv just means the spammers have a feed on their site so commentluv can find a link

Just for your information, Andy, the comments I am still getting are definitely spam bot comments – the usual ludicrous, spun crap.

Actually, I’m only getting about 20 a day but that is 20 more than I was getting before this ‘new wave’ and still enough to bother my inbox!

I’m thinking of reinstalling deleting and reinstalling one more time (with W3 Total Cache) disabled (which I am 99% certain I did when I updated the plugin).

Do you think that is worth a try?

might be worth it.

try temporarily deactivating your cache plugin and see if that makes a difference

Mine are bots, also. Hardly any of them are on content pages. Almost all of them are on attachment pages for photos and images. 85% of them are knock-off shoes, handbags and sunglasses, despite my blog having never once posted about fashion. (Absolutely not my Earl Grey for a blog.)

All of these quit before 3.6. Whatever changed there gave them all access again.

The number of comments filter is definitely working. I am only seeing the same IP addresses three times before they are gone.