?what is ?????????????? - & why is it posted?

[Al Jardin]

Didn't fancy clicking on one of the links to find out.

[Dave_L]

It was spam, Al, now deleted.

[Al Jardin]

Cheers Dave.

[msh paving]

usually get 4-5 of em a day, fist thing in morning 5-6am is the time they get posted ,MSH

[lutonlagerlout]

never a good idea to click on any link from an unknown author
LLL

[lutonlagerlout]

i pick up the late ones, 11-1 AM
LLL

[Tony McC]

If the spammers sign up while I'm working at the computer in my study, I can usually ban them *before* they get a chance to post their nonsense.

At the moment, they are using a script that automagically posts the spam from their HQ in Russia, with the USA and China running a close second and third. This is an inherent weakness in the current forum set-up, as it can't block the usual email addresses such as ivan@mail.ru, and it can't handle a 'captcha' one of those annoying bendy word images that have to be decoded when you sign up to spam-proof sites.

There've been other 'issues' with the Brew Cabin software in recent months and I'm going to have another go at getting the replacement software finalised, up and running while the trade is quiet. I know I say this every winter, but we are pretty close to tipping point in terms of what this antiquated system can handle.

[Dave_L]

i pick up the late ones, 11-1 AM
LLL

And I usually do the early shift!

[msh paving]

All in all I think LLL,dave_l, myself and Tony have the spammers almost under control,take there porn and stuff and bugger off
MSH

[GB_Groundworks]

cough cough, i get one or two first thing delete them and report the ip to the gaffer

[Al Jardin]

What's the angle with spammers? Are they phishing for security info or promoting something?

Al

[lutonlagerlout]

promoting bogus pharm sites ,harvesting emails and generally trying to piss people off
it gives me a little chuckle when i delete them,I dont know what the stats are but i guess there must have been a few thousand deleted between us
LLL

[msh paving]

Sorry i forgot you giles.......MSH

[Tony McC]

What's the angle with spammers? Are they phishing for security info or promoting something?

Most are promoting, if that's the right word, iffy pharmacies, businesses in the US (realty in Cook County, Arkansas, etc.) and the usual Juicy Lucy and her Triangular Monster sites.

However, two or three years ago, I got emails and a couple of phone calls from an authentic sounding Russki who claimed that, for a mere 10,000 Euro, he could stop all spam posts to the site. I told him to bugger off back to the Steppes and then we had a couple of months of very heavy spamming, but it soon returned to the more usual 10-15 a day.

The weird thing is that we get very little on Saturdays and Sundays: it's as though the spammers work a regular 9-5, Mon-Fri job!

[Al Jardin]

I guess it's like the Nigerian scam email thing. It only takes one sucker to take the bait, go over there and invest in sweet f.a. to make it worth thier while.

Cheers.

Al