Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    Fake Accounts and SPAM Posts

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Forum Feedback
    87 Posts 15 Posters 7.0k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • S
      slu @johnpoz
      last edited by

      @johnpoz said in Fake Accounts and SPAM Posts:

      while reporting is good.. It can also turn into a form of spam for the mods and admins.

      Good point, sorry. 😬

      pfSense Gold subscription

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • stephenw10S
        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator @johnpoz
        last edited by

        @johnpoz said in Fake Accounts and SPAM Posts:

        Reports are prob best on those ones that they came back latter and added spam links in them and the like.. Even ones on old threads, etc. buried deep in the thread that nobody noticed when they were posted, etc.

        Yup that ^. Those are the hardest to pick up otherwise.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Bob.DigB
          Bob.Dig LAYER 8
          last edited by Bob.Dig

          For weeks now I see messages like your IP has been banned, but if I reload the page, it still works. I changed from using a privacy-VPN to my ISP but I even get more messages like this. Now I have to ask, what should I do about it. It is a mild annoyance, reloading fixes it. But what else could I do. Should I enable third-party-scripts? Or is it just how it is, after all those spam-posts.
          I get it, stopping those must have priority. But I m also curious, why not using a privacy-VPN makes even more (light) problems for me.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • stephenw10S
            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
            last edited by

            Hmm, are you using a fixed IP?

            There are a bunch of things in the blacklists but I don't think we added any after the spam flood. Most of what is there are used by VPN providers because, unfortunately, that's what spammers use.

            But I wouldn't have expected your usual ISP to be listed.

            Bob.DigB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Bob.DigB
              Bob.Dig LAYER 8 @stephenw10
              last edited by

              @stephenw10 My impression is and I have not talked about that with anyone else yet, that whatever I do, I get those messages. And reloading helps every time so it might not be an actual blacklist but something else with my Browser, what triggers this...

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • stephenw10S
                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                last edited by

                Hmm, do you have load-balanced WANs perhaps?

                Bob.DigB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Bob.DigB
                  Bob.Dig LAYER 8 @stephenw10
                  last edited by Bob.Dig

                  @stephenw10 No. My Browser is optimized for privacy though.
                  Still having that problem...

                  Before and still I often get "Looks like your connection to Netgate Forum was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.", but not that my IP is blacklisted ([[error:blacklisted-ip]]), which it is not. But it seems like I am the only one with that interesting problem.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    I used to see the connection lost message but haven't for some time, like maybe 6 months.

                    You don't have dual WANs?

                    Bob.DigB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • Bob.DigB
                      Bob.Dig LAYER 8 @stephenw10
                      last edited by Bob.Dig

                      @stephenw10 said in Fake Accounts and SPAM Posts:

                      You don't have dual WANs?

                      No, I am not JKnott, god bless him.

                      I have a lot of VPN Client-Connections (and Gateways) but I am not using them for this forum right now.

                      Edit: My connection goes through a SOCKS5-Proxy under my control. I don't know if this can be seen by the forum or anyone though. I hope not. 😉

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • stephenw10S
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        Hmm, no the forum couldn't 'see' that. It also implies your traffic always comes from that IP. Unless the proxy is load-balancing somehow?

                        Bob.DigB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • Bob.DigB
                          Bob.Dig LAYER 8 @stephenw10
                          last edited by

                          @stephenw10 said in Fake Accounts and SPAM Posts:

                          Hmm, no the forum couldn't 'see' that. It also implies your traffic always comes from that IP. Unless the proxy is load-balancing somehow?

                          Hi Stephen, I still have that problem every day and I have no clue what to do about it. May I ask for a whitelisting? I can give a "static" IP if it helps.

                          johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • stephenw10S
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                            last edited by stephenw10

                            Hmm, as far as I know the forum has no way to whitelist IPs. There is only a blacklist. And your IP cannot be one it because if it was you wouldn't be able to connect at all. 😕

                            Something else must be happening. Do you have dual stack v6/v4 perhaps?

                            There are 5 IPs logged for recent connections on your account. But it looks like from x.x.x.182 in the last 25 days.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • johnpozJ
                              johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @Bob.Dig
                              last edited by

                              @Bob-Dig no need for static - what is your IPv6 address, can you give the prefix, or pm it to me and can check the blacklist - maybe you are hitting it via IPv6 and then switching to IPv4 that is allowed?

                              There was a period where was seeing those you lost connection myself - but as Steve mentioned haven't seen that in quite sometime.

                              An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                              If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                              Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                              SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

                              Bob.DigB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • Bob.DigB
                                Bob.Dig LAYER 8 @johnpoz
                                last edited by Bob.Dig

                                @johnpoz Hey guys. I don't use IPv6 for the forum. The Browser goes through a Socks5-Proxy and that only can talk IPv4.

                                GertjanG johnpozJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • GertjanG
                                  Gertjan @Bob.Dig
                                  last edited by

                                  @Bob-Dig said in Fake Accounts and SPAM Posts:

                                  I don't use IPv6 for the forum

                                  So you could use it ?
                                  forum.netgate.com is IPv6 native for years now. it can still be used with IPv4 if really** needed.

                                  ** Joking of course, these are de days of "full stack".

                                  No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                                  Edit : and where are the logs ??

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • johnpozJ
                                    johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @Bob.Dig
                                    last edited by

                                    @Bob-Dig said in Fake Accounts and SPAM Posts:

                                    The Browser goes through a Socks5-Proxy

                                    And did you remove that - to be honest that could be the problem.. Is this a local proxy or some proxy outside your network>

                                    An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                                    If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                                    Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                                    SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

                                    Bob.DigB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • Bob.DigB
                                      Bob.Dig LAYER 8 @johnpoz
                                      last edited by

                                      @johnpoz It is local but not in my main LAN.

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • stephenw10S
                                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                        last edited by

                                        Oh, I missed (or forgot!) some content here; are you only seeing the 'lost connection' message now?

                                        Yes, I occasionally see that too though usually only if the connection changes somehow. Like a VPN connects or my WAN re-links etc.

                                        Bob.DigB 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • Bob.DigB
                                          Bob.Dig LAYER 8 @stephenw10
                                          last edited by Bob.Dig

                                          @stephenw10 Yes, this is gone since not using load-balancing gateways for the connection anymore but I still get [[error:blacklisted-ip]] very often and have to reload.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • stephenw10S
                                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                            last edited by

                                            Hmm, hard to see how that could be. Your IP is not blacklisted, you are able to reply! I would think it must be changing but.... not sure how unless you have some VPN active you're not aware of. Somehow. 😕

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • First post
                                              Last post
                                            Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.