Forum Moderator

[BradPAjax]

Any tencho geeks out there that can help me?



For some reason I can no longer post replies due to an error on this site that says I have a restricted IP address. How can I ask an Admin or Moderator to help? I cannot change my profile either.



Currently using a virtual machine thru my office IT connection to post until I figure out what happened.

[TravelinAnderson]

Go to the memberlist and sort the names by group. The admins will appear on the top of the list. Just send them a note explaining your problem and see what they can do.
If you're connecting through a public wifi, you and many other will share the same ip address so if one of the other people using that connection did something to cause the ip to be blocked, everyone on that ip will be as blocked as well.

[marketing]

Redwood Marketing - Good morning, we are experiencing a heavier than usual spam presence. The usual methods for protecting against and removing the spam are not adequate. We are looking into alternative measures. We apologize for any inconvenience.

[5th_Time]

Please start by removing current SPAMMERs... easily identified - and then develop criteria for Admin authorizing new forum members. Right now, it looks like anyone who registers is "auto approved" to become a member.

[mhs4771]

Pretty easy to identify a spammer if they have a address or e-mail address outside the US or Canada

[TravelinAnderson]

I agree with 5th Time. There should be a screening process of some sort.
Most of the emails addresses given by the spammers are bogus so there could be a confirmation email requirement for new members. An auto-generated email would be sent from redwood that the new user would have to reply to before membership is granted.

[Tobys Home]

Guys you wouldn't believe it but I forgot my password and the system wouldn't let me in. Point: we protect ourselves against ourselves and and not the spamers. As one mentioned they are doing there job but you know the forum is for Redwood admires and owners who need to pass on INFORMATION so that others may benefit and correct or tend to problems addressed. The need for control is at hand. Redwood PLDEASE HELP!

[marketing]

Redwood Marketing - We are aware of the increase in spam. It appears to be a platform issue (the forum software is a purchased product.) The "usual" control methods just aren't up to the increase in spam. We are looking into alternative solutions. We apologize for any inconvenience in the meantime.

[John317]

Originally Posted by marketing

Redwood Marketing - We are aware of the increase in spam. It appears to be a platform issue (the forum software is a purchased product.) The "usual" control methods just aren't up to the increase in spam. We are looking into alternative solutions. We apologize for any inconvenience in the meantime.

Thanks, it is good to know that someone is listening and are looking into a solution.

[Tobys Home]

Thank You admin!!!! This forum is very important to us all. We will make it and grow along with the company.

[KWire]

OK, I am not a web programmer, but I have done a little investigation into the "Web Wiz Forum" software that Redwood is using to run this Forum.

Currently Redwood is using version 10.03 of the Web Wiz software and the latest version is 10.11. In the latest version there seems to be lots of tools to help control SPAM. Below is a list from their site. Now granted some of them would require an active Administrator, but a lot seem to be automatic.

I noticed another interesting thing about Web Wiz. It includes a File and Image upload manger (see below), which is something many people have been asking for...

So I have a few of questions for Redwood Marketing:

1) Can you appoint a few of the active participants to help with the SPAM control by giving them Administrator rights?

2) Can you block all domains outside the US & Canada?

3) Can you turn on the Image and File upload systems?

4) Can you expand the Categories, Forums and Sub-forums as was discussed in another thread?

I think we all agree we only want this Forum to grow and succeed, but we all know it will take a commitment from Redwood Marketing. The longer it goes without proper attention the harder it will be to make it happen.

Keith

------------------------------------------------------------
Security and ANTI-SPAM
<ul>[*]Group and Individual User Permission System - View Forums, Create Topics, Reply, Edit Post, etc.[*]Anti-SPAM Tools prevent robots from posting SPAM messages[*]<str&#111;ng ="redText">New[/b] StopForumSpam - Checks with the StopForumSpam service to block known spammers from registering[*]New</span> SPAM Cleaner
Tool - One stop tool for removing, blocking, and cleaning up messages from a spammer[*]New</span> SPAM Filter - Add words or Regular Expressions with configuarble actions when Spam Filter detects Spam in Posts[*] Anti-Spam Flood Control - Time span between members posts and number per hour[*]Private Message Anti-SPAM Flood Control - Number of private messages that can be sent per hour[*]New</span> SSL Support - Native support for SSL encryption for sensitive sections including Registration, Login, Profiles, Admin Area, etc.

(Requires an SSL Certificate and a website configured to use SSL)</span>[*]Secure login system with protection from Dictionary Hacking and Password Cracking[*]Email activation of new member registrations[*]Vetting system allows the forum admin to activate new members once they are approved[*]IP Address logging and blocking (IPv4 and IPv6 supported)[*]Bad Word Filter with support for Regular Expressions, for replacing unsociable words or phrases with those set in the filter[*]Fully moderated Topics and Posts - Topics and Post are displayed after being approved by a moderator[*]Double posting of identical posts blocked[*]Email Domain Banning[*]Member Suspension[*]Report Post with email alerts[*]Password protect forums[*]160bit one way password encryption[*]New</span> Optional enforce Password Complexity[*]Security filters to preventing Cross Site Scripting (XSS) and SQL Injections[*]Protection from Cross Site Forgery Requests (XSFR)[*]<str&#111;ng ="redText">New[/b] rel="nofollow" now added to all links by default to reduce link spamming to gain link juice[*]Proprietary Session Tracking - Improves security
and performance with support for load balanced servers, web gardens,
and web farms[*]High security Admin Control Panel login[*]Regular security audits carried out to make sure Web Wiz Forums is protected from the latest threats[*]24 hour vulnerability patch policy - Should a vulnerable area ever be found, we aim to have a patch released within 24 hours![/list]------------------------------------------------------------

File and Image Upload Manager
<ul>[*]Member Image and File Uploading with support for uploads up to 30MB in size[*]Built-in Member File Manager (uses Group Permission system)[*]Members can manage their own uploaded files, images and avatars[*]Built in File Browser for browsing member's upload folder[*]Member can view the amount of allocated upload space they have remaining[*]Preview files online or download files to your own computer[*]File details, including file name, file type and file size[*]Upload new files and images from your own computer with Progress Bar[*]Upload Progress Bar displays the percentage of
files/images uploaded, estimated time left, transfer speed, and more
(Progress Bar only available if using the Persists AspUpload 3 or above
upload component)[*]New</span> Image Upload Resizing - Automatically resizes uploaded images over a configurable size.[*]Delete old files and images[/list]

[John317]

Awesome job KW! C'mon Marketing the ball is in your court.