BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I changed some code around to try and help me alleviate some of the bots that have been trying to authenticate on the board. As some of you may have noticed, I am currently checking every new user that signs up manually to make sure they are not a advertising BOT. With 5-6 new users a day this is quite a time consuming process for me.

I noticed in doing this that most of the bots had ICQ # in place and I also noticed that most of the members do not use ICQ #'s. So, I instituted code on the site that will immediately deny any user trying to update their profile or register with a icq # in place. If you already have an ICQ # in place in your profile you will be ok, but if you try to make a change to your profile, and the ICQ field is not blank, then it will error out (You'll get a blank white page). You will not be able to update your profile with a ICQ # in place, so please just erase it and go on with your business as usual!

Sorry for an inconvenience this may cause to the select few of you that actually use ICQ. (To clarify here, ICQ is a instant messaging program like AOL instant messenger that was fairly popular, but not a lot of people use anymore). If this is a problem for anyone, please let me know via email and I'll see what I can do.

And if anyone notices any strange side-effect, also please let me know.

Thanks and enjoy the board!
Doug

OK, I give up. What's a BOT, and what the hell is an ICQ? Not all of us are computer geeks.

Well done, Doug. Thanks for the effort.

Bot = robot. A software program that automatically searches and exploits vulnerable systems and networks. In this case, a Bot acts as a new user, exploits the restriction on who can post by registering as a real person, then spams the members with phishing posts and tries to lure the unknowing, unwitting, or unaware into other sites that can then exploit the user's computer vulnerabilities (as in passwords, ID theft, account infiltration, etc) or other bad things.

ICQ - instant message program from the old days ...hardly anybody uses it, as Doug said. If you don't know then you are safe from that particular exploit avenue.

PS

Not all Bots are bad. Google and Google mail essentially use bots to do their work of indexing and cross referencing everything for everyone.

Re: ICQ

In the very small town I grew up near, we used to assemble near the theatre on Saturday nights and watch the wimmens. If one of us spotted an exceptionally attractive one we would mutter ICQT. Our vocabulary wasn't large back then. And I imagine some of them were SheBots.

Boxer wrote:Re: ICQ

In the very small town I grew up near, we used to assemble near the theatre on Saturday nights and watch the wimmens. If one of us spotted an exceptionally attractive one we would mutter ICQT. Our vocabulary wasn't large back then. And I imagine some of them were SheBots.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA