Nord VPN and the Forum

[paulears]

Has anyone else got the 'You have been blocked' message meaning you have to turn off Nord VPN to access the forum? As this is so popular now, and important as many other forums require it's use to actually get in - it is a pain?

 

[Ozzy]

VPN's are used by so many fraudsters and spammers that I block VPN's on this site and have done for a while, and as this site is hosted in the UK and doesn't host any content that requires age verification, I have not needed to implement any workarounds for members to access the site (like moving it offshore and blocking the UK)

 

[paulears]

Interesting. Thanks for the reply. I understand. A bit sad that now they seem to be also used to stop the dodgy web sites doing what they do? I guess we just need to switch them on and off selectively. Cheers

 

[ThatDevAaron]

VPN's are used by so many fraudsters and spammers that I block VPN's on this site and have done for a while, and as this site is hosted in the UK and doesn't host any content that requires age verification, I have not needed to implement any workarounds for members to access the site (like moving it offshore and blocking the UK)

If only this was as affective as you think

 

[fisicx]

If only this was as affective as you think

It has cut down the spam by a huge percentage. Instead of dozens of spammers joining each day only a few now try their luck. And still get nuked.

 

[Ozzy]

If only this was as affective as you think

As @fisicx has confirmed already, it is phenomenally effective.

 

[Kerwin]

VPN's are used by so many fraudsters and spammers that I block VPN's on this site and have done for a while, and as this site is hosted in the UK and doesn't host any content that requires age verification, I have not needed to implement any workarounds for members to access the site (like moving it offshore and blocking the UK)

I really wish you would amend this.

Due to the UK Online Privacy law I have a VPN connected all the time to a server in the USA and this is the only site I use that blocks VPNs. I need the VPN to be connected all the time otherwise I would have to verify my age with numerous websites and services and due to the new law more and more people are going to be using VPN servers in different countries for the same reason. There are other ways to stop spammers other than blocking all VPNs and are much better in the long run.

 

[fisicx]

There are other ways to stop spammers other than blocking all VPNs and are much better in the long run.

What other ways?

 

[Kerwin]

What other ways?

Put the first 5 posts by new users in a moderation queue so that they need to be manually verified and once they have posted that 5 they have proven not to be spam. That would be the easiest way and works for spammers who don't use a VPN as well.

 

[fisicx]

Used to do that. They would post, get verified then spam the forum. Usually at 2am. We would login in the morning to see dozens of ‘buy fake currency’ or whatever.

 

[paulears]

Up to the management really. I hate it, but understand the reasons. A forum I moderate has some very clever software - way beyond me, but it seems to indentify new signups with some kind of database of dodgy IPs, and other stuff and the moderators get a warning when a score based on the database, user name, IP and reputation exceeds a certain score. These potential members then need manual approval. Somehow, their real country origin is reported with the VPN country. It's way above what I understand, but when members are identified as spammers, the forum software adds them to the database. It seems to work pretty well from my non-technical viewpoint, although sometimes I feel a bit odd when I look at the country, the user name and hit the zap button. It also uses the pages the person viewed, before signing up - so not sure if it gives them time to read posts before they decide to join to reply - but when temporarily approved don't add to topics read - it seems to do that but I don't know exactly how it works.

 

[Ozzy]

it seems to do that but I don't know exactly how it works

If you happen to know the name of that software I'd be happy to look into it.

 

[paulears]

If you happen to know the name of that software I'd be happy to look into it.

I'll see if I can find out. And send you a screenshot of how it presents the data.