Guestbook spamming 
Author: Evelyne M.I have finally figured out how to configure the Guestbook widget. On my server, like with some other users, the folder permission must be set to 755, not 777.
I HAVE configured to 'show captcha' AND that all comments must be moderated first.
But the ammount of spam the page has been getting is surreal! We don't get any spam through the comments/message form, only through the guestbook, a clear indication that the widget itself has been 'bookmarked as favorite' by professional spammers!!!
Some are shown as "this message was marked as an abuse" and there's only a "0" on it. Others contain several links (why can't we block links in the content of the messages, for example?) and fake emails.
The developers should take some actions on this urgently. There are several (free) tools that could be added, like an akismet api key, stop forum spam, capturing the IP the comment was inserted from and blocking it, so many!...
We've been getting about 1 spam message per minute, and I have better things than going to the admin page and deleting them everyday!!!
Also, why can't we 'unmark' a comment as 'abuse', when someone (a spammer?) has clearly marked it incorrectly and we know the comment is ok???
Please, do not tell me to 'contact your provider for advise on how to avoid spamming'. I have other websites with the same provider and I do NOT get any spamming on them. Let alone such an agressive and intensive one!....
Author
The attached image shows the kind of spamming we've been getting. And those came in in the last 5 minutes!!!...
Hello Evelyne,
The spam has to be blocked from the website and also from the server where the website is. Most hosting providers use blacklist system to block and prevent spam and the spam that arrives then has to pass the captcha and moderation. If on the server is not a system that prevents the spam it is not possible to avoid it and block it only with the captcha system.
The best solution is to get in contact with the hosting provider to ask to add a spam filter.
If you require any further information, please feel free to write back.
Author
Claudio,
Thanks for that, but quite honestly, it's a poor and misinformed answer. If you see my post, I listed 4 tools that can be used with the widget and which do not depend on the server (and they are all free...), so please, do not push the solution onto others...: :)
* akismet api key
* stop forum spam
* capturing the IP the comment was inserted from and blocking it
* blocking insertion of URL inside the comments
Also, why can't we 'unmark' a 'clean' comment which has been wrongly marked as 'Abuse'?
Claudio I totally agree with you. I have posted many comments about the poor spam filtering from Incomedia. I gave up long ago using an guestbook. What they say abuout the provider is wrong also. I use the same host for my WebsiteX5 sites as well as other sites produced by another package. The guestbooks using the other sites never get spammed
Author
Tony, I guess you agree with me, right? :)
Author
hmpf!...
Now ALL comments are gone, even the 'good' one I placed myself as a test and which had been inadvertedly marked as "abuse" by someone (???) and which I wasn't able to unmark...
Does anyone from Incomedia want to jump in? Please?...
Hello Evelyne,
Also if the comments are marked as abuse they will not be deleted automatically. The abuse shows you these comments as marked in the admin panel but you have to decide to delete them or not.
Did you moved the folder on the server where the comments wehere stored?
Many thanks!
Author
Hi Claudio,
Well, the first test comment I made, which got marked as 'abuse' somehow, just & simply disappeared after some time, and I did not delete it...
And nope, I did not move the folder on the server.
I wonder how spammers find this widget so fast (we started getting those spam message like right after it was installed!!!) and how they get past the captcha so easily...
Hello Evelyne,
I will check the issue you reported about the abuse marked comments that get's deleted and let you know more as soon as possible.
Many thanks!
Hello Evelyne,
Did the comments are still visible in the admin panel?
If yes then you can make them visible again by clicking again on the "reject" button.
Many thanks!
Author
Hi Claudio,
Nope, the initial test comment that got marked as abuse and disappeared is gone from the admin panel too.
I'm also intrigued by how could anyone manage to mark an unnaproved comment at the guest list as abuse if they never got published first place and therefore are NOT visible at the website...
There is something definitely wrong with this widget!
Have you considered other free source scripts to replace this one for future versions?
Hi Evelyne, Hi Claudio,
I have exactly the same problem but with my blog. I have no guestbook.
Too much spams to be able to delete it (ONE BY ONE !!!! Amazing !
) every... hour. Captcha is in place but has no effect on spams. And the top : I decided to stop the possibility to post comments on my blog to avoid spams... and they are still coming ! O_O
I have the option "send an email when receiving a message on your blog" and in fact, I still receive a lot of email for "new message on your blog" (but it's always spams). How is it possible ? I really don't understand. And your french collegue JP too.
My last solution is to move my blog out of Website X5 and create a new one on a free plateform where spams is better managed.
That's really a pity to pay a software and realize that free plateforms are more performing.
Insert an html object into a page inside your site.
In this object you'll put an iframe conteining a link to a separate folder in your domain.
This folder will contain the script you can download from here:
http://carbonize.co.uk/Lazarus/download.php
If you want you can also set the iframe page as reserved (with login required).
More: it is better if you insert a robots.txt into the Lazarus folder for to stop indexing by all the bots (but I think that a spammer bot won't care about).
I am getting the same problem with my guestbook.
What is Incomedia doing to make this STOP?
I have seen nothing that represents a fix for this most annoying problem!
Please advise asap, thank you!
Author
Even before I saw Fabio's reply, I decided to remove the widget and instead use Lazarus. It's a great app! I installed it using Softaculous (my hosting provides it) and it's great! Free and has many options to configure and adapt it to your own website. Lots of tools to improve security too...
Not one spam since I installed it... :)
(maybe Incomedia could incorporate it into next version, if "Carbonize" allows it?)
Once again, the guestbook feature attracts a ton of SPAM! And mostly they come from UK PayDay Loans!!!!
What is it with your GUESTBOOK feature?
I am saying it is brutal, and I am having to delete nearly a hundred a day!
Please advise a fix, Thank You!