Category talk:Spammer
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Contents |
[edit] Somebody Trashed My Page!
We all hate that feeling, of seeing a bunch of crap at the top of your carefully-written prose, or worse, seeing your carefully-written prose REPLACED by a bunch of crap.
How do you get it back?
Simple.
Click the "History" tab, and select the last edit that was done before the spammer showed up. The spammer's 'edit' should also auto-select.
Click "Compare Selected Versions". You will see a summary of what you used to have on the left (the old version) and the spammed page (the 'new' version) on the right.
Under each heading is an Edit link. Click the one on the left. You will be warned that you're editing an OLD version, and will 'revert' any newer changes.
Click "Save Page".
Congratulations, you've just undone the spam and got your old page back.
[edit] Flagging a Spammer
OK, so you caught someone (or something) adding a bunch of garbage to your page. How do you go about nailing the perp after cleaning up the mess?
First, go to the page history.
Click on the name or the IP address that uploaded the changes. This will bring you to their contribution history.
COPY the URL for this page. Then open the "Talk" or "Discussion" tab and paste it. This creates a record of what this account or IP has so far 'contributed'. Save the page.
Next, click on the "User Page" tab. type the following:
- {{Pending Ban}}
Save the page. This FLAGS the IP or account for an admin to block the IP and conduct further research.
[edit] Flagging a Page Vandal
Follow the Spammer process, but also note that the account/IP is NOT automated, and that edits are deliberate and malicious. I suggest putting this note at the very top of the Discussion Page.
[edit] Advanced and/or Militant Research
Once we have an account, the Wiki sysop can go back and find out who registered it, if there's a valid email address associated with it, et cetera. Then he can lower the hammer on the unfortunate idiot.
However, often times this spam is uploaded by anonymous IP's. So, you have to figure out who 'owns' the IP.
To do that, I use SamSpade.org. This is an online WHOIS lookup that, given an IP, will tell you who registered it, how big the netblock it is in, and who to contact regarding 'issues' with this IP.
Once I get results back from the WHOIS query, I paste them into the user/IP address "Discussion" page, along with the contribution record. This can be used as a log in case any systems admins want proof that someone jacked with our stuff.
- NOTE: Keep in mind that the WHOIS report will usually reveal what ISP holds the block of IP's. if you're into writing highly-official-sounding email, you want to address it as if one of their customers has done the damage, not the ISP itself. If you get a business, explain that one of their computers has been recorded as leaving spam, rather than telling them an employee 'did it on purpose'.
- Often the systems in question are infected with rootkits, trojan horse programs, or other malware that allow someone to control them remotely, and the owner of the systems may have no clue that their computer is off slinging spam hither and yon.
- Of course, if the person you get to starts spouting "PWN3D!!" and/or acting smug about it, feel free to suggest a ban on the entire netblock...
- -- Soul Train 07:16, 23 August 2007 (MST)
