Notice: Web site changes coming - Please read

[djkimmel]

I will be moving the web site to a new server in about a week. There may be a short window when no new posts or signups can be made when databases are moved from one server to another. This should happen around the 22nd of September. There may be a short window of a few minutes to a few days for people to start seeing the new server depending on how you access it and how the various memory caches between you and me (meaning the site) operate.

It is necessary for a number of reasons starting with the most important reason of better protection of the data.

On that subject, additional changes to security will have to be made due to the increase in attacks by spammers, some of whom are getting through temporarily lately. There were 16 spammer sign ups just this morning and 3 got all the way through the sign up process including a porn spammer. There has been 538 blocked spammer sign up attempts so far this year with another 30 or so that made it all the way on for a short time before they were dispatched, with the last 3 days being the worst for some reason I'm investigating.

Though no actual posts were made today, other activities occurred that have to be blocked. Last week, 2 got through far enough to post though they did not appear to be harmful posts. I will be adding new security measures to try to make it harder for them to get through and will do my best to make it as transparent as possible to real users.

Have to do it though because I don't want harmful posts being made, or having spammers capturing information such as email addresses from those of you who have not made them private. You can make your email private by going to your Profile, clicking on Account Related Settings under Modify Profile. Then check the box "Hide email address from public?" and click the Change Profile button at the bottom.

It's very important to me that GreatLakesBass.com be a safe and fun place for everyone to visit. I wish I could let everyone sign up with no security, captcha text, questions or verification, but that just wouldn't work with the constant attempts by spammers and worse to get on every web site.

I'll post more information about the server change in a few days. Thanks for being members of GreatLakesBass.com!!

[MadWags]

Thanks for all your hard work Dan Kimmel. How's your brother Jimmy doing?

[djkimmel]

I think he's one of the spammers!!!

[mikesmiph]

I dont think many of us realize how much work Dan puts into this site, so that we can have a nice safe, clean place to exchange our fishing views. A porn spammer every once in a while wont hurt too many of us Dan. LOL

[djkimmel]

Well... I was actually thinking about Veronica and some other similar youngsters... and what would my Mom think...?!?

[fasttrack]

Like others have said, thanks a ton for all your work keeping this great site going strong (and safe)!

[River Rat]

Your efforts are greatly appreciated, sir!

[djkimmel]

Crossing my fingers. Only 6 spam signups so far this morning and only 2 are totally new (previously unused spammer IP numbers, email and usernames combinations) that could have gotten through if I did not have email activation. They are all reported to multiple watchdog organizations so other site owners can block them too.

I was happy to find out my hidden email spam traps (Project Honey Pot) have now captured 15 email harvesters including 14 previously unknown ones. That allows other web sites to block them before they can get on their sites to harvest email addresses. It means the spam they thought they sent out went to non-existent email addresses instead of real users. One of these spammers from a Romanian IP address has harvested 7,050 fake email addresses sending 601,164 spam messages to them!!

And they weren't able to get to any of your email addresses to send you more spam because they fell into the hidden 'honey pot' instead!

Until I began running this site, I did not understand how much effort these stinkers put into this stuff. I had previously helped out an unprotected site that had 1,600+ junk members compared to only 400 or so real members. It took a while to clean that up and make it so they couldn't sign on anymore, but to actually see their attempts fully as I do now... if you have a web site, keep the software up-to-date and keep watching all the time. They write programs to target your site automatically. I blocked one person yesterday and he/she/it already signed back up again today using a different IP address. Another one is a poor programmer - maybe a script kiddee - and tried to sign up with exactly the same info. I had one do that 4 days in a row before giving up or trying all different info maybe.

They also have farms of people in India that sign up on web sites manually for cheap pay to beat automated block methods. I could block Indian IP addresses, but they have many ways around that as I found out previously with those dreaded Ukranians!! Now it's the Malaysians, Philippinos, Brits and always the Dutch. Apparently the Netherlands is a hotbed for spammers. Go figure. Actually, it's now 20 to 30 different country sources each month including a bunch from the home front (traitors?) and even Canucks.

Thank goodness so many of you are really good people. I'll be testing software changes over the next few days to see if that slows things down because 3 more tried to sign on while I was typing my little story here... #@$#$#%#!!

[djkimmel]

Anyone read Polish?? I think one of them wants to offer all of us a visit to a Polish online casino...?? But I'm not sure? I'm part Polish but I don't read the Mother language. Another one wants to offer each of us a chance to buy French property!! Those both fit a Great Lakes bass fishing web site, don't they?!?

[djkimmel]

I'll try not to crash things or slow things down. For all of you anyway. Got to slow things down for the spammers though.

[djkimmel]

Guess I shouldn't have been thinking today would be a lot better. Going to have to make those changes for sure.

15 member signups today. Only 2 real persons who are interested in fishing. 13 rotten spammers. It can take a while, but they keep changing their programs to get around known blocks and they are figuring it out again, darnit! Oh well. Don't want to get bored...

[motocross269]

The Netherlands??? Your not blocking the Swedish Bikini team are you??? 

Thanks for all of the hard work... 

[djkimmel]

NEVER!!! What...? No honey .... I thought he said swedish meatballs... what bikini? No! Ouch! I have to go. My wife says I have chores to do...

[djkimmel]

Of course... you know the Swedish bikini team is in Sweden, right? Well. As far as I know.

The Swedes usually stay neutral... but I will say I have had several spammers even from their neutral snow-covered peaks... unfortunately.

Only 9 crap signups today so far. Just got done blocking two entire ranges of US IP addresses from a server company that seems, if not to cater to spammers, at least turns mostly a blind eye to them! Why someone doesn't investigate or shut them down is beyond me.

There was another worldwide notorious hosting company in California that for years was the source of a huge amount of spam since they apparently set their business plan up to be attractive to spammers who want protection and privacy. Nice, huh?

Major Internet companies, webmasters and organizations complained to the government, sending tons of evidence for years, before they finally stepped in and shut them down after almost 4 years of dedicated, targeted work by these companies. Worldwide spam went down something like almost 40% for several weeks just from this one company!! I know my spam went from 200 to 300+ per morning to less than 100 for almost 3 weeks. Then... business as usual as they found other companies willing to serve them... They recently arrested a big spammer here in Michigan I heard. Good!

[djkimmel]

HEY! A 'real' member just signed up!! Yeah! After only 10 spammers... If I left the spammers on as 'members' we'd be just short of 2,000! But I can't do that...