BuddyPress.org

Okay… I just installed wp-hashcash and pasted in the function mentioned near the top of page 1 of this thread. Let’s see if that stops the *$^#%&@ SPAMers :o)

FYI… Elliot updated wp-hashcash for BuddyPress.

https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-hashcash/

I wonder if attempting to rename bp-core-signup.php might help. Who know how many things I could break though. LOL.

Anyway, I just duplicated the /registration/register.php file in my child theme and completely deleted this line… maybe that will help

<p><?php _e( 'Registering for this site is easy, just fill in the fields below and we\'ll get a new account set up for you in no time.', 'buddypress' ) ?></p>

@Andrea_r How do your say “SPAMbots please screw off” in Latin? LOL. Maybe Google can translate for me.

No more SPAM registrations since my last post. Fingers crossed.

Did you find out how to use regex in the WPMU “banned domains” setting?

I’ll try. I just got a new registration from ANOTHER .info email address. Minutes ago. Ugh Unreal.

I’ve done everything mentioned in this thread and MORE. And no dice. Kind of at my wits end. How the heck are they signing up?! Unless it’s humans signing up. But I assume all SPAMers use bots. Even if it’s not a bot… I don’t know how you’d ever find the signup page with Google. It has a custom slug and I’ve gotten rid of the default BuddyPress text.

Anyway. Thanks Andrea.

I wonder if this would work in .htaccess

deny from .*\\.info.*

I just clued in that these bots are probably all using proxy servers… and compiling a big list of them all would be futile. So I found this htaccess code that blocks servers based on their methods. I know this topic has gone beyond specific BuddyPress fixes… but I’ve done all of the BuddyPress fixed (and more) and I’m STILL getting SPAM signups. So perhaps this will help someone else.

RewriteEngine On

# block proxy servers from site access

RewriteCond %{HTTP:VIA}                 !^$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP:USERAGENT_VIA}       !^$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP:FORWARDED-FOR}	!^$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP:FORWARDED}           !^$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP:X-FORWARDED-FOR}	!^$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP:X-FORWARDED}		!^$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP:PROXY_CONNECTION}    !^$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP:XPROXY_CONNECTION}   !^$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP:XROXY_CONNECTION}	!^$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP:HTTP_PC_REMOTE_ADDR} !^$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP:HTTP_CLIENT_IP}      !^$

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ - [F]

Credit goes to: http://perishablepress.com/press/2008/04/20/how-to-block-proxy-servers-via-htaccess/

They could be legitimate proxies… yes… but I’m assuming they are in the minority.

I don’t think I have no referer rules. I’ll look into that.

So you just accept it? What a pain.

The BP demo site is also full of spam. Very interesting.

@Kunal17: I’m sure that’s probably just a coincidence.

@pushi22le: That’s a new tip. Thanks :o)

BTW… since banning proxies from accessing my site… I haven’t had a single SPAM signup.

Well it’s been 3 full days now without a SPAM signup.

I’m having 300 spam registrations a day and having to mark them all as spam manually 15 in one go in the user list. The plugin wordpress Hashcash (updated today to 4.5.1) should now work for BuddyPress registration but it stops EVERYBODY from registering.

David Lewis, one week later, is your solution still working for you?

@Magganpice: I’ve had two SPAM registrations since banning proxy connections.

The best trick I learned for fighting spam bots is to ask a question that only a human can answer and making them type it into a text box. If you change the question daily or randomize it, it makes it even tougher. Don’t do anything like math or captcha or something that a bot can calculate or decipher. Ask a question like “What color is snow?” or “How many sides does a triangle have?”

+1 for that idea, I had this on 2 SMF forums and it does work. While it doesn’t stop the odd human Spammer from registering, it stops bots dead in their tracks.

Maybe a coder would consider making such a BP plugin.