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May 26, 2008
CAPTCHA Hacks For Gmail, Blogspot, Craigslist Causing Problems
Seems the hackers have found a way to work around CAPTCHA - the once great hope of stopping bots from spamming. SEW Forum member, Sitetruth, notes that there are now programs being offered that work around the filter.
So if you notice a lot of spam coming from Gmail accounts and hacks of Blogspot you will know why. Even the spam fight over at Craigslist is getting to be a major problem according to TechDirt.
Matt Cutts' team over at Google must be working over time on this one. I have been noticing bounces off my Gmail account in my spam folder - hey this has always been a problem, but if bots are out there creating millions of "soon to be spamming" accounts - then Gmail may start getting blacklisted by various email filters.
Hackers have always been part of the internet landscape. Gaming systems is almost part of the lore of the web - at least in the regular media. No doubt many of the 'Black Hats' grew up with a steady diet of movies where the hacker is the hero's sidekick. Virtually all the people I know begrudgingly admit the skills used to hack systems is impressive... but most also see them living in their parents' basements.
Hey guys the weather is gorgeous today. Step away from the computers and go outside. Life in the light feels good and it is a lot of fun interacting with flesh.
Leave Craigslist alone. It is such a globally shared egalitarian resource - that it should be an "all hat colors free zone".
Matt if you need any input or help from this community just let us know.
Posted by Frank Watson on May 26, 2008 2:15 PM
Comments
Thanks for the offer Frank. I thought the TechDirt article was interesting, especially in the way that Craigslist is requiring a phone number if you want to post a large number of ads, and how Craigslist is careful to prevent some types of spammy phone numbers (e.g. disposable phone numbers).
Matt Cutts May 26, 2008 5:15 PM
Spam does get out of hand - the more popular the site the more spam - even the SEW forums get spam visits... delete them every day.
AussieWebmaster May 27, 2008 11:21 AM
Hi,Frank~I also hate the spam very much,however ,the more polular website attracting clients the more spam.So no doubt I have to suffer for making a live .I hope the anti-spam will be more effective one day.
Sanyo May 28, 2008 4:32 AM
I agree with Matt that Craig is doing some interesting stuff to filter Craigslist. Knowing throw away phone numbers is interesting
AussieWebmaster May 28, 2008 12:47 PM
Just a note, Vonage and other Voip phone lines will not work with Craigslist phone authorization. They also let too much freedom in allowing flagging of legit ads by agencies and competition but they seem to not really give a rats ass about it, just the generic "policy" response emails.
Johnny X July 14, 2008 5:09 AM
Haha, captchas have been broken for some time now, and with all the autoflaggers out there such as craigs hitmen, www.craigshitmen.com , people are starting war over there
Corey November 20, 2008 7:19 PM
true spam sucks sometimes
Kevin July 19, 2009 6:38 PM
