| Author |
Message |
Ian Giffin (Admin) (64.228.55.152)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 10:11 am: | |
Hi folks,
There have been a couple of messages in the last couple of days that are shucking software. I'm sure the messages themselves are illegal in content and I warn each and every one of you: if these messages appear and I haven't removed them, please don't follow any links that are provided within the body of the message and don't send any email to these guys. Your computer will likely get a myriad of stuff you don't want, ranging anywhere from viruses to adware to popups. It may even shut your computer down, not to mention the burden it may put on your ISP.
I don't know that the BNO bulletin board software is subject to "robot" or "bot" messages being left here, but I doubt it. I think everyone MUST manually type in messages and send them. However, this is the Internet and anything is possible, I suppose.
I am actively deleting all such messages as fast as I see them here and I'll be checking several times a day to do so.
As you can plainly see, every message on this bbs shows up with an IP address and, of course, I can ban any of these. The 2 messages that have landed here came from two completely different IPs, so there is no pattern as yet. I have banned the 2 people who have left these messages and will continue to do so.
I apologize to everyone including those on the automatic mailing list that you are getting these messages. Please just ignore them and I will do my best to keep up to these guys.
Best regards,
Ian Giffin
www.busnut.com |
Ed Jewett (Kristinsgrandpa) (4.224.204.145)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 12:51 pm: | |
Thanks Ian. I just went through a C-drive format because spyware/robot/adware programs comletely locked up my computer and my internet connection.
There is a freebie program to eliminate spy-ware etc. it can be found @ www.safer-networking.org/index.php it is called Spybot Search and Destroy. The link provides sites to download it in several languages.
My ISP marks all spam messages, so I went into tools,message rules, and deleted anything with the word spam in it. Now no more spam.
Spybot.com has a freebie test to check your computer for spyware. My computer had only been running a couple of hrs and showed one spyware infection already.
HTH Ed. |
Ian Giffin (Admin) (64.228.55.152)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 1:50 pm: | |
Hi Ed,
To be clear, nothing on this web site would have loaded yours or anyone's computer with anything, not even a "cookie".
(A caveat to the above statement would be that if anyone has bought anything from The BNO Store, PayPal uses cookies to track transactions.)
If you see a message from anyone resembling the messages described here, you are not infected. You have to click on their link before anything can happen to your computer. I am strongly urging everyone to NOT click on any of those links.
Ed, I use Spyware Search & Destroy as well. Additionally, I suggest the use of a quality antivirus programme that runs in the background, such as Norton Antivirus (www.symantec.com) or AVG Antivirus, which is free (www.grisoft.com).
Regards,
Ian
www.busnut.com |
Derek (24.85.245.203)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 2:31 pm: | |
I also suggest Ad-aware from Lavasoft[1], it's a free program that does the same thing as Spybot S&D but picks up what Spybot will miss, and vice versa.
Ian, the messages themselves are almost certainly illegal in that they're advertising cracked/warezed software, and also thier ISP probably has "no spamming" terms built into thier terms of service. If you continue getting harrassed, I would suggest that you use the ARIN[2] website to look up thier ISP and possibly contact thier abuse personnel about a possible resolution.
The other possibility is that the IPs posted are computers infected with a trojan horse or virus of sorts, in which case you will have to continue manually deleting all the messages. Hopefully they cease soon.
[1] Ad-Aware can be downloaded for free from Lavasoft software, at www.lavasoftusa.com
[2] The ARIN database search can be found at http://www.arin.net/whois/ |
Ian Giffin (Admin) (64.228.55.152)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 3:47 pm: | |
Derek,
I agree with you about the software. And thanks for the link!
Surf safe out there, everyone!!
Best regards,
Ian
www.busnut.com |
Phil Dumpster (24.16.243.37)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 11:23 pm: | |
Don't forget that it isn't all that difficult to spoof IP addresses, causing you to blacklist innocent computers.
There are also many machines on the net that can be used as proxies, masking the source of the message.
If you ever want to truly track down these critters, you'll have to do it via the garbage they are hawking. The contact info for their financial collection system is the only thing that is going to point back to them with any sort of reliability. Moreoften than not you'll find they aren't even in your country, which makes them all but untouchable. |
Ian Giffin (Admin) (64.228.43.39)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 22, 2004 - 7:24 am: | |
Phil,
Good points. You're right. I believe this bulletin board obtains the IP automatically and I don't think it can be spoofed - at least I am not aware of that possibility. I hope I'm not banning innocents.
Hopefully, those two messages were the end of it.
However, I will miss 2D's humorous come backs :-)
Ian
www.busnut.com |
TWO DOGS (63.185.65.248)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 22, 2004 - 9:48 am: | |
I'll be around ....'bound to find humor in other places... |
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