Hidden spam
- Hagar Delest
- Moderator
- Posts: 32712
- Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:07 pm
- Location: France
Hidden spam
A new kind of spam again I think.
Look at the friends of OP on his tagged web page...
Or have I missed something by avoiding social networks???
Refers to http://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/vi ... =7&t=60515 (link since deleted; floris v).
Look at the friends of OP on his tagged web page...
Or have I missed something by avoiding social networks???
Refers to http://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/vi ... =7&t=60515 (link since deleted; floris v).
LibreOffice 24.2 on Xubuntu 24.04 and 7.6.4.1 portable on Windows 10
Re: Hidden spam
Sorry, how is this spam?
Would it be appropriate to simply delete (or disable) the link and leave the post?
Would it be appropriate to simply delete (or disable) the link and leave the post?
AOO4/LO5 • Linux • Fedora 23
- Hagar Delest
- Moderator
- Posts: 32712
- Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:07 pm
- Location: France
Re: Hidden spam
Have you checked Sterling's [1053] friends? -> http://tagged.com/friends.html?uid=5443165913
I agree that the profile does not seem unusual. But first the question seems rather too basic. Then the friends list. It rang a bell for me.
But we can revert the ban and monitor the reappearance of a live link.
I agree that the profile does not seem unusual. But first the question seems rather too basic. Then the friends list. It rang a bell for me.
But we can revert the ban and monitor the reappearance of a live link.
LibreOffice 24.2 on Xubuntu 24.04 and 7.6.4.1 portable on Windows 10
Re: Hidden spam
My fewer friends all seem to dress more conservatively!
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15 on Xubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
Re: Hidden spam
Hmmm ... o ... k ....Hagar Delest wrote:Have you checked Sterling's [1053] friends? ->...
I don't like the idea of trying to analyze what's on some page the user linked to (shoot, I don't even like to visit such pages), but I think I see your point. Good catch.
It seems like a good bet that anyone who makes a first post and adds a link that isn't directly related to the post (a document or screen shot, or something) is spamming.
AOO4/LO5 • Linux • Fedora 23
- Hagar Delest
- Moderator
- Posts: 32712
- Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:07 pm
- Location: France
Re: Hidden spam
+1. And I often don't remove commercial links (in profile) when they are about small businesses or at least not definitively commercial oriented.acknak wrote:I don't like the idea of trying to analyze what's on some page the user linked to (shoot, I don't even like to visit such pages)
But this one could be linked to sex trade (including perhaps under-aged girls hidden in the list) so better take no risk at all.
LibreOffice 24.2 on Xubuntu 24.04 and 7.6.4.1 portable on Windows 10
Re: Hidden spam
I thought we'd not accept external links in the signature of a new user, so why accept it in the body text of the message if it isn't related to the topic? But it could be innocent - there must be tonnes of people who collect pin up girls as friends. Delete the link, unban him, explain the situation and keep an eye on him.
OpenOffice 4.1.11 on Ubuntu; LibreOffice 6.4 on Linux Mint, LibreOffice 7.6.2.1 on Ubuntu
If your problem has been solved or your question has been answered, please edit the first post in this thread and add [Solved] to the title bar.
Nederlandstalig forum
If your problem has been solved or your question has been answered, please edit the first post in this thread and add [Solved] to the title bar.
Nederlandstalig forum
- Hagar Delest
- Moderator
- Posts: 32712
- Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:07 pm
- Location: France
Re: Hidden spam
Of course, no external link accepted in the body text of not related to the subject. I've kept it (but disabled) to show the problem.
If you think that it can be a genuine pin-up collector, I let you unban and explain him and split the topic to separate this discussion.
If you think that it can be a genuine pin-up collector, I let you unban and explain him and split the topic to separate this discussion.
LibreOffice 24.2 on Xubuntu 24.04 and 7.6.4.1 portable on Windows 10
Re: Hidden spam
Okay.
OpenOffice 4.1.11 on Ubuntu; LibreOffice 6.4 on Linux Mint, LibreOffice 7.6.2.1 on Ubuntu
If your problem has been solved or your question has been answered, please edit the first post in this thread and add [Solved] to the title bar.
Nederlandstalig forum
If your problem has been solved or your question has been answered, please edit the first post in this thread and add [Solved] to the title bar.
Nederlandstalig forum
Re: Hidden spam
It's pure link spam. Let the poster complain/inquire if he wants some other action taken.Hagar Delest wrote:... If you think that it can be a genuine pin-up collector, ...
AOO4/LO5 • Linux • Fedora 23
Re: Hidden spam
This is the text of my PM to him:
floris v wrote:Hi,
Your question about cross referencing contained a link to a social website page with lots of suspicious pictures in the Friends section, so that most of the moderators thought is was a very clever kind of spamming. I'm inclined to think that they're right but wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt.
Please note that we were bombed by spammers some months ago, that's why we have a moderation queue now. To avoid spam we don't accept unrelated external links in the message body or signature, so I deleted it and restored the rest of your post.
If you post such a link again, we will show no mercy, you will be banned permanently then.
floris v
OpenOffice 4.1.11 on Ubuntu; LibreOffice 6.4 on Linux Mint, LibreOffice 7.6.2.1 on Ubuntu
If your problem has been solved or your question has been answered, please edit the first post in this thread and add [Solved] to the title bar.
Nederlandstalig forum
If your problem has been solved or your question has been answered, please edit the first post in this thread and add [Solved] to the title bar.
Nederlandstalig forum
Re: Hidden spam
Received no reply.
OpenOffice 4.1.11 on Ubuntu; LibreOffice 6.4 on Linux Mint, LibreOffice 7.6.2.1 on Ubuntu
If your problem has been solved or your question has been answered, please edit the first post in this thread and add [Solved] to the title bar.
Nederlandstalig forum
If your problem has been solved or your question has been answered, please edit the first post in this thread and add [Solved] to the title bar.
Nederlandstalig forum
- Hagar Delest
- Moderator
- Posts: 32712
- Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:07 pm
- Location: France
Re: Hidden spam
For the record, he has posted again: Why I can't open a file using Openoffice.org?
I've removed the link (same as before).
I've removed the link (same as before).
LibreOffice 24.2 on Xubuntu 24.04 and 7.6.4.1 portable on Windows 10
Re: Hidden spam
Is there such a thing as malware that inserts spam links "on the sly"?
AOO4/LO5 • Linux • Fedora 23
Re: Hidden spam
Yes.acknak wrote:Is there such a thing as malware that inserts spam links "on the sly"?
I have seen quite a few computers recently, where the web browser seemed to have an ad plugin (invisible in the plugin list) which mimicked the style of any web page. It placed hovering, transparent frames over the page, with text in the style of the underlying website, and containing spam links. Can't recall what it was called, but I have removed a few instances using either Malwarebytes Anti-malware or Spybot Search&Destroy.
Definitely "on the sly"
Apache OO 4.1.12 and LibreOffice 7.5, mostly on Ms Windows 10
Re: Hidden spam
Yikes! And they want to make html even more powerful/interactive?
I was thinking of something that might insert spam links in the user's posts, making the poster a spammer without necessarily being aware of it.
Such a thing would make quite a mess for us, contaminating legitimate posts with spam links.
I was thinking of something that might insert spam links in the user's posts, making the poster a spammer without necessarily being aware of it.
Such a thing would make quite a mess for us, contaminating legitimate posts with spam links.
AOO4/LO5 • Linux • Fedora 23
Re: Hidden spam
As long as the editor is what it is, tag view, no wysiwyg with hidden properties, I don't see any serious threat in that direction. More likely with rich text editors, I guess.
Also, those browser hijacks I mentioned have only occurred on students' computers. Those are students who seem to do a lot of downloading and don't care much about network security (lots of other crap on their computers, multiple "useful" browser toolbars installed, at least one bittorrent client active, open shares, disabled active AV protection, the works...). I have not identified the source, but I suspect that it is not a threat towards people with even the slightest focus on computer security.
Also, those browser hijacks I mentioned have only occurred on students' computers. Those are students who seem to do a lot of downloading and don't care much about network security (lots of other crap on their computers, multiple "useful" browser toolbars installed, at least one bittorrent client active, open shares, disabled active AV protection, the works...). I have not identified the source, but I suspect that it is not a threat towards people with even the slightest focus on computer security.
Apache OO 4.1.12 and LibreOffice 7.5, mostly on Ms Windows 10