Spam blitz has Akismet struggling
Posted on Apr 25, 2006 at 14:04 UK time in Spam, Weblogs
Is spam-catcher Akismet struggling today, or is this just a peculiar one-off?
As I write this at 2.00pm, the list of spam comments and trackbacks blocked so far today by Akismet shows 231 items, the majority from an IP address starting 64.62.228.X (the last digit varies). Definitely a blitz.
What’s a bit alarming is that around five percent of that number wasn’t trapped by Akismet but appeared in the comment moderation queue so requiring manual intervention.
Yet all are clearly spam, offering the usual menu of phentermine, sex aids, other dodgy deals (but no soduko today) and inane comments like “Great website! Bookmarked! I am impressed at your work!” The vast majority of links in the spams are to domains ending in .pl (that’s Poland).
I hope it’s just a one-off.
3 Comment(s)
By
Dave Briggs on Apr 25, 2006 | Reply
Yes, I have been hit too, Neville, but so far, Askismet has been up to the challenge!
They’re devious bastards though. The number of times my ego has been straining to let through the likes of this:
But I have managed to resist so far!
By
Matt on Apr 25, 2006 | Reply
Sorry about that, we have some new resources coming online soon that should help with the comments that are getting through due to server problems.
By
neville on Apr 26, 2006 | Reply
Thanks for that news, Matt. Appreciate the update. Hope it is soon as these spams keep coming!
The good news is that none of them actually makes it to the live blog. None at all. One things I like about spam control in WP admin is the options you have to force moderation based on links in a comment or trackback. Helpful as a back-up measure when things with your first line of defence suffer a problem.