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.
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!
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.
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.
[…] A tidal wave of comment spam this weekend has been stopped in its tracks by Akismet. Apart from one little recent glitch, Akismet really is an excellent service which learns from the collective feedback of everyone who uses it. […]