Concerned Security With Hosting Application Info Spam bots can harvest emails in requests

[michaelper22 0]

I was looking around at the posts in the free hosting request section (just for fun), and noticed a major problem with the applications. For every application that is made, the email address of that applicant is shown to the world, including SPAMBOTS!!! This is a major flaw in the aplication process, and will lead to increase levels of spam in every member's inbox. This is the only thing that is wrong with any part of the Xisto site.

Notice from BuffaloHELP:

Editing topic title

Edited January 27, 2006 by BuffaloHELP (see edit history)

[BuffaloHelp 24]

Have you received spam since you signed up with Xisto service? The robot.txt file that Xisto has forbids webcrawlers from accessing that part of the forum section. Therefore, the only way others can know your email address is by accessing that section manually--by human.If you have been receiving extra spam in your email account please let us know.

[OpaQue 15]

I think, We can can consider that suggestion. I will ask vizy to break up the email address format so that bots cannot understand it.

[Dooga 0]

Meanwhile, you can always help yourself in changing the email address so instead of aks92mj9@example.com you could make aks92mj9 /at/ example /dot/ com just like someone would do on the web. There is no strict restriction on changing your registration layout, just keep the information intact.

[michaelper22 0]

I don't know whether I have been getting MORE spam, but I didn't realize the fact that a robots.txt file could block them. And besides, who says that the spambots have to follow the file? Thanks Dooga for that suggestion.

[guangdian 0]

it's a problem of every forum,i just know punbb got a plugin that change the @ to # ,that may be prevent the addresses from bots. or you can use the censorship to change the @ to # or something else,i just known that IPB commercial have got the function of censorship from it's 1.3 version,and that's sure on 2.1.4 also.spaming level is update,and the control method also improving,.now we can not got rid of spams clearly.