<![CDATA[Midnight Mansion Forums - 008]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/ Sat, 18 Apr 2026 05:05:37 +0000 MyBB <![CDATA[Spoofing]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2223 Sat, 30 Mar 2024 05:34:27 -0400 Freddy]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2223 How important should that be for us?

.png   Knipsel_001.PNG (Size: 19.53 KB / Downloads: 1) ]]> How important should that be for us?

.png   Knipsel_001.PNG (Size: 19.53 KB / Downloads: 1) ]]> <![CDATA[Email members to announce new mansion?]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2097 Wed, 11 Sep 2013 15:52:17 -0400 Semi-Native]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2097 Hanging Gardens of Babylon meant to be an MM2 version of Catacombs.

SandyBean asked if we could email the members to announce the new mansion since there are probably loads of people who never check in anymore due to lack of activity.

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that, but what do the rest of you think?

If you think it's okay, I would narrow it down to only those that have been online in less than, say, 200 days?]]> Hanging Gardens of Babylon meant to be an MM2 version of Catacombs.

SandyBean asked if we could email the members to announce the new mansion since there are probably loads of people who never check in anymore due to lack of activity.

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that, but what do the rest of you think?

If you think it's okay, I would narrow it down to only those that have been online in less than, say, 200 days?]]> <![CDATA[Just checking in...]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2091 Sun, 18 Aug 2013 10:57:16 -0400 RobSeegel]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2091
I just promoted a user [betht] who has been on the site for a while to Lost One. I check in with the site periodically to check on things and see if I need to do any maintenance on the security.

If you notice the number of accounts going down, that's me - I don't expect them to go down a lot. I had a few minutes, and I've been starting at the oldest accounts. If someone hasn't posted, hasn't sent a PM, and hasn't been online since the date they registered, AND the registration date is more than 30 days old, I've been removing the accounts. I don't expect it to go down too much. It's a little like weeding.

Brell, if you are reading this - thanks for posting the virtualization solution. I've tried it out and works well. I've been using virtualization for a while for Windows and Linux, but it never occurred to me to try it out for an older version of OSX.

I hope all is well!

Rob]]>
I just promoted a user [betht] who has been on the site for a while to Lost One. I check in with the site periodically to check on things and see if I need to do any maintenance on the security.

If you notice the number of accounts going down, that's me - I don't expect them to go down a lot. I had a few minutes, and I've been starting at the oldest accounts. If someone hasn't posted, hasn't sent a PM, and hasn't been online since the date they registered, AND the registration date is more than 30 days old, I've been removing the accounts. I don't expect it to go down too much. It's a little like weeding.

Brell, if you are reading this - thanks for posting the virtualization solution. I've tried it out and works well. I've been using virtualization for a while for Windows and Linux, but it never occurred to me to try it out for an older version of OSX.

I hope all is well!

Rob]]> <![CDATA[Are we under attack again?]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2056 Sat, 17 Nov 2012 04:42:45 -0500 brell]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2056 <![CDATA[New User - Rickfal - promoted to Lost One]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2044 Wed, 22 Aug 2012 00:18:58 -0400 RobSeegel]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2044 ]]> ]]> <![CDATA[Registration Log]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2015 Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:33:34 -0400 RobSeegel]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2015
I can restore it if necessary, but I suspect no one is going to mind. It's been a minor nuisance for a while now.]]>
I can restore it if necessary, but I suspect no one is going to mind. It's been a minor nuisance for a while now.]]> <![CDATA[Trouble Registering]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2014 Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:50:09 -0400 Wingy]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2014
On Mar 23, 2012, at 9:35 AM, Donna Shelley wrote:

> I can't log in to the Forums and I can't register. No matter what I do or enter I get this message
> The Verification code was not the same as the image presented on screen, please go back, refresh (hit F5 on most browsers) and try again.
> I've tried re-registering to no avail.
>
> Here's my info:
> Donna L. Shelley
> genr8torx (at) comcast (dot) net

P.S. Sorry I haven't been around much. Grad year has been crazy (scholarships, registering for universities, etc) and my AP courses have been demanding. I should have more time on my hands after my AP exams in the first week of May. ]]>
On Mar 23, 2012, at 9:35 AM, Donna Shelley wrote:

> I can't log in to the Forums and I can't register. No matter what I do or enter I get this message
> The Verification code was not the same as the image presented on screen, please go back, refresh (hit F5 on most browsers) and try again.
> I've tried re-registering to no avail.
>
> Here's my info:
> Donna L. Shelley
> genr8torx (at) comcast (dot) net

P.S. Sorry I haven't been around much. Grad year has been crazy (scholarships, registering for universities, etc) and my AP courses have been demanding. I should have more time on my hands after my AP exams in the first week of May. ]]> <![CDATA[Promoted user - DarleenMB]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1994 Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:57:33 -0500 RobSeegel]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1994
I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. OK, my process was probably overkill - I guess I tend to be skeptical. I'm only posting this since this is the first user I've upgraded like this. She said she wanted to post an issue with Knight Mansion.]]>
I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. OK, my process was probably overkill - I guess I tend to be skeptical. I'm only posting this since this is the first user I've upgraded like this. She said she wanted to post an issue with Knight Mansion.]]> <![CDATA[Spammer Log (updated 1.12.2011)]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1955 Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:22:11 -0500 RobSeegel]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1955
I've been getting to the point where I'm starting to see repeat visits from certain IPs (and user IDs). Some of these entries represent Spammers who actually were able to create accounts either manually or through an automated means (more likely).

It really isn't too hard to spot unusual activity when looking through the error log. Spammers aren't really subtle about trying to gain access. Many are counting on being able to post immediately upon registration (I've seen these attempts, too), so it's good that they are unable to. From what I've seen, many don't even try. They register accounts and never go online.

What do I hope to accomplish with this? Well, it's another tool to help identify spammers and weed out fake accounts. I think gathering information is the first step in identifying the worst and most frequent offenders. What amazes me is that I really don't spent *that* much time tracking this and still have quite a few entries. Anyway, I'll keep with it as long as I can.


.zip   Spammers_xlsx.zip (Size: 19.53 KB / Downloads: 1) ]]>
I've been getting to the point where I'm starting to see repeat visits from certain IPs (and user IDs). Some of these entries represent Spammers who actually were able to create accounts either manually or through an automated means (more likely).

It really isn't too hard to spot unusual activity when looking through the error log. Spammers aren't really subtle about trying to gain access. Many are counting on being able to post immediately upon registration (I've seen these attempts, too), so it's good that they are unable to. From what I've seen, many don't even try. They register accounts and never go online.

What do I hope to accomplish with this? Well, it's another tool to help identify spammers and weed out fake accounts. I think gathering information is the first step in identifying the worst and most frequent offenders. What amazes me is that I really don't spent *that* much time tracking this and still have quite a few entries. Anyway, I'll keep with it as long as I can.


.zip   Spammers_xlsx.zip (Size: 19.53 KB / Downloads: 1) ]]> <![CDATA[The CMs subforum]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1953 Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:43:26 -0500 brell]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1953
Freddy, how did you do it? I never was able to do it for the MM2 downloads nor the MM1 HD list.]]>
Freddy, how did you do it? I never was able to do it for the MM2 downloads nor the MM1 HD list.]]> <![CDATA[Deleting accounts]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1948 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:37:20 -0500 RobSeegel]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1948
Here's what I've been looking at:

- Google the IP, if an IP gets hits on the first page for one or more of the following:
-- Stop Forum Spam - IP Check - [IP Address]
-- BotScout.com: IP Check: [IP Address]

Then it's highly likely that it is a bot that is spamming us, trying to register an account. I've found if you follow the links to one of those pages, you will generally find either the username or email address somewhere in the list - sometimes it's a close variation.

I will also sometimes to searches on the email address and/or username. The very generic ones that would come up in a lot of searches are generally fake. Typically a real forum user will come up with a few reasonable hits, though not always.

If I don't have enough evidence, then I leave the account alone. If after one day the new user hasn't been online (which I judge to be atypical behavior), then I will also delete the account.

This may sound incredibly dull, but it's actually been a little interesting. If you don't feel like doing any of this then that's fine too, but please do pass along the information, please. Very few of the attacks actually succeed in registering.

I'd be happy to post the spreadsheet I've been keeping somewhere and updating it periodically if there is any interest.]]>
Here's what I've been looking at:

- Google the IP, if an IP gets hits on the first page for one or more of the following:
-- Stop Forum Spam - IP Check - [IP Address]
-- BotScout.com: IP Check: [IP Address]

Then it's highly likely that it is a bot that is spamming us, trying to register an account. I've found if you follow the links to one of those pages, you will generally find either the username or email address somewhere in the list - sometimes it's a close variation.

I will also sometimes to searches on the email address and/or username. The very generic ones that would come up in a lot of searches are generally fake. Typically a real forum user will come up with a few reasonable hits, though not always.

If I don't have enough evidence, then I leave the account alone. If after one day the new user hasn't been online (which I judge to be atypical behavior), then I will also delete the account.

This may sound incredibly dull, but it's actually been a little interesting. If you don't feel like doing any of this then that's fine too, but please do pass along the information, please. Very few of the attacks actually succeed in registering.

I'd be happy to post the spreadsheet I've been keeping somewhere and updating it periodically if there is any interest.]]> <![CDATA[Shall we upgrade?]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1945 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 07:46:38 -0500 brell]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1945 <![CDATA[Number of registered members declining]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1944 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 05:31:34 -0500 brell]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1944 <![CDATA[JonahMusto/HunterMariner]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1897 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:29:59 -0400 RobSeegel]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1897
I was actually expecting this when I saw the new user name, but I was waiting to see if the user would post anything. If this post had been innocently posted in the wrong place, then I would have moved it to a more appropriate Topic. However, I have very little tolerance for deceptive posts such as this that have no redeeming value.

Regardless of what this user says, I believe it's likely the same individual as Jonah Musto who has a history of similar postings. Shortly afterwards, this poster posted a message in the Free Chat area. I left this one alone for now, though I was sorely tempted to delete both the message and the account.

Both users share the same IP, and although it *is* possible that it could be two separate people, I don't buy it. I did hold back from taking further action for now, but I just thought I'd make sure everyone understood the circumstances involved. What a sorry waste of time and effort... sigh

:-?]]>
I was actually expecting this when I saw the new user name, but I was waiting to see if the user would post anything. If this post had been innocently posted in the wrong place, then I would have moved it to a more appropriate Topic. However, I have very little tolerance for deceptive posts such as this that have no redeeming value.

Regardless of what this user says, I believe it's likely the same individual as Jonah Musto who has a history of similar postings. Shortly afterwards, this poster posted a message in the Free Chat area. I left this one alone for now, though I was sorely tempted to delete both the message and the account.

Both users share the same IP, and although it *is* possible that it could be two separate people, I don't buy it. I did hold back from taking further action for now, but I just thought I'd make sure everyone understood the circumstances involved. What a sorry waste of time and effort... sigh

:-?]]> <![CDATA[Unable to do much at the moment]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1888 Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:51:16 -0400 RobSeegel]]> https://actionsoft.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1888
Also, on the 20th to the 27th, I'll practically be in Semi-Native's backyard. We're going to head to Orlando, FL for a week at Disney. I hope this streak of bad luck runs it course before we go.

Brell, feel free to post the readme wherever you think is appropriate. Sorry, I haven't been an admin long and already I'm running into conflicts. I'm hopeful that it will only be temporary. I've been looking at getting a newer model computer anyway. My wife has had her eyes on my Mac Book Pro for a while...]]>
Also, on the 20th to the 27th, I'll practically be in Semi-Native's backyard. We're going to head to Orlando, FL for a week at Disney. I hope this streak of bad luck runs it course before we go.

Brell, feel free to post the readme wherever you think is appropriate. Sorry, I haven't been an admin long and already I'm running into conflicts. I'm hopeful that it will only be temporary. I've been looking at getting a newer model computer anyway. My wife has had her eyes on my Mac Book Pro for a while...]]>