Bots

[PaulLovesJamie]

Just curious - does the forum management have a plan for dealing with bots?

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I'm not sure. I don't really know how to definitely tell what is a bot and what is not. I don't really understand what their purpose is, unless they stick a link in their first post. Those first timers that post something mundane or irrelevant, I usually check out, but they seldom put enough info in their profile to tell for 100% certainty. I'll see if I can get Jackson to chime in.

 

[MEP001]

A lot of forums require a moderator approval before a login can be created. I assume that would be too much bother. I'd volunteer to sift through them.

 

[JacksonV]

I'd rather not have to require approval before someone can join. If anyone ever sees a bot, please text me at 615-594-0263 and I'll disable their account.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

What is the Bots purpose? What are they trying steal?

 

[OurTown]

I would like to see a vetting process to verify they are in the industry. (or truly interested in getting in it) The need to be logged in to be able to see any posts would be great also. Its not like this is a hobby or enthusiasts forum. It is our livelihood in many cases. I understand this forum is Jackson's business so hopefully that idea would not affect it negatively. I'm sure there would be some work vetting people and I could volunteer some time for research.

 

[PaulLovesJamie]

What is the Bots purpose?

To replace MEP001.

 

[PaulLovesJamie]

What are they trying steal?

I think their forum presence is to gather info/data, not to "steal" in the convenitonal sense.

 

[PaulLovesJamie]

I'd rather not have to require approval before someone can join.

I get that. Also, bots/ai/etc have progressed to the point that they can pass your approval process, and if you delete them they will just open another account. Modern whack a mole.

If anyone ever sees a bot...

No offense, but... LOL.
I'm seeing them all over the internet. Here are a few from the first page of this forum that seem obvious to me.
https://www.carwashforum.com/threads/change-machine-tech.22182/
https://www.carwashforum.com/threads/drainage.22142/
https://www.carwashforum.com/threads/taxes.22167/
I thought EricH was a bot until I met him - I mean, who lets a foam brush head get that bad???

 

[MEP001]

I think their forum presence is to gather info/data, not to "steal" in the convenitonal sense.

They used to come here and make a couple of somewhat relevant comments, then after a while they'd come back and link their business or some scam site. Seems like they're mostly making posts that match some keywords to get their name out there.

 

[MEP001]

No offense, but... LOL.
I'm seeing them all over the internet. Here are a few from the first page of this forum that seem obvious to me.
https://www.carwashforum.com/threads/change-machine-tech.22182/
https://www.carwashforum.com/threads/drainage.22142/

FWIW neither of those "screams" bot to me. I know a number of people who communicate in text like that. English is not their first language, neither is Spanish.

 

[Overachiever]

Seems a little unlikely to me that the bots would be able to properly answer the existing security captcha questions you get when registering a new account (even though they are easy questions). My best guess is there is a vulnerability that specifically targets the software that builds the forum (XenForo?) and knows how to sign up accounts by getting past the captcha or a real person is creating the account and then passing the credentials off to a bot.

Only options I can think of are to upgrade the captcha to something better, like maybe the newest version of Google Recaptcha and to confirm this Forum is on the latest version (assuming the software is still maintained and they are creating security updates and stuff like that). And maybe block countries like Russia, China, and India.

The AI stuff is pretty amazing but I really doubt its being used to fill out the form. Just for the hell of it I asked ChatGPT to answer the security question I got when I tried registering a new account.

 

[ACTcarwashlover]

Oh geez, wow this is the sort of stuff I would potentially consider concerning, it’s like in the next 20 years, carwashes will be programming themselves based on what’s the most efficient wash process given length of building or reasonable waiting time

 

[MEP001]

Oh geez, wow this is the sort of stuff I would potentially consider concerning, it’s like in the next 20 years, carwashes will be programming themselves based on what’s the most efficient wash process given length of building or reasonable waiting time

This is a good example of how hard it can be to determine which new users are bots.

 

[ACTcarwashlover]

Well thank you, I appreciate it, It was a spur of the moment thought