Sending Log Spammers...

...where they might not wish to go?

[pendanticist]

I got this pesky log spammer who keeps dumping ten identical lines of http links whom I've banned via Deny from, but as you must know...that doesn't stop them.

I've sent repeated abuse type letters to their ISP to no avail.

Yes, I understand why they do it, that is not the issue.

I just want to wake this little creep up a touch.

My appetite for dastardly action even suggests that I'll take stickies for those who may not wish to post to the board.

Pendanticist.

[Dreamquick]

With my sensible hat on I'd say you can't do anything to them since most log spammers use custom applications which issue a request and then leave - no http status code check, no showing images, no running scripts, just request & leave meaning that it's hard to get to them...

To my mind you've done the mature thing and denied them and left it at that, anything more is a waste of time on the "fire & forget" spammers...

- Tony

[pendanticist]

All righty. I can go with that. So, explain the advantage Log Spamming is supposed to have when no one can see my stats in the first place? <- Sticky is fine, since this question is now a tad OT.

Thanks.

[Dreamquick]

So, explain the advantage Log Spamming is supposed to have when no one can see my stats in the first place?

Well you (as the victim) are likely to follow that link the first time you spot it, if you were very new to this you might even repost the URL somewhere when you're wondering why this happens.

Also not everyone keeps their stats hidden and some might even have a "last X referrals" page - hit enough sites in a sweep and you might hit a winner, I can't imagine for a moment that log spam is a precision tactic - it simply relies on a that small percentage of people who convert or that equally small percentage of sites which result in a qualified link.

- Tony

[edited by: Dreamquick at 5:16 pm (utc) on Dec. 29, 2003]

[pendanticist]

In a word: Volume. Just like some other things I can think of (UCE/SPAM).

Thanks Tony. :)

[victor]

I've sent repeated abuse type letters to their ISP to no avail.

Log spamming is annoying, but it is hard to see what sort of abuse category it comes under.

Unless your site has an explicit notice to the effect that:

"multiple automated visits from bots for purposes other than search-engine indexing (etc - add other valid reasons) are illegal under (name you law)"

it would seem hard to see under what criteria an ISP could take action against a log spammer.

[pendanticist]

Well, I was thinking along the lines of an ISPs TOS. I fire off blindly with hopes of catching an ISP who has such terms listed and might boot the account with the data I provide.

I've had more than one aggressive visitor come by for some of their fun only to have them, (very unceremoniously) looking for another ISP. I'm speaking to the Mom and Pop ISPs as they are more maticulous in attending their accounts than are larger, more revenue supported National ISPs.

Those smaller ISPs are much more concerned with reputation and as such, will take action where appropriate [b]and[b] notify you accordingly. Big guys rarely do even that.

That's been my experiance anyway.