MediaWiki talk:Spam-blacklist/archives/July 2017

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croatianwine.org[edit]

Croatianwine added spamlinks to the site last April, and was promptly blocked for spamming and having a promotional username, but since two different IPs have also added links to the site today (the second IP appearing well after the first one had been reverted and warned), the site is, IMHO, now being deliberately spammed. - Tom | Thomas.W talk 16:17, 30 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

  • I noticed that the link report didn't include the spamlink added by Croatianwine, so here it is... - Tom | Thomas.W talk 20:08, 30 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Thomas.W: sorry for the delay. Enough warnings and enough accounts. plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist (m:User:LiWa3 has a massive backlog, the report may not be complete because of that). --Dirk Beetstra T C 05:29, 4 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

hxbenefit.com[edit]

hxbenefit.com: Linksearch en (insource) - meta - de - fr - simple - wikt:en - wikt:fr • Spamcheck • MER-C X-wiki • gs • Reports: Links on en - COIBot - COIBot-Local • Discussions: tracked - advanced - RSN • COIBot-Link, Local, & XWiki Reports - Wikipedia: en - fr - de • Google: search • meta • Domain: domaintools • AboutUs.com

Seems among other things to defy WP:CIRCULAR. Added despite there being a perfectly acceptable source already. Carl Fredrik talk 13:33, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2nd case (blocked user):

3rd case:

Lots more to be found under https-search, will see if I can get around to removing it all. Carl Fredrik talk 13:38, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@CFCF: Just wait until COIBot finished saving Wikipedia:WikiProject_Spam/LinkReports/hxbenefit.com (its in the queue; linked from above LinkSummary template as 'Reports: ... COIBot'), that will tell you more users and places (I have 28 additions in the db, though the parsing bot has a long backlog and may have missed additions). --Dirk Beetstra T C 13:41, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. Seems to be large enough an issue to warrant inclusion here. Especially since they seem to be doing it from behind a VPN. Carl Fredrik talk 13:42, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I think it is cross-wiki, so may switch to meta. Seems to be also on nl.wiki and fa.wiki. If the nature there is the same ... --Dirk Beetstra T C 13:45, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@CFCF: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. This has been added to fa and nl wiki, but the editors seem to be independent from the IPs active here (143.. IP on nl, named editors on fa), and the edits there still stand unchallenged for 17 and 10 months. Here it is more obvious spamming, all IPs and what appear to be 2-3 ranges (waiting for full results). It is a good thing if this gets all cleared, CFCF. Thanks for catching this. --Dirk Beetstra T C 13:56, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@CFCF: all cleared now. --Dirk Beetstra T C 14:46, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

bmihealthcare.co.uk[edit]

bmihealthcare.co.uk: Linksearch en (insource) - meta - de - fr - simple - wikt:en - wikt:fr • Spamcheck • MER-C X-wiki • gs • Reports: Links on en - COIBot - COIBot-Local • Discussions: tracked - advanced - RSN • COIBot-Link, Local, & XWiki Reports - Wikipedia: en - fr - de • Google: search • meta • Domain: domaintools • AboutUs.com Reputable UK healthcare organisation, whose website includes biographies of notable physicians, and decriptions of hospitals, many of which are historic buildings. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:02, 21 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure there is a problem. The official link in the BMI Healthcare infobox works fine. – S. Rich (talk) 06:16, 23 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Srich32977: www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/consultants/lawrence-peter-ormerod - for example - is blocked. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 22:06, 25 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed. And I agree that bmi should be unblocked. – S. Rich (talk) 23:05, 25 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Pigsonthewing: no Declined,  Defer to Whitelist for specific links on this domain. --Dirk Beetstra T C 20:32, 30 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Declined on what grounds? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 20:18, 4 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Pigsonthewing: same answer as below and here. In this case a massive sockfarm of abuse and hardly any use shown beyond own subject page. --Dirk Beetstra T C 20:39, 4 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
When was this alleged abuse? And what's the appeal process if I disagree with your decision? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 21:18, 4 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
There is no "answer below" on the page where I'm reading this. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 21:19, 4 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Pigsonthewing: Look, if you immediately start with 'alleged', then I become unhelpful - I have better things to do, clear out years of spamming for example or working away spam backlogs. And you know the ways of appealing very well.
My apologies, the thread below is unrelated though follows the same trend. I should not have referred to that discussion. --Dirk Beetstra T C 04:10, 5 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Noted your stated intention to "become unhelpful"; but I asked "what's the appeal process if I disagree with your decision?". Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 20:48, 5 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Pigsonthewing: FYI, Andy, I don't think there is an appeal process. The closest guidance I found is WP:BLACKLIST, which strongly suggests that blacklisting is the last resort. Moreover, the WP:WPSPAM Project has blacklisting as number 5 (of 6) in the steps to be taken to fight spam. In the BMI case I don't know if the first 4 steps were ever taken. – S. Rich (talk) 01:02, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Pigsonthewing: Of course there is a dispute resolution, first this is now the second time you ask and the second time I decline in less than two months. And we are still discussing first (well) and you could come with arguments that change my mind, or another admin can come in and change the course of the discussion. Otherwise, you could start an RfC, you could start a thread on WP:AN or WP:AN/I, heck, you could go to ArbCom. But if you want to delist a link that was spammed just less than two years ago in a 380 sock sockfarm with a bad form of paid editing (literally companies paying editors to create articles for them, the articles being created, the editors getting paid, the articles being deleted and the companies contacting OTRS, etc. etc.) then I really hope that the community has enough common sense to understand that this form of 'alleged' spamming is indeed something that we don't want here, and that whitelisting is a better way forward. --Dirk Beetstra T C 03:34, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
"this is now the second time you ask" Where was the first, please? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:25, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Pigsonthewing: MediaWiki_talk:Spam-whitelist/Archives/2017/06#BMI, May 15, 2017. --Dirk Beetstra T C 12:45, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
That was a request for a single URL, www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/hospitals/bmi-the-priory-hospital/history-of-the-priory, to be whitelisted. AS indeed it was. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 21:12, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
You there also mentioned that it was a reputable organisation, and that it should probably not be blacklisted. I there also mentioned that it was SEO spammed by a sockfarm. --Dirk Beetstra T C 04:55, 7 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

creationsdesign.in[edit]

creationsdesign.in: Linksearch en (insource) - meta - de - fr - simple - wikt:en - wikt:fr • Spamcheck • MER-C X-wiki • gs • Reports: Links on en - COIBot - COIBot-Local • Discussions: tracked - advanced - RSN • COIBot-Link, Local, & XWiki Reports - Wikipedia: en - fr - de • Google: search • meta • Domain: domaintools • AboutUs.com

Blatent advertising being placed by new account and IP, probably adbots, e.g. [1], [2]. General Ization Talk 12:53, 7 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@General Ization: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist, noting that both edits are adding the material unlinked, and hence the blacklist will not stop them (but call it preventive). --Dirk Beetstra T C 13:00, 7 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

indvspaklivehighlights.com[edit]

indvspaklivehighlights.com: Linksearch en (insource) - meta - de - fr - simple - wikt:en - wikt:fr • Spamcheck • MER-C X-wiki • gs • Reports: Links on en - COIBot - COIBot-Local • Discussions: tracked - advanced - RSN • COIBot-Link, Local, & XWiki Reports - Wikipedia: en - fr - de • Google: search • meta • Domain: domaintools • AboutUs.com

@Mean as custard: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist (we've seen these before with another link I notice). --Dirk Beetstra T C 08:20, 8 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

rns.online[edit]

rns.online: Linksearch en (insource) - meta - de - fr - simple - wikt:en - wikt:fr • Spamcheck • MER-C X-wiki • gs • Reports: Links on en - COIBot - COIBot-Local • Discussions: tracked - advanced - RSN • COIBot-Link, Local, & XWiki Reports - Wikipedia: en - fr - de • Google: search • meta • Domain: domaintools • AboutUs.com

I thought I had requested this already but can't find it. I just requested it on the global one but was told to try local. Anyway this is the website for the Rambler News Service, which is a news agency. Rambler is sort of the Yahoo of Russia. Rambler creates its own news and runs articles from other agencies. It's quite useful as a Russian-language source. I'm not sure why it's blocked unless the entire .online domain is blocked. I first came up with the error for the article on Sergei Gorkov when using as a source for his being named a member of some board of directors. I haven't been able to find an alternative source. Thanks for your time. —МандичкаYO 😜 06:01, 9 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Wikimandia: now this is funny. I see you are being blocked when adding rns.online/transport/Glava-Vneshekonombanka-Sergei-Gorkov-voshel-v-sovet-direktorov-OaK--2016-06-28/ .. but I don't see why. It has nothing to do with this domain, the only thing I can see then is a funny combination of characters which is blanket-blacklisted.
OK, it is caught by .*\.(ga|cf|ml|gq|online|site)/.*?\d{4,5}[-/]\d{1,2}[-/]\d{1,2}.*, blacklisted due to Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/Isla_Riordan - a curious form of collateral damage on a complex regex.  Defer to Whitelist (I will take care of it). --Dirk Beetstra T C 07:03, 9 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
How bizarre! Thank you so much! —МандичкаYO 😜 07:05, 9 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

 Done. --Dirk Beetstra T C 07:13, 9 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Was never going to get that one without knowing the exact url used, and the wiki concerned. Good get Beetstra. — billinghurst sDrewth 07:35, 9 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

steamcommunity.com[edit]

steamcommunity.com: Linksearch en (insource) - meta - de - fr - simple - wikt:en - wikt:fr • Spamcheck • MER-C X-wiki • gs • Reports: Links on en - COIBot - COIBot-Local • Discussions: tracked - advanced - RSN • COIBot-Link, Local, & XWiki Reports - Wikipedia: en - fr - de • Google: search • meta • Domain: domaintools • AboutUs.com

  • Steamcommunity.com is the social side of the Steam software platform, primarily for user profiles and discussions forums. Anything directly related to games/software sold by the service will be on the steampowered.com website, and so while not the ideal RS for information, certainly is acceptable. But there is never going to be a useful link from the steamcommunity.com side, and very recently I've seen links to user profiles being spammed (notable at G2A) that could be seen as potential outing of a BLP. Editors should be free to use steamcommunity.com in their user pages but it will never support a main space page. --MASEM (t) 23:16, 10 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

B01EJQOOU2[edit]

See Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/SethMacfarlaneGypsy

Amazon (ref)link spammer, spams 'amazon.<tld><path>B01EJQOOU2', hence:

  • Regex requested to be blacklisted: \bamazon\..*?B01EJQOOU2\b

--Dirk Beetstra T C 17:35, 11 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Beetstra: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. --Dirk Beetstra T C 17:36, 11 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Squidoo matching \bhubpages\.com\b ?[edit]

Any edit (even a null edit) to Squidoo is failing the \bhubpages\.com\b check, even though the edit isn't adding a matching link, and the article doesn't already contain a matching link. The blacklist entry is (much) older than the last edits to the Squidoo article, so I don't see what's changed. Can anyone see what's wrong? -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 13:01, 12 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Doubleplus weirdly, pasting the text of Squidoo verbatim into by user sandbox doesn't trigger the blacklist. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 13:28, 12 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Finlay McWalter: this is the offending edit. The official website of Squidoo has been set to hubpages.com, which is automatically transcluded from WikiData. Every subsequent edit to Squidoo now records the difference in the logs as the editor adding the external link in that revid. I have been expecting this error to happen at some point, the transclusion of WikiData data is a problematic feature that 'overrules' local policies etc. We'll have to not use the WikiData property, but a local property that we can whitelist. --Dirk Beetstra T C 13:39, 12 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I have put in a nowiki-d link, an /about or something similar will need to be whitelisted for this purpose. --Dirk Beetstra T C 13:41, 12 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, that explains it, and fixes my issue. There's probably a few other sites where something similar has happened (where some merger or acquisition or rebranding has necessitated a change in the wikidata). But finding them, which I imagine would necessitate a script checking each wikidata change against the filter rulesets, isn't a totally trivial task. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 14:02, 12 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
This must happen every now and then, though I expect it to be rare (it is a scenario that spammers could abuse, though - create a template that transcludes a not-yet-existing link from WikiData, add the template to many pages, then create the WikiData content. Strange thing is that the link is already there in the current version, it just has not been parsed as being there yet. It is somewhat funny that the software sees this as your addition, while that is not the case. And the page is locked just because of an edit happening on WikiData. I am considering whether this is worth a phabricator ticket. --Dirk Beetstra T C 16:11, 12 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

itun.es[edit]

This is a link shortener. A proposal for blocking appears to have met resistance at meta:Talk:Spam_blacklist#itun.es, which I don't quite understand since there is a longstanding policy to block link shorteners. But then again, it's hard to see how this can be abused unless we're actually blacklisting itunes.com for some reason. ~Anachronist (talk) 15:43, 13 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I proposed it there for similar reasons as youtu.be. Material on itunes.com fails our inclusion standards: it is as external document to a site that is purely for selling the item, and as reference at best a primary source for its listing. I wouldnot be surprised to find people spamming own material with the aimto earn money. Leaving the backdoor then open is silly, and more work tomonitor. –Dirk Beetstra T C 15:57, 13 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

ventureoutsource.com[edit]

Was being spammed all over. I and others have gone through and removed everything but there is nothing encyclopedic at this website. Jytdog (talk) 20:50, 15 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Jytdog: no Declined, it appears that the editor understands, let's wait to see. --Dirk Beetstra T C 03:15, 16 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Hm! Nice catch, ok then. Thanks for the legwork and reply. Jytdog (talk) 03:16, 16 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

moviedb[edit]

I would like to see themoviedb and tmdb removed from the blacklist. I see no reason why the site is blocked, and like it better then iMDB. Modanung (talk) 20:17, 12 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Moved into correct section. –Dirk Beetstra T C 20:26, 12 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Modanung: no Declined. See lengthy discussion here. Site is stilldeemed not notable (article is deleted). No need for links. --Dirk Beetstra T C 20:35, 12 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Beetstra: There's no need for black-listing either. Modanung (talk) 19:34, 14 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Modanung: Oh, there is.. open invitations to have the site added regardless of need by 'fans' of tmbd are clearly a need. And as long as people can not show why we would need to link to the site anyway, it can stay blacklisted. If you need specific links in specific places:  Defer to Whitelist. Until then, still no Declined. --Dirk Beetstra T C 20:14, 14 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Beetstra: TMDB is a more Wikipedia-like alternative to Amazon-owned IMDB. You're basically showing family the door while inviting tycoons! Modanung (talk) 11:13, 16 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Modanung: No, we are not showing family the door, we've shown spammers the door. And we have not invited tycoons, we're not inviting anyone. --Dirk Beetstra T C 11:30, 16 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

senstius.christogenea.org/[edit]

Website advocating a FRINGE point of view that has no place in WP; was being spammed into all jewish history related articles. Removed all but this should be out of here. Jytdog (talk) 00:50, 18 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Note: An insource:"christogenea.org" search brings up two articles using this domain, Sculpture and Rahab. —PaleoNeonate - 01:02, 18 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Jytdog: I didn't see any additions after the last warning - plus Added to User:XLinkBot/RevertList - if it continues we will see. --Dirk Beetstra T C 09:55, 18 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! Makes sense. Jytdog (talk) 11:36, 18 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

icssindia.org[edit]

Repeated spamming for a "cyber security training institute", adding everything from promotional material to dozens of external links to their site on each article (sample edits: [7], [8], [9]). - Tom | Thomas.W talk 08:41, 21 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Thomas.W: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. --Dirk Beetstra T C 12:30, 21 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

cooldudes.store[edit]

See AN discussion and Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/MichelByard77. --Dirk Beetstra T C 12:34, 21 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Beetstra: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. --Dirk Beetstra T C 12:35, 21 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Onion links[edit]

After some recent work on AlphaBay I created a stub for Dream Market which is apparently now the most significant such site, operating since 2013. However, I was unable to include the URL due to apparently broad spam blacklisting of a different site. Looking in to it it may be this one... 

\b[_\-0-9a-z]+\.onion\b  # was \bsilkroad.*\.onion\b

That should be removed because:

  • It apparently blocks other onion (ie. Tor) links
  • It doesn't work for Silk Road as it's been down for ages
  • Most people can't follow the links anyway, so it's technically useless as a spam mechanism

Would someone familiar with the process please de-list? Otherwise I will look in to it myself in a few days. prat (talk) 14:25, 24 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Pratyeka: no Declined,  Defer to Whitelist for specific links on this domain. Onion links are useless for most editors, and it is totally unclear where they lead for those who do have software installed. Moreover, the genuine links are continuously changed to other .onion links (spoofing, phishing, etc. etc.). As the .onion is only seldomly the subject of a page (and even if it is 50 .. ), and .onion links are generally not necessary anywhere else (rare exceptions), it can be handled by the whitelist (also to protect editors from non-confirmed .onion addresses). --Dirk Beetstra T C 16:06, 24 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

myessaywriting.co.uk[edit]

See persistent linkspam by multiple SPAs: [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15]. General Ization Talk 15:14, 24 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@General Ization: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. --Dirk Beetstra T C 16:07, 24 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

dubaicosmeticsurgery.com[edit]

As you can see from the search, multiple IPs and SPAs have been spamming this into WP over the past few months. Lets stop wasting everyone's time, shall we. Jytdog (talk) 18:41, 24 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Jytdog: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. --Dirk Beetstra T C 18:43, 24 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

careeryuga.com[edit]

Added multiple times to Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering. Per this note on my talk page from DMacks, this isn't the first time this site has shown up. Methinks it's time for the hammer to swing... Ravensfire (talk) 19:45, 24 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Ravensfire: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. --Dirk Beetstra T C 20:04, 24 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

ourtopten[edit]

Just spam, by a sockfarm. --Dirk Beetstra T C 15:15, 30 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Beetstra: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. --Dirk Beetstra T C 15:15, 30 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

911remediation.com[edit]

Repeated spam for mold removers despite warning. No foreseeable encyclopedic usage. GermanJoe (talk) 18:39, 25 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@GermanJoe: plus Added to MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. --Dirk Beetstra T C 03:32, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2checkout[edit]

2checkout.com: Linksearch en (insource) - meta - de - fr - simple - wikt:en - wikt:fr • Spamcheck • MER-C X-wiki • gs • Reports: Links on en - COIBot - COIBot-Local • Discussions: tracked - advanced - RSN • COIBot-Link, Local, & XWiki Reports - Wikipedia: en - fr - de • Google: search • meta • Domain: domaintools • AboutUs.com

I noticed this link from a reputable fintech company was blacklisted while working on a page for a different group that recently acquired 2Checkout. The AdSense spamming they were initially blocked for about 10 years ago is no longer even possible due to AdSense updates over the years. I do not see any recent spam activities in their links, keeping in mind that lots of webstores that use 2Checkout also link to them in an acceptable manner. Before reading the logs, I thought it could be related to DDOS attacks 2Checkout experienced in the last couple years, but there was no mention. According to communications sent to 2Checkout users last year, security has been recently improved to prevent further issues there. The group that bought 2Checkout is Francisco Partners under the brand Avangate. --Alex.gubenator (talk) 19:00, 27 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Alex.gubenator: This was blacklisted due to Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Archive133#Seeking_Community_ban_of_Dot_Com_Infoway_company_Adsense_marketing_and_Spamming .. a large scale spamming campaign. Since you suggest that this is only useful in one place: no Declined,  Defer to Whitelist for specific links on this domain. --Dirk Beetstra T C 19:33, 27 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Beetstra: As of today 2checkout is only mentioned in WP a handful of times. It will be useful for more places down the road because the group that bought them is switching to the 2Checkout name because it is more popular. [1] If I don't hear back I will pursue whitelisting just the homepage. --Alex.gubenator (talk) 20:28, 27 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Alex.gubenator: We'll revisit when it becomes of massive use, 10s of pages is still something that the whitelist can easily handle. About pages and similar get generally summarily whitelisted (if the mainspace subject page is there and reasonably 'stable' with respect to deletion). --Dirk Beetstra T C 03:41, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

strategy 2017 week[edit]

  1. ^ https://www.thepaypers.com/default/avangate-is-now-2checkout/768516-0
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