New Spam Tool: Email Domain & IP Banning at Sign-Up

[Eric Suesz]

We're no fan of spam at Ning. We know it can be an annoyance, especially for Ning Creators who choose not to moderate membership. While we can't solve for every type of spam attack, we have put in place a number of spam tools in the last two years that can make a difference. If you haven't turned all of those on yet, we encourage you to take a minute to make sure you're Preventing Spam in the best ways you can.

Today, we're releasing another spam tool that allows Ning Plus and Pro to perform both email domain and IP banning. 

IP banning is a request we've had over time from people here on Creators, so we are sure that a few folks who've wanted to see this will be happy that it's now available. The feature is fairly straightforward, and it's entirely optional. You'll see a new column in Member Management for IP addresses, and you'll see the option to block in the Sign-up/Sign-in area.

Block IP addresses at sign-up

You can prevent anyone coming from a specific IP address from signing up for your site. Just enter the IP address you want to block, and no one will be able to sign up from that IP address.

Block email domains at sign-up

Similarly, you can choose email domains that you want to block from signing up for your community. If you see spam coming from an email domain like [e-mail], you can block all sign-ups that come from the @sharklasers.com domain.

Of course, these are powerful tools, so we recommend using them carefully and thoughtfully. If you ban an IP that hundreds of thousands of people potentially use, you cut off access to thousands of potential members.

• These options are only available to the Network Creator; not admins.
• You can remove the bans you put in place at any time.
• If someone is unable to sign in because of these blocks, they will see a specific message. The specific message is located in the Language Editor and can be customized.
• If someone is unable to sign in, they can still contact you, provided you have not turned off that option. That option is located in your own personal Email Settings area (Feedback and problem reports).
• The reports you receive from members having trouble includes the email and IP address, as well as whether either is blocked.

One other thing to note about this feature is that you may see that an IP record is "unavailable" in your listings. In most cases, this will be because the member joined before we were able to capture their IP address (i.e., before this tool was turned on a few weeks ago).

Want to know where an IP is geographically located? Look it up on InfoSniper

You can read all about how to Block an Email Domain or IP Address from Signing Up in the Help Center.

[Virgil G.]

Ramon, are you saying that if you already have a member signed up using a specific IP, it can no longer be blocked? I'm a little confused.

[Josh Hall]

First day without spammers, seems like they have got the message.

[Strumelia]

This is very helpful, thank you!!!!    :)

[Ramon Batista]

Sorry, but it doesn't work properly... I have Blocked a lot of IP, and still I get spam from those IP  :(

[Pothead]

Awesome, when does this start.

[Eric Suesz]

It started a few weeks ago. So, give it a go. 

[Ramon Batista]

Ok...  (y)

[Allison Leahy]

You can find this tool in the dashboard of your network under Members > Sign Up/Sign In and Members > Management.

[mark]

This feature does not work at all for me.

I have an open ticket in the help desk that was opened on November 21. It's been a week, and no word yet why this feature is not working for my network. I provided half a dozen screenshots and obvious examples of how it's failing but still no word from the help desk. 

Anyone else having this same issue?

On a side note, the way this is laid out is kinda wonky. One needs to have two open tabs to really manage this effectively. Bouncing back and forth from Suspended Members - Sign in Sign Up is less than ideal. This may be the frustration talking, but did anyone really test this feature and try to use it? I know it had to be jammed in somewhere, but c'mon, a little "play time" and it should of been clear that these tools need to be in one place (in a row, next to the list of Suspended members - add two check boxes, one that says BAN IP the other BAN Email). 

Perhaps some retooling down the road? For now, I'll just be happy to have this SUPER-HELPFUL feature functioning on my network.

[Eric Suesz]

We did test this quite a bit. I can take a look and see if there's a delay if you can share a ticket number with me. If you haven't received any response after a week, that's definitely something we want to know about. We do our best to respond within our SLA and almost always do. Let me know. I'd like to find out why you haven't received any response and try to rectify it. 

[mark]

Thanks Eric - With the amount of spam I deal with on a daily basis, it's a pain in the ass to manage the way it's setup. Like I said, I can live with it, as long as it works as intended. I included a screenshot of a concept that would be much more easier to manage (simple controls from the Member list). Screenshot contains my Suspended list, but the controls would obviously appear on Members list.

Ticket opened Nov 21, it's been a back and forth guessing game (sensed reluctance to escalate to engineer). Haven't heard anything since Tuesday am. #00872117

[Eric Suesz]

I've been checking it out, and I can't seem to reproduce this, just as Ioana couldn't reproduce it. I get rejected every time.