|
|
 |
Collaborative Spam Signature System
This document covers the "Collaborative Spam Signature System" which is a network-based, collaborative system that determines the probability that a particular message is "comment spam" based on a comparison of posts submitted on the boards of all subscribers to the system. This system is divided into two components, the client and the server.
Collaborative Spam Signature System - Client
The client is built in to all Discus Professional 4.10 discussion boards. Configuration for the client is accessed via the administration program: log in as the board administrator (typically "admin"), go to the Spam Blocker page, and click the "Collaborative" tab.
The Collaborative Spam Signature System is active when you are subscribed to the service, and inactive when you are not subscribed to the service. Subject to the access policy, you may subscribe and unsubscribe without limitation.
If you are not currently subscribed, you will be prompted for your Discus Professional license number (which will be filled in for you based on the configuration of your system) and your Discus Professional download password. Supply the correct password and click the "Subscribe" button. When you click this button, a connection will be initiated to the Collaborative Spam Signature System server, and the license information and the URL to your board will be transmitted. You will be immediately informed of the status of your registration, and if the subscription fails, the reason for the failure will be reported.
Once you are subscribed, each time you access the "Collaborative" tab, your server will initiate a connection to the Collaborative Spam Signature System server to verify your subscription. If the client cannot connect, you will be presented with an error message and a likely explanation for the issue. Sometimes, in the case of a successful connection, the server will convey an error message or a warning which will be presented. You will be presented with these options:
Automatically ban IP used by spam bots: If the Collaborative Spam Signature System identifies a particular message as likely spam (according to your threshold setting - see below), then the IP address from which the post originated will be automatically banned. Please note that it is likely that the spam bot is using a proxy server so as to mask its true origin and to circumvent IP banning techniques. By banning IPs used by spam bots, you may be inadvertantly banning innocent users that use those same proxy servers.
Disable posting if the service cannot be reached: If you check this box, and the client cannot reach the server, then the post is blocked with an error message. If this box is not checked, and the client cannot reach the server, then the post will be allowed to go through unchecked.
Rejection Threshold: This is a number from 0 to 100, and if the probability of spam is greater than the threshold that you enter into this box, the message will be flagged as spam. Recommended values for this setting are 50 as the most sensitive to 80 as the most conservative. This setting defaults to 60.
To unsubscribe from the system, click the "Unsubscribe Now" button.
Collaborative Spam Signature System - Server
The server component of the Collaborative Spam Signature System resides on DiscusWare's servers. The analysis methods employed are proprietary and are not disclosed, but employ these techniques among others:
- Looking for duplicate messages between sites
- Looking for duplicate URLs between sites
- Considering poster IP address (blacklists and patterns)
Collaborative Spam Signature System technical details
Communication between the client and server is handled using the HTTP protocol. If you are having trouble getting the client to connect to the server, please be sure that your server allows connections to spamsig.discusware.com on port 80/tcp.
At no time is the actual message or any part thereof transmitted from the client to the server. Rather, the client first creates a digest of the message or URL, and it is not possible to take this digest and convert it back to the original.
|
Download
Purchase
Contact Us
Download
Purchase
Contact Us