Is Akismet down?

Uncategorized 0 Minutes

I’ve grown so used to the awesome spam blocker that WordPress.com includes for free (it comes from Akismet, which is owned by Automattic, the same folks who do WordPress).

But tonight a TON of spam got through. So, I wonder if Akismet is down or if something got horked?

By the way, if Matt Mullenweg is reading this, can you let me see older comments on the comment page? I can only see the last few comments and when I get a spam storm like this it makes it very difficult to be sure that I deleted them all. Same on the spam page. Let me see hundreds, not just the last few.

Advertisements

Published by Robert Scoble

I give you a front-row seat on the future. Focusing most of my efforts now on next-generation augmented reality and artificial intelligence, AKA "mixed reality." SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER: http://clevermoe.com/scobleizer-news/ BUY OUR NEW BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Transformation-Robert-Scoble/dp/1539894444 "The Fourth Transformation: How augmented reality and artificial intelligence will change everything." WATCH MY LATEST SPEECHES: State of VR with Philip Rosedale (done in VR itself, very cool): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zAA1EVGUZU At GEOINT, June 2017: http://trajectorymagazine.com/glimpse-new-world/ Augmented World Expo, June 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4xHILvLD8E At Leade.rs, April 2017: https://youtu.be/52_0JshgjXI +++++++++++ BIO: Scoble gives you a front-row seat on the future. Literally. He had the first ride in the first Tesla. Siri was launched in his house. He's been the first to share all sorts of technologies and companies with you, from Flipboard to Pandora to Instagram. Today he's focusing on mixed reality, AKA "next-generation augmented reality" which will include a new user interface for EVERYTHING in your life (IoT, Smart Cities, driverless cars, robots, drones, etc). That's based on his view thanks to his past experience as futurist at Rackspace. Best place to find Scoble? On his Facebook profile at https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble He has been a technology blogger since 2000, was one of five people who built Microsoft's Channel 9 video blog/community, worked at Fast Company Magazine running its TV efforts, and has been part of technology media businesses since 1993. ++++++++ SPEAKER PITCH: Apple and Facebook now have revealed their Augmented Reality strategies, which means your business needs one too. Rely on Robert Scoble, the world's top authority on AR, to bring to your conference what businesses should do next. SPEECH ABSTRACT #1: TITLE: The Fourth Transformation: What's next in mixed reality (AR and AI) and the future of technology? Here's an example of this talk at Leade.rs in Paris in April, 2017: https://youtu.be/52_0JshgjXI Why "the Fourth Transformation?" Soon we will have phones and glasses that do full on augmented reality. Everything you look at will potentially be augmented. This world is coming in late 2017 with a new iPhone from Apple, amongst other products. Microsoft is betting everything on its HoloLens glasses that do mixed reality and the industry is spending many billions of dollars in R&D and funding new companies like Magic Leap. This future will be the user interface for IoT, Smart Cities, autonomous cars, robots, drones, and your TV. This is a big deal and Robert will take you through what mixed reality is and how it will change every business. Learn more about Robert's speaking style and contact his agent at http://odemanagement.com/robert-scoble/Robert-Scoble.html ++++++++ SPEECH ABSTRACT #2: "The Next Two Clicks of Moore's Law." Over the next four years, or two clicks of Moore's Law, a ton about our technology world will change. Scoble will bring you the best from his travels visiting R&D labs, startups, and innovators around the world. He views the world through his rose-colored-mixed-reality glasses, which will be the new user interface for self driving cars, Smart Cities, IoT, and many other things in our world. He'll send you off with some lessons for companies both large and small. ++++++++ SPEECH ABSTRACT #3: "Personalized Meaning: What is Augmented Reality For?" As we enter a far more technological world where even cars drive themselves, I predict we'll see a blowback toward the analog, more authentic world. What role does augmented reality play in both worlds? Get Scoble's insight into where augmented reality is going, see tons of real-world demos, and understand what he means by 'personalized meaning.' CONTACT: If you are looking to contact me, email is best: scobleizer@gmail.com. ++++++++ ENDORSEMENTS: IZEA Top 25 Tech Influencers: https://izea.com/2017/07/07/25-top-tech-influencers/ Time: One of the top 140 Twitterers! FT: One of the five most influential Twitterers! Inc. Top 5 on list of Tech Power Players You Need to Know: http://www.inc.com/john-rampton/30-power-players-in-tech-you-need-to-know.html Next Reality: #4 on top 50 AR influencer list: https://next.reality.news/news/nr50-next-realitys-50-people-watch-augmented-mixed-reality-0177454/

Published

64 thoughts on “Is Akismet down?”

  1. If my comment is published, you can be sure it’s down because they blocked me for no reason!

    But I know spammers attacked blogs in recent days with tons of spams and I got more than 500 spams in less than three days. I have three spam blocker modules installed + Akismet on CS.

    I was getting 10-20 spam per day regularly but these new attacks are terrible 😦

    Like

  2. If my comment is published, you can be sure it’s down because they blocked me for no reason!

    But I know spammers attacked blogs in recent days with tons of spams and I got more than 500 spams in less than three days. I have three spam blocker modules installed + Akismet on CS.

    I was getting 10-20 spam per day regularly but these new attacks are terrible 😦

    Like

  3. I have got more spam in the last 5 hours than in all the time I have had my blog, so something is definitely going on with Akismet. What I want to know is how does Akismet work with hosted WordPress installs (as opposed to WordPress.com)

    Like

  4. I have got more spam in the last 5 hours than in all the time I have had my blog, so something is definitely going on with Akismet. What I want to know is how does Akismet work with hosted WordPress installs (as opposed to WordPress.com)

    Like

  5. Deepak: I’m not sure. I wonder if this is because the spammers got smart and are changing their methods? Either way, I just went through and cleaned up the mess. I’ve learned that this usually helps everyone out in the system (Akismet is a community, actually, and we help each other out by properly checking both our comments and our spam pages to make sure it’s doing its job correctly).

    It’s WAY better than the blocking systems on other blog services, though. So, I’m VERY happy. It’s just very unusual when it doesn’t work well, so it’s worth talking about here.

    Like

  6. Deepak: I’m not sure. I wonder if this is because the spammers got smart and are changing their methods? Either way, I just went through and cleaned up the mess. I’ve learned that this usually helps everyone out in the system (Akismet is a community, actually, and we help each other out by properly checking both our comments and our spam pages to make sure it’s doing its job correctly).

    It’s WAY better than the blocking systems on other blog services, though. So, I’m VERY happy. It’s just very unusual when it doesn’t work well, so it’s worth talking about here.

    Like

  7. Same problem here. I’ve received close to 200 spam comments already, starting a couple hours ago, and it’s driving me crazy. I just keep my comments window open and click refresh every minute. Good to hear I’m not the only one!

    For now, I have set it so all comments are sent to moderation in the Discussion Options. It helps because at least offensive spam comments aren’t making way to my readers.

    Like

  8. Same problem here. I’ve received close to 200 spam comments already, starting a couple hours ago, and it’s driving me crazy. I just keep my comments window open and click refresh every minute. Good to hear I’m not the only one!

    For now, I have set it so all comments are sent to moderation in the Discussion Options. It helps because at least offensive spam comments aren’t making way to my readers.

    Like

  9. Please collect a large markdown on your medicine
    faithful classes, Premier quality.
    collosal mixed bax, including strenuous to find drugs
    No formula needed.
    Secret with No waiting space or date vital
    Obtain in mass and Save! whereas further

    (joke-pasted my latest spam)

    Like

  11. Please collect a large markdown on your medicine
    faithful classes, Premier quality.
    collosal mixed bax, including strenuous to find drugs
    No formula needed.
    Secret with No waiting space or date vital
    Obtain in mass and Save! whereas further

    (joke-pasted my latest spam)

    Like

  25. Spam, shmam. I left a misconfigured proxy server open for a week and, while I’ve got it locked down denying everything except what its supposed to pass, the click fraudsters are sending it thousands of requests to proxy clicks through to various ad networks. I’ve added dynamic firewall measures to permanently lock out any ip that produces 5 404’s in 10 minutes, but its barely making a dent.

    Its enough to make a person consider abandoning the internet.

    Like

  26. Spam, shmam. I left a misconfigured proxy server open for a week and, while I’ve got it locked down denying everything except what its supposed to pass, the click fraudsters are sending it thousands of requests to proxy clicks through to various ad networks. I’ve added dynamic firewall measures to permanently lock out any ip that produces 5 404’s in 10 minutes, but its barely making a dent.

    Its enough to make a person consider abandoning the internet.

    Like

  29. Robert – same here on my WordPress powered blog. I usually get none but overnight over 30 spams got through. That’s a new record for me. I have very tight controls in place.

    This just goes to show how effective Akismet usually is. It has, so far, stopped 22,981 spams for me but the most recent spam stopped was 11:22pm GMT – just over 10 hours ago.

    And the spam is still coming through.

    Like

  30. Robert – same here on my WordPress powered blog. I usually get none but overnight over 30 spams got through. That’s a new record for me. I have very tight controls in place.

    This just goes to show how effective Akismet usually is. It has, so far, stopped 22,981 spams for me but the most recent spam stopped was 11:22pm GMT – just over 10 hours ago.

    And the spam is still coming through.

    Like

  31. Noticing the same thing here.

    I guess the phrase is true: ya don’t know what ya got until it’s gone. Hopefully I’ll wake up in the morning to a functioning spam filter, and not 100 moderation emails.

    Like

  32. Noticing the same thing here.

    I guess the phrase is true: ya don’t know what ya got until it’s gone. Hopefully I’ll wake up in the morning to a functioning spam filter, and not 100 moderation emails.

    Like

  33. I stopped it on my blog now.

    I noticed most of the spam comments contained a term (bu***ke – not using the full term in case I fall foul of filters!).

    If you add that term to WordPress -> Options -> Discussion -> Comment Blacklist and click update all comments containing that term are nuked. No notification, nothing, gone.

    Use with care!!!

    Like

  34. I stopped it on my blog now.

    I noticed most of the spam comments contained a term (bu***ke – not using the full term in case I fall foul of filters!).

    If you add that term to WordPress -> Options -> Discussion -> Comment Blacklist and click update all comments containing that term are nuked. No notification, nothing, gone.

    Use with care!!!

    Like

  37. Pingback: Peter’s Web Development Blog » Blog Archive » Akismet goes down…

  38. >>Akismet seems to be back stopping spam again

    No Tom…The Akismet plugin is not working (500 spams on my blog since this morning :-()

    Something is bizarre. On their website, it seems that they have filtered a lot of spam today ! (645,791…)

    2 solutions

    1. Their counter is a fake
    2. The problem is appearing only on WordPress Blogs.

    Like

  39. >>Akismet seems to be back stopping spam again

    No Tom…The Akismet plugin is not working (500 spams on my blog since this morning :-()

    Something is bizarre. On their website, it seems that they have filtered a lot of spam today ! (645,791…)

    2 solutions

    1. Their counter is a fake
    2. The problem is appearing only on WordPress Blogs.

    Like

  40. It’s good to hear that I’m not the only one having this spam issue this morning. The only thing I’ve been able to find out so far is what Neville mentioned above – Akismet had an upgrade last night. It’s hard to complain though as Akismet has been almost perfect for me to date. Hopefully this is just a temporary glitch, but it would be nice to hear from them what may have happened.

    Like

  41. It’s good to hear that I’m not the only one having this spam issue this morning. The only thing I’ve been able to find out so far is what Neville mentioned above – Akismet had an upgrade last night. It’s hard to complain though as Akismet has been almost perfect for me to date. Hopefully this is just a temporary glitch, but it would be nice to hear from them what may have happened.

    Like

  44. Yeah, it’s been crazy on my blog as well, I’m actually somewhat relieved that it’s not just me 🙂 Most of them are getting held for moderation, but I get an email alert for that so I got a tonne of email as well this morning. Boy, i hope they get this figured out soon.

    Karl

    Like

  45. Yeah, it’s been crazy on my blog as well, I’m actually somewhat relieved that it’s not just me 🙂 Most of them are getting held for moderation, but I get an email alert for that so I got a tonne of email as well this morning. Boy, i hope they get this figured out soon.

    Karl

    Like

  46. Pingback: Akismet is still down…(If you’re at Foocamp wake Toni Schneider up) « Scobleizer - Tech Geek Blogger
  47. Pingback: Meandering Passage » Blog Archive » Akismet Operational?

  48. I love Akismet as well. It’s been great.

    Akismet is still catching some for me but I’ve had many get through this morning. I wondered as well if it had to do with the “fine tuning” noted on the Akismet blog.

    Like

  49. I love Akismet as well. It’s been great.

    Akismet is still catching some for me but I’ve had many get through this morning. I wondered as well if it had to do with the “fine tuning” noted on the Akismet blog.

    Like

  54. Same problem here too. It must be down because I’ve had like 50 spam comments since 7 hours ago and all of them got through the filter. Good thing there still is the moderation queue.

    Like

  55. Same problem here too. It must be down because I’ve had like 50 spam comments since 7 hours ago and all of them got through the filter. Good thing there still is the moderation queue.

    Like

  56. Pingback: 0xDECAFBAD » Is Akismet down? « Scobleizer - Tech Geek Blogger
  57. Pingback: Akismet is fixed… at odd time signatures
  58. Pingback: Service Untitled » Robert Scoble knows customer service.
  61. Pingback: Fighting spam: Call in Akismet! at FactoryCity

  62. Firstly, great blog… so much of interest and use on it.

    And secondly, on to Askimet!! Until about 3 months or so ago Askimet span worked fine for me stopping 90%+ of spam and with what seemed high accuracy. Then over night everything changed. Askimet stopped catching spam and stopped being able to see what was and what was not spam.

    I am sure that I do not get that much spam compared to some but comments on other sites such as read your spam comments are not really practical (I get several hundred a day and rising) and totally negate the point of having it in the first place.

    Over the last day or two the stats were as follows…

    Total comments & spam 359.
    Awaiting moderation 174 – Spam 170, legitimate 4.
    Askimet spam 185 – Spam 168, legitimate 7.

    This would imply that Askimet is guessing and not that well at that. I have emailed Askimet to ask for advice but would be interested if anyone else has experienced a rapid change in fortunes with Askimet, what caused it and what the solution is…

    Like

  63. Firstly, great blog… so much of interest and use on it.

    And secondly, on to Askimet!! Until about 3 months or so ago Askimet span worked fine for me stopping 90%+ of spam and with what seemed high accuracy. Then over night everything changed. Askimet stopped catching spam and stopped being able to see what was and what was not spam.

    I am sure that I do not get that much spam compared to some but comments on other sites such as read your spam comments are not really practical (I get several hundred a day and rising) and totally negate the point of having it in the first place.

    Over the last day or two the stats were as follows…

    Total comments & spam 359.
    Awaiting moderation 174 – Spam 170, legitimate 4.
    Askimet spam 185 – Spam 168, legitimate 7.

    This would imply that Askimet is guessing and not that well at that. I have emailed Askimet to ask for advice but would be interested if anyone else has experienced a rapid change in fortunes with Askimet, what caused it and what the solution is…

    Like

  64. Pingback: Which wordpress plugins should I run?

Comments are closed.