Subj : hackers
To   : Tracker1
From : Oli
Date : Sat Jan 14 2023 12:45 pm

Tracker1 wrote (2023-01-11):

 T> On 1/10/23 08:34, Alonzo wrote:

 >> Yeah I did the same thing with a board I had back in the 90s. I
 >> eventually quit using it because most people ignored it. With
 >> Telnet though, it's complicated. What would you verify? You can't
 >> verify an IP because people just use VPNs, so IP addresses are
 >> meaningless.  And if people are just trying to brak your BBS,
 >> they never register anyway, so there's no personal info.

 T> I've thought about pre-verifying email addresses in order to login.  I
 T> changed my telnet login to use "email" first, so new users it's the
 T> first thing, but haven't coded up the preverify logic yet.

 T> Also considering adding SMS verification as an alternative to email
 T> verification.

A great way to discourage users to sign up. As a user, how do I know that your BBS is not a honeypot for collecting email addresses and phone numbers? I also have to assume that my personal data is in no way protected on you system and might be listed for everyone to see in the BBS. Especially if there is no privacy policy to read before email / SMS verification..

I don't understand why you need a login at all right after the connection is established. Why not have an open BBS were users are free to surf the boards? And if they want to write messages or read restricted areas they have to register/login first. Like with any web forum. This model works. Requiring registration before you can see anything just creates a bunch of dead user accounts. It's not the 80s/90s anymore.

Best way to discourage bots is running on another port than 22 / 23. There could also be a very simple captcha / are you a human? puzzle at the start, if the bots are still there.

I would enjoy the few remaining years of stupid bots without worrying too much about login unsuccessful attempts showing up in the log files. Soon the bots will be indistinguishable from humans. And they will create their own thriving BBS scene.

⁂

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 * Origin: War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. (21:3/102)

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