If you are using one of the *oma instances (Akkoma, Pleroma, etc): you can easily handle this spam wave without playing defederation whack-a-mole by doing the following:

• Enable RejectNewlyCreatedAccountNotesPolicy and set the limit to at least one hour. Note that this is not without tradeoffs: users who migrate to new accounts will not be able to reach your instance until their account is old enough, and will often wonder what’s going on.
• Enable HellthreadPolicy to limit the maximum number of mentions in a post before it stops notifying mentioned users, or before it’s rejected outright. Temporarily decrease the limit during a spam wave if you need to.
• Enable KeywordPolicy and add strings commonly found in spam posts, such as domain names (followed by a slash, to reduce false positives from real users simply mentioning the domain without linking it), hashtags, and uncommon words. Look up the “Scunthorpe Problem” if you’re unfamiliar.

When the dust settles, depending on available spoons, I might go through the instances that haven’t cleaned up spam after multiple days. Those are likely abandoned and extra-vulnerable to future attacks and block evaders. On *oma, these defederations will not sever connections and are reversible.

#Spam #SpamWave #FediAdmin

Hello all Fedi Admins who have problems with spam!

The Mute List 2.2.2

I have been updating the spam list and found ~104 additional instances that continued spamming! I, with lots of help of other Fedi Admins, have compiled the instances into a list which mutes them, and does not defederate from them!

I'd highly appreciate a small donation here as I've worked really hard and long on creating this, which given my current schedule I can hardly justify! Thanks!

There is a new type of spam, the same instances are affected as before. Those responsible in Japan are said to have been arrested.

Download the list here.

Instructions and Explanation of the List.

Once this list is imported, most of the spam is gone. The whole thing is easy for you, with just one click! In addition, no instance is blocked forever, no followers etc. are destroyed or unfollowed, only muted.

You can simply import this list by going to https://yourinstance.tld/admin/export_domain_blocks/new and replacing yourinstance.tld with the domain of the instance you are the administrator of!

Alternatively, you can also click on Settings => Moderation => Federation => Import to import this list.

Note that although all instances can be imported with one click, these instances must be removed individually when the spam is over.

Also note that it only makes sense to import this list and mute the spam instances if you have blocked your spam locally and permanently, as described here.

Here's to a spam-free Fediverse :apartyblobcat: !

#MastoAdmins #FediBlock #Spam #Spamwave #Fedimins #FediAdmin #FediAdmins FediAdminEN