Re: The Proxy blocker; important notice to all Wikipedias

On Mar 20, 2004, at 11:29, Walter Vermeir wrote:
> I have discovered there is now a robot active on I believe all 
> Wikipedias whit the name "Proxy blocker".
>
> It blocks automaticly all users who are using a open proxy server.
>
> It looks like a action form the English Wikipedia.

Tim plugged this experimentally into the wiki in response to a massive 
spambot attack a few days ago that worked through open proxies. It's 
not a vigilante robot, but an automated part of the wiki that runs a 
check when a given IP address first makes an edit. (This should have 
been announced; if it wasn't, I hope Tim will remember to do so next 
time.)

Of course if any wikis decide they don't want this, we'll be happy to 
disable it for you.

I should point out that _proxies_ are not a problem, but _open proxies_ 
are often a serious security risk. They are usually simply 
misconfigured, and like open mail relays are taken advantage of by 
spammers and malware to disguise their attack vector. A proxy meant as 
a firewall but left completely open may also allow external attackers 
to get at internal servers which were intended to be better secured.

> This is likely a violation of the blocking policy on most Wikipedias 
> so inform your users about this and discuss it.
>
> To trigger the Proxy Blocker go to http://www.publicproxyservers.com 
> and  use a "transparent" proxy.

-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)