How to block Google Groups

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:52:38 -0500, default wrote: [snip...snip...]

I installed Hamster

formatting link
for much the same reason. Can't do an A-B comparison of the two since I've only used the one but it does what I want in terms of blocking googlegroups plus allowing selected posters through that service.

--
Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA
Reply to
Rich Webb
Loading thread data ...

some info

formatting link

martin

Reply to
Martin Griffith

This is the draconian solution and blocks everything from Google - I plan to fine tune it a bit as time allows. This eliminates all google groupers and about 90% of the spam.

Download and extract to a directory: newsproxy

Download link:

formatting link

This proxy program needs to be inserted between your news reader and your Internet connection. To do that, change your newsreader's server to "localhost" minus the quotes. Localhost is your own computer.

Run the executable newsproxy.exe from the directory where you extracted it to, and configure it to connect to your news server (the same one that got replaced by localhost). If you have a firewall, it needs to be allowed to connect to the net. (Read the readme files)

When you first run the program it will look for nfilter.dat There is no nfilter dat in the stand alone version (the windows installed version has the file with examples on how to use it). When you create your first filter it asks if you want to create the filter file - go for it.

At this point, if everything is working, your newsreader should be able to connect and download headers like it always did, and you shouldn't have problems posting.

You need to add a filter to tell newsproxy that Google is off limits. The syntax for the filter is: * drop Path:*google*

This will eliminate google groups from all newsgroups - it can be tweaked to eliminate it from selected groups and can also be tweaked to eliminate just groupers who cross post (read the faq for that)

That's pretty much it . . . no more google groups and 90% of the spam evaporates too.

The filter itself is a regular text file (you can make it using notepad) and call it: nfilter.dat The line * drop Path:*google* needs to be in the file. OR you can configure newsproxy to go to a different file for its filters so you can configure several filter files and use them for certain tasks.

The version of newsproxy that comes with a window installer is at:

formatting link
It comes with a dummy nfilter.dat file pre installed that gives hints on the correct syntax for filters.

formatting link
an FAQ on the operation and setup. Some folks have also posted their own nfilter.dat files. You can filter on virtually anything that appears in the full header for newsgroup posts. The filter can be global or just for a specific group. A filter can be installed to filter out cross posters, or cross posts that exceed a given number.

The program may seem like it isn't doing anything or you may see your newsreader saying it is downloading 20 new headers and only 9 new ones appear. Choose View, Dropped Articles, and you see a list of the spam you are missing in your reader, as well as which filter caught it.

I love this thing, but am interested in hearing others experience and perhaps some hints on better filtering techniques.

--
----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
default

Yup. That's a viable theory. Once you automate it, however, the cost goes to a penny a day for the same results.

Whatever the *mechanism*, Paul Hovnanian has given the only **solution** I have seen:

formatting link
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-refunds+zz-zz+*-CAPTCHA-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-cracked+advertisersnews: snipped-for-privacy@seanet.com

Hint: It's a bottom-line issue with Google; if you aren't paying Google for advertising, YOU don't matter. (Has Google opened a branch office in Redmond?)

formatting link
't-be-evil

Reply to
JeffM

I need to play with it some more . . . filtering out too much right now. I go to the filter log and look at message ID's, then search for the message using google groups search and find stuff I would rather let through.

How did you find the setup for hamster to be? The language put me off when I was researching for a proxy that would filter Google.

--
----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
default

OT can you find a worse site than this?

formatting link

martin

Reply to
Martin Griffith

Its code *is* a mess

formatting link
Failed validation, 2885 Errors

...but it's not even close to my record for non-compliance:

formatting link
Failed validation, 7341 Errors

It does edge out what was in the #2 spot on my crap list:

formatting link
Failed validation, 2843 Errors

Reply to
JeffM

Not too bad; got it all working over a lunch break.

Now that I've got a fair record in the killfile log, I'll probably use a bit of Perl to parse it for additional IDs that I may want to whitelist. On the whole, though, I've been pretty happy with it.

--
Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA
Reply to
Rich Webb

and O'reilly publishes books on......now let me see......

I occasionally wonder, usually after a visit to validator, how on earth it's possible to write a web browser that doesn't hang every 5 minutes

martin

Reply to
Martin Griffith

--
Probably not. ;)

This from near the end of it:
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
John Fields

LOl, never got that far..

martin

Reply to
Martin Griffith

formatting link
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-refunds+zz-zz+*-CAPTCHA-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-cracked+advertisers

You're going to have to be more careful, quoting that nut-case. But the truth of the matter is; this solution might be the only way to stop open Usenet services that hand out accounts to abusive users. It might not just be a financial thing, but a question of reputation. Become known as the home for riff-raff and your better users will abandon the service. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

--
Paul Hovnanian     mailto:Paul@Hovnanian.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Paul Hovnanian P.E.

Jim Thomps>What is the syntax for dropping Google, but with exceptions?

(alt.binaries.schematics.electronic removed from Groups line.)

ISTM that you could get 99.99% of the current rash with a Boolean AND of From==*gmail* AND Message-ID==*googlegroups*

Possible? Notable exceptions?

Reply to
JeffM

Hmmmmm :-) You may be right.

Presently I just blanket plonk @gmail or @hotmail.

I'll do away with my present Agent-contained filters, watch headers and keep data ;-)

...Jim Thompson

--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Jim Thompson

Author: @gmail.com

That catches all of them for me on Agent.

Reply to
StickThatInYourPipeAndSmokeIt

Hi,

my newsserver (Astraweb) doesnt supply Path in the headers so I had to use

  • drop Message-ID:*google*

you can telnet to your newsserver and "ask" it what it supplies as head info using the list overview.fmt command.

list overview.fmt

215 Order of fields in overview database. Subject: From: Date: Message-ID: References: Bytes: Lines: Xref:full
--

IanM
Reply to
IanM

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Jim,

is this the sort of thing you want?

  • score:-100 From:*insertnamehere*
  • score:+10 Message-ID:*google*
  • FLAG:KILL-FILE score:10

see faq

formatting link

--

IanM
Reply to
IanM

I don't think it allows exceptions, you either add a filter for each poster or whole domains or IP addresses.

Maybe Hamster can do that - my initial take on hamster is that it has a steeper learning curve.

--
----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
default

The Hamster scoring scheme allows either a direct assignment or an increment, so I can say "=-9999 Message-ID googlegroups.com" to assign a value or "-100 Message-ID googlegroups.com" and "+100 From " as increments. At the end of the process, after all rules have been applied, messages with a score >= 0 will be loaded.

The post-load fields are also accessible (after loading into the Hamster server, natch) so the NNTP-Posting-Host and Injection-Info header fields can also be checked and their scores added to the total, which catches google-groupers impersonating others who may post through that service.

--
Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA
Reply to
Rich Webb

Aha! Even _I_ can manage that ;-)

I take it that "Regular Expressions" must be activated?

...Jim Thompson

--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Jim Thompson

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.