Are there plugins to block certain users?

Have you tried the Akismet section for it? (right at the bottom of the akismet admin page)

All I see is a textbox for my API key (already entered) and a box to discard spam comments after a month. Am I missing something?

You’re looking at Akismet configuration under plugins (that’s where you enter the key).

Manage Comments -> Akismet is where you see the spam that Akismet catches and holds for you to look at. If there isn’t any (ie you’ve deleted it) you just see a friendly message there.

Next time you have spam there, before you delete it, scroll down to the bottom of the page and you should see the other options.

Meanwhile you can block any ip address(es) in your .htaccess file.

At the bottom of the file, add:

deny from 64.158.138.28

(that’s a repeated and reported spam IP)

You can enter as many of these as you need to, each on a new line.

askimet is an all around “spam” plugin and may or may not accomplish what you want.

If you are really looking to block certain referers the most permanent solution is to use your .htaccess, assuming you have mod_rewrite available..

Here is a good example:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^(.*)badsite(.*)$ [NC,OR]
RewriteRule ^.* - [F]

will block ANY referer that comes from a url that contains the string “badsite” (without the quotes)

IP blocks work, if done correctly, but people that suugest that ought to include the caveat that they only work until the person you want to ban changes their IP. In cases like that you can block ranges, but it can be tricky path since you run the risk of banning legit passerbys.

Also, realize too, that lots of people block cookies, and more people than you might realize clean their cookies. I do, for instance on EVERY browser shutdown. Planting a cookie is not a permanent solution by any means.

I can help with your problem, if you need more .htaccess hints. Feel free to contact me privately at whoo->village-idiot.org (substitute @ for that arrow).

Bear in mind though, if you do, that my mom is in the hospital so I have limited time and might not get back to you immediately. I will try to reply within 24 hours though.

I appreciate the help. I already have a bunch of blocked sites in my htaccess file, though – the problem is, every so often they still get through.

I guess I have no choice but to block the entire country of Brazil.

Thanks.

They dont get through if you use the proper regex’s — thats why I offered my help. If they are, then you are not.

Good luck.

Oh I hadn’t seen your email address… I’ll send one to you now. Thank you. ??

I replied to your e-mail, I see you added a rule using the syntax above.. it worked just fine blocking me, I saw the hotlinked ( :<) flash just fine.

Sorry about that. Thanks for your reply, it helped out quite a bit.

I’m replacing that link with a custom 403 error in hopes people will leave me alone. ??

no no, thats fine that I saw the flash — I can spoof my referer so I tried the domain you mentioned in the e-mail. Thats a good thing that you are successfully blocking the referers you want to block, my unhappy smilie was because youre hotlinking, but thats another topic title (the evils of hotlinking).

You might want to give this a go as well: I am about to install it and see how we get on. It is a set and forget plugin. Not sure how often it is updated though or if it needs to be that often.

WordPress 2.0 / 1.5.x Plugin: Referrer Bouncer

https://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/word-press-1-5-plugin-referer-bouncer/