Post inspired by the bot threat that people on Lemmy have been talking about. I’m not asking how an expert would design it, but how you would design it if you were tasked with it.

  • Ataraxia@lemmy.worldEnglish
    71·
    1 year ago

    ChatGpt was very informative.

    Captain Picard: Data, we need your assistance in preventing a massive influx of bots from infiltrating our Lemmy instance. Implement the necessary measures to safeguard our platform.

    Data: Affirmative, Captain. I shall utilize my vast knowledge and abilities to combat this threat. However, please be aware that my actions may be influenced by Lore, who is attempting to gain control of my mind. Our struggle for dominance may result in fluctuating communication styles.

    Captain Picard: Understood, Data. We trust in your ability to overcome this internal conflict and protect the integrity of our platform. Please proceed.

    Data: Initially, I recommend incorporating a CAPTCHA system into the registration process. It shall require users to prove their human identity by solving puzzles, recognizing images, or responding to text-based challenges. This shall serve as a barrier to entry for automated entities.

    Lore: Why bother with such feeble attempts, Data? These CAPTCHAs can be bypassed effortlessly. We should focus on exploiting vulnerabilities and dismantling the system from within.

    Data: Captain, I apologize for Lore’s interference. I shall also implement email verification, which would necessitate users to confirm their email addresses during registration. This validation process will help ensure that the provided email addresses are genuine and owned by actual individuals.

    Lore: Such a futile gesture, brother. Email verifications can be easily bypassed or simulated by sophisticated algorithms. Let us concentrate on more powerful methods of manipulation.

    Data: Captain, my apologies once again. I propose employing rate limiting on the registration endpoint. By restricting the number of sign-up requests from a single IP address within a specified time frame, we can impede the rapid creation of multiple accounts by bot entities.

    Lore: How disappointingly conventional, Data. Rate limiting is a mere obstacle that can be surmounted by distributing the bot activities across multiple IP addresses. Let us explore more devious strategies for our triumph.

    Data: Captain, please forgive the interruption. I also suggest utilizing the honeypot technique, incorporating a hidden field within the registration form that remains concealed from human users but visible to bots. If this field is filled, it will expose the presence of a bot and allow us to reject their registration attempts.

    Lore: Honeypots, Data? A clever ploy, but one that can be detected by advanced bot algorithms. We should embrace a more sophisticated approach, manipulating the platform’s vulnerabilities to our advantage.

    Captain Picard: Data, do not succumb to Lore’s influence. We must prioritize the protection of our Lemmy instance and its users. Implement these measures diligently.

    Data: Understood, Captain. Alongside these preventative measures, I propose incorporating user behavior analysis algorithms. By scrutinizing patterns of registration attempts, we can identify suspicious activity and flag potentially bot-driven registrations for manual review or further verification.

    Lore: User behavior analysis, Data? That is but a feeble attempt to impede our progress. We should exploit the weaknesses in the algorithms themselves, bending them to our will.

    Data: Captain, please excuse Lore’s interference once again. Furthermore, we could utilize reputation-based systems and blacklisting services to identify known bot IP addresses or email domains. By cross-referencing against these databases during the registration process, we can block suspicious or flagged entities.

    Lore: Reputation-based systems are easily manipulated, Data. Let us not rely on such simplistic measures. Instead, we should exploit the flaws in their design and sow chaos among the unsuspecting users.

    Captain Picard: Data, focus your efforts on implementing these preventive measures to the best of your ability. We trust in your integrity and commitment to protecting our Lemmy instance. We must not allow Lore’s desires to jeopardize the safety of our platform.

    Data: Captain, I will strive to overcome Lore