PunchTab Rewards Attracts Spam Comments – Block Them Fast

PunchTab

Have you noticed the PunchTab Loyalty Reward Program available to you here on Deals From MS Do?  It’s like the store loyalty card or the S&H Green Stamp system.  Store cards give you points for shopping with them.  The more you shop, the more points you earn.  The PunchTab Loyalty Reward Program is similar. The more active you are on a website with PunchTab, the more points you earn.  These points can be converted into currency (gift card available) of your choice.

PunchTab Loyalty Rewards Program Gift Cards

So, how do you earn these points?  The easiest way to earn points is by visiting websites using PunchTab.  While you’re visiting these sites, like the posts (articles), leave a comment, share them to Facebook, click to tweet the link.  Yes, it’s really that easy to earn freebies by visiting some of your favorite sites.  The majority of these actions only require you to click the buttons.    Yep, just use these buttons at the bottom to earn more points.  There is another set of similar buttons at the top that will work as well.

Earn PunchTab Reward Points

However, I have recently encountered someone who wants to abuse the generosity of my site and the PunchTab program.  This person has been visiting my site on a very regular basis.  Thanks, I do appreciate those visits.  This person has also been tweeting.  Woo Hoo, keep it up!  But it’s the comments the person is leaving to collect points that are the problem.

When you visit a website and appreciate what you’ve read, disagree with what you’ve read, etc. leave a comment.  Just make your comment meaningful.  Do not write in a foreign language.  Don’t just put your own name in the comment box to collect the points!  It’s rude, disrespectful, and it’s SPAM!  You also don’t deserve the comment points.

Last night, I grew tired of this rude, disrespectful visitor.  I sent an email letting him know that his continued abuse would result in his being banned from Deals From MS Do.  I was nicer than most bloggers I know.  Most bloggers would have simply banned the person without trying to contact the offender.  Within six hours, another SPAM comment was placed on my site.

Website Spam Comments

I was tired of wasting my time with this SPAMMER.  I knew that I could potentially block this SPAMMER from leaving comments on my site, collecting those unearned PunchTab Rewards Points, and turning  those points into free gift cards.

My website is hosted through HostGator.  I headed over to customer service chat and in less than a minute, I had added the Spammer to my IP Deny Manager.

1. Find your cpanel login info.  It’s an email called “Your Account Info” and uses the term “Your Control Panel” within the body of the email instead of the term cpanel.
2. Login to your cpanel.
3. Look for the IP Deny Manager in the Security section of your cpanel screen.  DO NOT be afraid of your cpanel.  This is VERY, VERY SIMPLE!
4. Copy and Paste the complete IP address from the comments screen into the IP Deny Manager screen.  This will block this person from being able to view your site.  Click the ADD button. 
5. A message will pop-up confirming the newly blocked IP Address.  A box of blocked IP Addresses will also appear at the bottom of the screen.
6. If you noticed, my spammer uses multiple IP Addresses to visit my site.  Each individual IP number can be added. 
7. This Spammer has also used multiple IP Addresses that began with 105.158, 41.143, and 41.251.  In step #4 above, just add the the beginning numbers in the IP Deny Manager box.  This will block every possible IP Address that begins with that set of numbers.
8. Problem(s) are blocked!

My SPAM Commenter was blocked nearly 48 hours ago.  No more free gift cards for them, courtesy of PunchTab Rewards and MS Do.  No more SPAM (aka extra work)  for MS Do to delete!