BleepingComputer.com: New procedure to reduce wait time in the Virus Removal Section

As some of you may have noticed, there is a user called HelpBot that is posting replies in the Virus Removal section. This user, or bot actually, is an application at BleepingComputer that will respond to virus removal topics that are at least 10 days old and will prompt them to click on a link and respond with whether or not they still need help. If the user states that they still needs help, then they are requested to supply the various logs that logbot requested as a new reply in their virus removal topic.

This new procedure was put into place to help reduce the wait time that our visitors incur in that section of the forums. We know its frustrating to have to wait a long time, but with 40-50 new virus removal topics per day and a limited volunteer base to help you with them, there are only a few things we can do to speed up the process. One of these things is the new HelpBot application. This application allows us to remove any topics from our queue that no longer require help in an automated manner. This also allows the Malware Response Team and other helpers to focus on helping and posting to only those topics that they know they will receive a response from. Ultimately, this allows those of you who are still waiting and who still need help, to get help faster.

If you have an open virus removal topic that HelpBot posts to, please follow all the directions in the post. The most important step is the first one. In this step you are requested to click on a link and then let us know if you still need help or if your issue is resolved. If you do not let us know, then we will assume that you no longer need help and will close your topic after 5 days of no response. Therefore, by following this step you allow yourself to get help sooner.

If there are any questions please feel free to ask and we hope this new process allows you to get the help you need in a more timely manner.

Thanks,

The BleepingComputer Staff.

Many thanks to you Grinler and Animal for the time and effort to create this app. It will be a great help to both the our malware team and a real help to our members.

This post has been edited by boopme: 04 August 2011 - 09:23 PM

Excellent work & a great idea--good luck with that! It's stuff like this that make this site what it is...#1 in it's class, IMHO.

It's a good thing you guys came up with this HelpBot thing, I heard thru the graspevine that some of the multitude of members with compromised systems were gonna start using a GrovelBot app to beg plead and....well...Grovel for help and bombard the staff with a flood of automated PM's for assistance of biblical proportions to the point of a DDoS.

This post has been edited by Union_Thug: 07 August 2011 - 01:35 AM

I have noticed that, great idea guys, well done.