Anonymous user content (resource overusage)

Websites that let anonymous users create and/or upload content can cause significant overuse of resources on your hosting account.

Is this an issue for me?

Here are some common causes of this on a site or application:

• Letting anonymous users register on the site
• Letting anonymous users contribute to site content
• Lack of CAPTCHA on user registration or email forms
• Exceedingly large MySQL databases
• Unrestricted user file uploads

How can I correct this issue?

You can correct any anonymous user issues by following one or more of these steps:

• Remove all current content from anonymous contributors.
• Incorporate methods to prevent bots from automating content uploads (e.g. CAPTCHA, disable anonymous users).
• Disable new user registrations and/or posts.
• Migrate to a VPS or dedicated server if the above steps are not an option.

Next steps

If you are still experiencing issues with resource usage, review your hosting for other possible causes at Common causes for resource overusage (Linux).

Note: You will want to make sure that you are correcting the underlying cause to any resource issue. Simply removing sites and/or files without correcting the underlying issue can cause the problem to recur.