What would be the best way to find a users IP address on MediaWiki if all the connections were proxied through squid proxy server and you have access to all user rights?
I am a steward on a centralauth based wiki and we have lots of spam accounts registering and making 1 spam page each.
Can someone please tell me what the best way to mass block them is as I keep on having to block each user individually and lock their accounts?
If configured properly, your proxy will add the IP address of the user to the X-Forwarded-For header of the backend request. If $wgSquidServers (or $wgSquidServersNoPurge) is properly set, MediaWiki will automatically use that header for all internal purposes except logging (where it would be a performance hit).
For spam-fighting in general, see the list of antispam extensions. ConfirmEdit (captcha) is a popular choice, SpamBlacklist is also nice. AbuseFilter was meant more for abusive users, and needs complex configuration, but it is very powerful. For mass-deletion/blocking you can use CentralAuth's Special:MultiLock page, Nuke, SmiteSpam, I'm sure there are others.
See also the manual page on combating spam.
I would recommend installing Extension:Moderation - MediaWiki.
This MediaWiki Extension will allow you and your admins to combat spam.
