# What are these? **URL:** \ **Category:** Product Support\ **Created:** [November 3, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-are-these/416418 "2026-11-03T14:03:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1 ## AI-generated summary [Johnny_McIvor](/t/-/416418/1) inquires about suspicious user accounts appearing in the admin interface. They identify two distinct sets: one set consists of accounts with admin privileges but no IP addresses, which they suspect might be auto-generated by Discourse, and a second set features random IPs and seemingly automatic creation, raising concerns about malicious activity. The poster includes screenshots and asks for clarification on the intent behind these accounts. [zogstrip](/t/-/416418/2) responds to the first set, confirming via an upvote emoji and a link to a [Discourse Meta post](https://meta.discourse.org/t/easily-manage-bots-in-the-discourse-admin-interface/416057) that these are indeed bots managed through the admin interface. [putty](/t/-/416418/3) addresses the second set of accounts, noting that this issue was [similarly reported in another thread](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-users-that-have-never-been-seen-or-activated/416360). Putty shares a screenshot of a similar wave of unactivated users they experienced. Following advice from "Kris," putty provides steps to mitigate the issue: admins can navigate to `admin/users/list/new`, use the "not activated" filter, and enter bulk select mode via the icon over the avatar column to delete or block these accounts. This recommendation is supported by a quote from [awesomerobot](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-users-that-have-never-been-seen-or-activated/416360), emphasizing the utility of filtering by IP and bulk deletion for managing spam or bot accounts that have never been seen or activated.
**Author:** ![Johnny\_McIvor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/johnny_mcivor/32/218747_2.png) [@Johnny\_McIvor](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Johnny_McIvor)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-are-these/416418/1 "2026-11-03T14:03:05Z")
Set 1: Possibly bots that Discourse has generated automatically. (They all start out with admin privileges and don’t have IP addresses). ![Screenshot at 2026-11-03 09-00-46](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/3/8/e/38e92f1bb661edece7fb5ba0c3557f443d4d94a8.png) Set 2: More insidious. Random IPs, accounts seem to be created automatically ![Screenshot at 2026-11-03 09-00-02](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/c/b/c/cbc6f6149c0ee8d7200b6ae9c32220f9064fe96b.png) What is this person trying to do? ---
**Author:** ![zogstrip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/zogstrip/32/512781_2.png) [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-are-these/416418/2 "2026-11-03T14:04:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_McIvor](#): > > Possibly bots that Discourse has generated automatically. 👆 > [@Easily manage bots in the Discourse admin interface](https://meta.discourse.org/t/easily-manage-bots-in-the-discourse-admin-interface/416057): > > I am very happy to announce the new “bots” tab in Discourse. We created a new bots tab which lets admins monitor which bot accounts exist, learn why they exist, and stage new bots (for either workflows or API usage) We hope this makes it easier for you all to integrate various solutions into Discourse and better understand what bots you have installed. confetti_ball ---
**Author:** ![putty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/putty/32/370902_2.png) [@putty](https://meta.discourse.org/u/putty)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 2:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-are-these/416418/3 "2026-11-03T14:25:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_McIvor](#): > > Set 2: More insidious. Random IPs, accounts seem to be created automatically > > ![Screenshot at 2026-11-03 09-00-02](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/c/b/c/cbc6f6149c0ee8d7200b6ae9c32220f9064fe96b.png) > > What is this person trying to do? This was [similarly reported here](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-users-that-have-never-been-seen-or-activated/416360). > **I had a wave of these as well** > > ![CleanShot 2026-11-02 at 16.34.11](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/8/2/1/8213869f5f6691943e58eed33381e144625fb207.png) Per Kris’s recommendation you can filter by IP and delete/block: > [@New users that have never been Seen or Activated](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-users-that-have-never-been-seen-or-activated/416360/3): > > From `admin/users/list/new` there’s a “not activated” filter > > ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/9/b/a/9ba10cd41bf74664b6a31d8f58899e4b6d660906.png) > > From here you can click the icon over the avatar in the table header to enter bulk select mode. You can delete accounts this way if needed.