How do I effectively ban users?

[ski diva]

I've had some spammers and other deviants try to register on my site, and I'd like to keep them from ever darkening my door again. I tried listing them in the "banned user" group, but they were still being counted in my Forum Member total, which made it seem like I had more members than I actually did. So instead I've listed their email addresses and IP numbers in the User Banning Option part of vBulletin options. Is this the best way to go?

[Jake Bunce]

They will always be counted in the member total unless you delete their accounts. Yes, email and IP bans are partially effective, as are the options for email and image verification. You can also enable moderation of new registration if it becomes a big problem.