BlockScript vBulletin Integration

[upsideout]

This plugin allows you to easily integrate your BlockScript installation into your vBulletin forum, eliminating the need for any manual file modifications. The BlockScript installation package is included with this download.

BlockScript is a PHP script which enables webmasters to quickly and easily deny access to problematic users that are difficult to block using standard methods. We are pleased to announce that BlockScript now provides free access to the following core features:


Country Blocking
Custom IP Whitelisting
Custom IP Blacklisting
Logging


BlockScript provides free access to these core features and purchasing a license key unlocks all other features.

When licensed, BlockScript detects and blocks requests from all types of proxy servers and anonymity networks, hosting networks, undesirable robots and spiders, and even entire countries. Running a popular forum requires constant vigilance. Forums face constant attack from threats such as: spammers who take advantage of a forum, bots that steal your content and bandwidth, and trolls who seek attention no matter the cost to you. Now you can stop problem users who use proxies and anonymity networks to bypass your bans.

Demo URL: http://www.blockscript.com/

[OldSchoolDSL]

You currently have this modification tagged.

Will look into this....

[OldSchoolDSL]

Think I'll pass on this one.... Everything this currently offers (in your free version).... Is already included in vBulletin.

[upsideout]

Think I'll pass on this one.... Everything this currently offers (in your free version).... Is already included in vBulletin.

Vbulletin does not offer country blocking,custom whitelisting, or a system to log these requests.

[ssslippy]

You should really be doing all IP blocking at the server level as having to run a Php script is a lot more server load especially vs a bot who will hit the site quickly.

[OldSchoolDSL]

Vbulletin does not offer country blocking,custom whitelisting, or a system to log these requests.

Anyone can block an Ip range and thus, block a country using vBulletin (AdminCP > options > User ban options).
Anyone cal also do this on their server.

Anyone can setup their forum or server using htaccess to make a white list.

Both vBulletin and your server can log these.

[OldSchoolDSL]

You should really be doing all IP blocking at the server level as having to run a Php script is a lot more server load especially vs a bot who will hit the site quickly.

^^^ This too

[Hornstar]

How will the block message look?

Can we customize the block message?

I don't want it looking like this:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2011/01/1.php?blockscript=showlogo



Your request was blocked by BlockScript based on the policies of the blockscript.com website.

BlockScript is a PHP script which enables webmasters to quickly and easily deny access to problematic users that are difficult to block using standard methods. BlockScript detects and blocks requests from all types of proxy servers and anonymity networks (such as web-based proxies, open proxies, Tor, VPN servers, etc.), hosting networks, undesirable robots and spiders, and even entire countries. For more infromation, see: www.blockscript.com (http://www.blockscript.com/)

Which does not spell information correctly.

[worried]

This sounds interesting. I'd really like to use this specifically for my register page not the entire site is this possible?

[upsideout]

You should really be doing all IP blocking at the server level as having to run a Php script is a lot more server load especially vs a bot who will hit the site quickly.
You can simultaneously use your firewall and BlockScript as they can compliment each other well. BlockScript has both cookie-based and disk-based caching systems that efficiently block traffic from previously blocked users.

Anyone can block an Ip range and thus, block a country using vBulletin (AdminCP > options > User ban options).
Anyone cal also do this on their server.

Anyone can setup their forum or server using htaccess to make a white list.
Geolocation in BlockScript is powered by MaxMind's GeoLite database which we have licensed for redistribution in this way. GeoLite is extremely accurate and regularly updated. Additionally, when BlockScript is licensed, it will block over 20 million proxy and hosting provider IP addresses. We are constantly adding to and improving our blacklists and software. Webmasters rely on BlockScript when they don't want to use their valuable time manually managing blacklists when it can be managed for them.

How will the block message look?

Can we customize the block message?
The standard error message looks like this (http://www.blockscript.com/blockscript/detector.php?blockscript=preview) and can be customized. Also, one of the Developer APIs (http://www.blockscript.com/developer-apis.php) that we provide enables "Transparent Mode". When BlockScript's Transparent Mode is enabled, no blocking will be performed, and alternatively, information about the user is provided by BlockScript within the $_SERVER global variable for use with other systems. In other words, you can use Transparent Mode to construct your own blocked user page.

I don't want it looking like this ... Which does not spell information correctly.
Thanks. That typo will be corrected in the next release.

This sounds interesting. I'd really like to use this specifically for my register page not the entire site is this possible?
Yes but not currently using the vBulletin plugin. One way to accomplish this is to follow our Basic Integration (http://www.blockscript.com/install.php) instructions to install BlockScript only in vBulletin's register.php file.

[OldSchoolDSL]

This will still put a very load on your php and thus, your copy of vBulletin (your community).

If you had this in away which would not affect php, but rather affectively run this on the server level... It would be something worth looking into.

[OldSchoolDSL]

Geolocation in BlockScript is powered by MaxMind's GeoLite database which we have licensed for redistribution in this way. GeoLite is extremely accurate and regularly updated. Additionally, when BlockScript is licensed, it will block over 20 million proxy and hosting provider IP addresses. We are constantly adding to and improving our blacklists and software. Webmasters rely on BlockScript when they don't want to use their valuable time manually managing blacklists when it can be managed for them.

On your paid version, this maybe true.

But again... You're free version seems useless. It offers nothing new, that can not already be done without installing your "mod".

It is my opinion .... That this is just another "try" to market your paid product here (again).

[upsideout]

But again... You're free version seems useless. It offers nothing new, that can not already be done without installing your "mod".
I know of no other vBulletin mod that can block access from particular countries. Country blocking is a valuable and useful service and it's free in BlockScript.

This will still put a very load on your php and thus, your copy of vBulletin (your community).
We use BlockScript on two busy vBulletin forums and we have found that blocking unwanted traffic helps us to get better performance from our websites.

If you had this in away which would not affect php, but rather add this into the server... It would be something worth looking into.
Thanks for the feedback.

[Angel-Wings]

If you're using GeoLite as DB for blocking countries, installing mod_geoip and setting up mod_rewrite to deny requests from country ranges seems way more effective since this works with deny / allow before even PHP gets active.
Just mean it's useless to drop traffic via PHP since the traffic already reached it.

And about the other things - decent firewall and mod_security offer the same options in a way better way - including logging and all the other things.

Just my opinion - if one wants to block, best do it at the first levels (Firewall, Webserver) instead of the last levels (PHP script etc.)

Something like:


GeoIPEnable On

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/message/
RewriteRule ^(.+) - [PT,L]

RewriteCond %{ENV:GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE} ^(US)$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.your_domain.com/msg/error.html [L]


Will redirect all US users to /msg/error.html. Efficient, free and everything is logged in the access or error log of the Webserver before PHP even gets active.

Should be more efficient than letting PHP parse everything. Bots and Proxies - well - mod_security can take care of them :)

[upsideout]

This a vBulletin plugin. Angel-Wings' suggestions might be useful for those who are comfortable administering a server and know how to block countries, configure firewall rules, setup mod_security, and maintain a database of over 20 million proxy and hosting provider IP addresses. If that doesn't describe you then maybe BlockScript can help.

[Delphiprogrammi]

blockscript.com mentions "purchase" i think i smell spam integrating vBulletin into a commercial product then post the plugin here nice one to boost your sales... since the plugin needs the blockscript

[TheLastSuperman]

blockscript.com mentions "purchase" i think i smell spam integrating vBulletin into a commercial product then post the plugin here nice one to boost your sales... since the plugin needs the blockscript

From their home page:

BlockScript provides free access to core features and purchasing a license key unlocks all features. A one week free trial is provided so that you can fully evaluate all features of the software.

So full features for one week, after that only access to the core features.

Edit: Upsideout, where did you see a clarification on those 4 core features listed?

* Country Blocking
* Custom IP Whitelisting
* Custom IP Blacklisting
* Logging


How do we know from their site what is a core feature and not? http://www.blockscript.com/features.php that is not clear and I would personally like some clarification on it as I assume others would before installing ;).

[upsideout]

There are many vBulletin plugins that provide both a lite and a commercial version and BlockScript is no different. As has been mentioned previously, this plugin provides valuable and useful services (such as Country Blocking, Custom IP Whitelisting, Custom IP Blacklisting, and Logging of same) for free. We also provide a one week free trial of the commercial version.

[TheLastSuperman]

There are many vBulletin plugins that provide both a lite and a commercial version and BlockScript is no different. As has been mentioned previously, this plugin provides valuable and useful services (such as Country Blocking, Custom IP Whitelisting, Custom IP Blacklisting, and Logging of same) for free. We also provide a one week free trial of the commercial version.

I believe you were posting just as I finished editing, could you see my edit above please? Thanks :D.

[OldSchoolDSL]

blockscript.com mentions "purchase" i think i smell spam integrating vBulletin into a commercial product then post the plugin here nice one to boost your sales... since the plugin needs the blockscript

This was the case before (from blockscript.com)http://www.sociallyuncensored.com/forums/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

And while I "personally" still think this "mod" does not offer anything of value. At least this release does offer "something" to those who install it (other then a 7 day demo).

[upsideout]

How do we know from their site what is a core feature and not? http://www.blockscript.com/features.php that is not clear and I would personally like some clarification on it as I assume others would before installing ;).

The following features are "core features" and are always free: Country Blocking, Custom IP Whitelisting, Custom IP Blacklisting, Logging, and limited access to the APIs. These core features are available by default, whether or not you choose to activate a free trial, and continue to be available even after a free trial expires.

[Boofo]

If you're using GeoLite as DB for blocking countries, installing mod_geoip and setting up mod_rewrite to deny requests from country ranges seems way more effective since this works with deny / allow before even PHP gets active.
Just mean it's useless to drop traffic via PHP since the traffic already reached it.

And about the other things - decent firewall and mod_security offer the same options in a way better way - including logging and all the other things.

Just my opinion - if one wants to block, best do it at the first levels (Firewall, Webserver) instead of the last levels (PHP script etc.)

Something like:



Will redirect all US users to /msg/error.html. Efficient, free and everything is logged in the access or error log of the Webserver before PHP even gets active.

Should be more efficient than letting PHP parse everything. Bots and Proxies - well - mod_security can take care of them :)

What does RewriteBase / do? I haven't used that yet but I do have some re-directs.

[Angel-Wings]

What does RewriteBase / do? I haven't used that yet but I do have some re-directs.

Since "we" want to apply rewrites for the entire Vhost / Directory or wherever you placed your rewrite, we set it this way.
RewriteBase has to be absolute related to the location where you want to apply it's rules.
If you place it with

RewriteBase /

in your Docroot <directory> block it rules apply for all handled subdirectories, if you place it inside a <directory> block only this directory.
Another way would be placing it inside your Docroot <directory> block and using another RewriteBase.
As example:


<Directory /your/document/root/>
...
RewriteBase /subdirectory
...
</Directory>


And


<Directory /your/document/root/subdirectory/>
...
RewriteBase /
</Directory>


Basically do the same. Up to you on how you want to organize your rules. I've a "rewrite.conf" file that is loaded via include - more easy to overview for me.

Well - that was kinda off-topic :D

And about the plugin:

I would still keep the point that it's not good to apply blocks at the latest level of the chain because the IP and the traffic already made it the PHP parser and PHP is busy reading the IP via REQUEST or X_FORWARDED_FOR, open a database, read more data, compare, apply or not apply block etc. etc. etc.

And someone who can't create a .htaccess or add a line like:

Deny from 254.254.254.254

To block this IP shouldn't maybe have his own server and rent either a managed machine or some shared hosting.

Blocking via PHP is like letting the burglar into your house then trying to take care of him while it would be better to just close the door and the windows that he can't even make it into.

[Delphiprogrammi]

hello,

Yes i did see that (the one week trial) but vb.org rules say this kind of plugins are not permitted here... still it can be usefull (and helpfull) for users who are not so "technical" when i need to block a whole country i just configure iptables todo it but i can understand this is not so easy as this plugin can do

[upsideout]

How do we know from their site what is a core feature and not? http://www.blockscript.com/features.php that is not clear and I would personally like some clarification on it as I assume others would before installing ;).

Thank you for your suggestion. UpsideOut has updated the features page to more clearly outline the core features. Please note that there are more features included for free than have been previously mentioned. :)

[TheLastSuperman]

hello,

Yes i did see that (the one week trial) but vb.org rules say this kind of plugins are not permitted here... still it can be usefull (and helpfull) for users who are not so "technical" when i need to block a whole country i just configure iptables todo it but i can understand this is not so easy as this plugin can do

Actually, it's a one week free trial of the FULL version then it reverts to the free or "lite" which still retains the core features and as you can see upsideout has calrified that below and they have updated their features page to reflect such ;).

http://www.blockscript.com/features.php

Thank you for your suggestion. We have updated the features page to more clearly outline the core features. Please note that there are more features included for free than have been previously mentioned. :)

No thank you for the clarification :D.

[irishblacknight]

I've been trying to install this script and plugin and keep getting loads of stupid errors.
If I install the plugin it complains about the paths:
Warning: include_once([path]/../../blockscript/detector.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in [path]/includes/init.php(331) : eval()'d code on line 6

Warning: include_once(): Failed opening '[path]/../../blockscript/detector.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/share/php:/usr/share/pear') in [path]/includes/init.php(331) : eval()'d code on line 6

Disabling the plugin (which means disabling all plugins completely because nothing will load) I tried to just install the script by itself and was met with a load of inexplicable errors about .htaccess files and 403 errors
*sigh*

[upsideout]

irishblacknight,

Note, this plugin is for integration into vBulletin and you will need to setup BlockScript first.

Please ensure you have uploaded the BlockScript package, set the appropriate permissions, and configured the options in the BlockScript Control Panel before using this plugin.

If you still encounter difficulties, please contact us via the contact form on our website and we will be happy to assist you further.

[irishblacknight]

irishblacknight,

Note, this plugin is for integration into vBulletin and you will need to setup BlockScript first.

Please ensure you have uploaded the BlockScript package, set the appropriate permissions, and configured the options in the BlockScript Control Panel before using this plugin.

If you still encounter difficulties, please contact us via the contact form on our website and we will be happy to assist you further.
Hmmm
So your install docs are a bit lacking :)

Basically I've tried installing the script by itself and then adding the plugin, but neither method works.

It's also not mentioned anywhere in the docs you ship with the plugin that ioncube loaders are needed.

[upsideout]

Hmmm
So your install docs are a bit lacking :)

Basically I've tried installing the script by itself and then adding the plugin, but neither method works.

It's also not mentioned anywhere in the docs you ship with the plugin that ioncube loaders are needed.

Thank you for the feedback and we apologize for any confusion. The readme.txt file in the blockscript folder contains a link to the installation instructions for BlockScript (http://www.blockscript.com/install.php). Manual integration instructions are also provided on this page (if you prefer to manually integrate BlockScript). The readme.txt file in the plugin folder contains instructions for installing the plugin.

BlockScript does require ioncube loaders and they are included with the package when downloaded from the BlockScript website, however, we weren't able to attach them with this plugin because of the file size limitation.

If you still encounter difficulties, please contact us via the contact form on our website and we will be able to provide timely assistance.

[irishblacknight]

I managed to get it resolved and working, but your install instructions and the directory layout of the plugin download (in the zip) is not very good compared to most plugin releases

Most plugin authors provide the files and directories in the zip in such a way as to make uploading them logical

You don't

[upsideout]

I managed to get it resolved and working, but your install instructions and the directory layout of the plugin download (in the zip) is not very good compared to most plugin releases

Most plugin authors provide the files and directories in the zip in such a way as to make uploading them logical

You don't

Thanks again for the feedback, your suggestion has been noted.

We are happy to hear that you have successfully installed BlockScript. We think you will be very satisfied now that you can see how well it works. :up:

[ahmedipa]

thank you for this

[Alibass]

Apparently this mod does not work on 4.1.2

[upsideout]

Apparently this mod does not work on 4.1.2

The plugin provides integration for a BlockScript installation. Please ensure you have installed and configured BlockScript before using the plugin. Please contact us (https://www.blockscript.com/contact.php) if you experience any issues.

[final kaoss]

Interesting, might try it soon.

[EliasAlucard]

I tried installing this on vB 4.2.0 pl 3, but it didn't work. Not sure if I did it right, but does it work without buying a license? If not, then it's useless (I'm not paying 200 dollars for a proxy blocker).

[leemart44]

No does not work even the full version from the site

[upsideout]

I tried installing this on vB 4.2.0 pl 3, but it didn't work. Not sure if I did it right, but does it work without buying a license? If not, then it's useless (I'm not paying 200 dollars for a proxy blocker).

No does not work even the full version from the site

Please note, this plugin provides integration for a BlockScript installation so you won't have to do manual edits when future vBulletin updates are released. Please ensure you have installed and configured BlockScript before using this plugin.

A license is not required to use the Core features of BlockScript which include country blocking, custom whitelists and blacklists, logging and statistics, and automatic updates. A one week free trial of all features is automatically activated upon installation and will revert to the Core version afterwards.

Please contact us (https://www.blocked.com/contact.php) if you experience any issues installing the software.

Thank you.