PDA

View Full Version : Check if IP address is in use, deny registration


Jennifer2010
10-20-2012, 09:31 AM
Hi Everyone!

Can anyone recommend how I could have vBulletin take the registrant's IP address, check to see if any members currently have it tied to their account (whether it be via a post ip or registration ip), and deny registration if there's a match?

Any help would be appreciated...

Thank you!

borbole
10-20-2012, 01:08 PM
Hi Everyone!

Can anyone recommend how I could have vBulletin take the registrant's IP address, check to see if any members currently have it tied to their account (whether it be via a post ip or registration ip), and deny registration if there's a match?

Any help would be appreciated...

Thank you!

Do you mean to deny the registration of a second account from the same Ip? If so you would need a custom mod that.

snakes1100
10-20-2012, 01:12 PM
Hi Everyone!

Can anyone recommend how I could have vBulletin take the registrant's IP address, check to see if any members currently have it tied to their account (whether it be via a post ip or registration ip), and deny registration if there's a match?

Any help would be appreciated...

Thank you!

That wouldnt be a good idea, most isp's ip's aren't statically assigned for long term & change depending on the isp, some as little as 2 weeks, some a lot less that 2 weeks.

kh99
10-20-2012, 01:26 PM
This doesn't prevent registrations, but it does give you a report on members using the same ip: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=282525

Jennifer2010
10-21-2012, 01:00 AM
Thank you for the responses. I posted a mod request in the paid request forum.

I realize user's ip's change - but this is strictly for registration, and 95% of our users IP's, dynamic or not, are not shared with other users - making this a viable solution to prevent multiple registrations from the same user.

My IP is static and I'd say half of the users on our forum have static IP's. Mainly from US customers on Comcast/Charter or other cable connections.

snakes1100
10-21-2012, 01:16 AM
That would be incorrect, comcast & charter IP's are not static unless you pay for them.

Comcast is as simple as unplugging the modem, waiting about 10 minutes, then repower it, your IP will change, it technically stays the same ip for a few months based on comcasts own comments, but beyond that, your ip isnt static, it is dynamic & it will change.

Jennifer2010
10-21-2012, 11:16 AM
That would be incorrect, comcast & charter IP's are not static unless you pay for them.

Comcast is as simple as unplugging the modem, waiting about 10 minutes, then repower it, your IP will change, it technically stays the same ip for a few months based on comcasts own comments, but beyond that, your ip isnt static, it is dynamic & it will change.

I disagree. For the Comcast cable connection I've had since 2007, my IP has changed maybe 3 times. Before that, when I lived in Wisconsin, my connection with Charter was also static and never changed.

I actually called Comcast about a year ago to ask them if I'm able to change my IP (I wanted to change it) and they told me no. They did, however, tell me that new Comcast customers are set up on a different system than old ones - and get dynamic IP addresses. This was surprising to me.

From what I see based on my own experience, the members on my forum (with their IP's resolving to cable company hostnames) - most cable connections are STATIC here in the US.

Another example: We have a GeoIP script on about 5 of our WordPress sites that redirects users based on the state they're in (including the one I live in, and my business partner's). To get around this, we add our IP addresses to a white list. They've been there for over 2 years, and neither I or my business partner has had to change the IP whitelist.

I've also had customers in these states that I had to whitelist - and for as long as they've been members, they've never had to email me again to get re-whitelisted under a different IP.

Also, on my dedicated server the only IP whitelisted to access via ftp/ssh/whm is mine - so if my IP ever changed, I wouldn't be able to log in via ssh/ftp and I'd be forced to go through the WHM security questions - which I've never had to do since I've had the server since 2010.

And to really make my point concrete, we have an account sharing violation on our Wordpress membership sites that state no user can ever log in from multiple IP addresses. In the last 2 years, we've had well over 10,000 members and maybe 10 times have had to deal with multiple IP's accessing accounts - which all were from sharing violations.

MOST IP's are static. The only non-static IP's are noticed are from dial up and DSL services, and a small amount from cable services - primarily in Europe.

I've reset my Comcast modem a million times and it never reset my IP.

kh99
10-21-2012, 01:17 PM
I've had Comcast in several areas over the years, and my take is that while you do not normally get a static ip address, the fact is that it rarely changes and you might have the same address for years. I've even tried doing what someone suggested, unplugging the modem for a while and plugging it back in, only to get the same address back every time (maybe I was just lucky?). But that doesn't technically make it a static address. A static address would be one that was guaranteed not to change. It is possible that some customers do have a 'true' static ip address for one reason or another, but I don't think it's the norm because even if it doesn't ever seem to change, they could decide to change your address whenever they want (well, they probably need to wait for the DHCP lease to expire).

In any case, it still might be useful to block by ip address because a lot of times it *won't* change for a long time, and many people might not understand what's going on or want to bother trying to change their address. On the other hand, someone who really wants to annoy you will use a proxy server.

In Omnibus
10-21-2012, 01:40 PM
In my experience, even if an IP changes it is usually with a predictable range of numbers.
A provider can't simply change your IP address from, for example, 208.107.117.109 (Grand Forks, ND) to 208.207.117.109 (Burlington, MA). In this example, only the last six digits can change and still reflect a Grand Forks, ND IP address. Unless your member base is exclusive to one location, it is possible to block a range of IP addresses without blocking valued members.

snakes1100
10-21-2012, 11:42 PM
I disagree. For the Comcast cable connection I've had since 2007, my IP has changed maybe 3 times. Before that, when I lived in Wisconsin, my connection with Charter was also static and never changed.

I actually called Comcast about a year ago to ask them if I'm able to change my IP (I wanted to change it) and they told me no. They did, however, tell me that new Comcast customers are set up on a different system than old ones - and get dynamic IP addresses. This was surprising to me.

From what I see based on my own experience, the members on my forum (with their IP's resolving to cable company hostnames) - most cable connections are STATIC here in the US.

Another example: We have a GeoIP script on about 5 of our WordPress sites that redirects users based on the state they're in (including the one I live in, and my business partner's). To get around this, we add our IP addresses to a white list. They've been there for over 2 years, and neither I or my business partner has had to change the IP whitelist.

I've also had customers in these states that I had to whitelist - and for as long as they've been members, they've never had to email me again to get re-whitelisted under a different IP.

Also, on my dedicated server the only IP whitelisted to access via ftp/ssh/whm is mine - so if my IP ever changed, I wouldn't be able to log in via ssh/ftp and I'd be forced to go through the WHM security questions - which I've never had to do since I've had the server since 2010.

And to really make my point concrete, we have an account sharing violation on our Wordpress membership sites that state no user can ever log in from multiple IP addresses. In the last 2 years, we've had well over 10,000 members and maybe 10 times have had to deal with multiple IP's accessing accounts - which all were from sharing violations.

MOST IP's are static. The only non-static IP's are noticed are from dial up and DSL services, and a small amount from cable services - primarily in Europe.

I've reset my Comcast modem a million times and it never reset my IP.


That is incorrect, just because you hit the reset button, doesnt mean you have disconnected your cable modem from the comcast service, you simply soft reset it with a quick repower. That also applies for charter, you do not get a static ip.

You do NOT have a static IP, they are not allowed in a residential based account, you can quote that from comcasts web site if you want or call them, just because you get lucky and keep the same ip, doesnt mean its static.

--------------- Added 1350866665 at 1350866665 ---------------

I've had Comcast in several areas over the years, and my take is that while you do not normally get a static ip address, the fact is that it rarely changes and you might have the same address for years. I've even tried doing what someone suggested, unplugging the modem for a while and plugging it back in, only to get the same address back every time (maybe I was just lucky?). But that doesn't technically make it a static address. A static address would be one that was guaranteed not to change. It is possible that some customers do have a 'true' static ip address for one reason or another, but I don't think it's the norm because even if it doesn't ever seem to change, they could decide to change your address whenever they want (well, they probably need to wait for the DHCP lease to expire).

In any case, it still might be useful to block by ip address because a lot of times it *won't* change for a long time, and many people might not understand what's going on or want to bother trying to change their address. On the other hand, someone who really wants to annoy you will use a proxy server.

You have to unplug it, that means everything, even the cable line.

Simon Lloyd
10-22-2012, 12:16 AM
Maybe something like this in a plugin using register_start as the hook$user_ip = strtoupper($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']);
if($this->registry->options['cestr_active'] && THIS_SCRIPT == 'register')
{

$result = $vbulletin->query('SELECT COUNT(ipaddress) FROM " .TABLE_PREFIX."user WHERE ipaddress = $user_ip')
if($result !== 0){
die();
}
} Not tested just dashed it off :)

Jennifer2010
10-22-2012, 07:02 AM
That is incorrect, just because you hit the reset button, doesnt mean you have disconnected your cable modem from the comcast service, you simply soft reset it with a quick repower. That also applies for charter, you do not get a static ip.

You do NOT have a static IP, they are not allowed in a residential based account, you can quote that from comcasts web site if you want or call them, just because you get lucky and keep the same ip, doesnt mean its static.

You have to unplug it, that means everything, even the cable line.

That is incorrect, just because you hit the reset button, doesnt mean you have disconnected your cable modem from the comcast service, you simply soft reset it with a quick repower. That also applies for charter, you do not get a static ip.

You do NOT have a static IP, they are not allowed in a residential based account, you can quote that from comcasts web site if you want or call them, just because you get lucky and keep the same ip, doesnt mean its static.

Now you're putting words in my mouth and making naive assumptions. There's a difference between a "hard" reset and a "soft" reset as you know. I have disconnected the router "completely" as you described many times in the past 3 years and it does nothing.

Not only that, Comcast was here 6 months ago. They replaced our modem with a new one, the cables and a new splitter. Guess what? Our IP didn't change! If it did, I would have had to add it to the whitelist for my server, 3 websites and my vbulletin admincp login (which you failed to address).

It's not just me. Here's a screenshot of the IP's my business partner has used on our forum since we launched in May of 2011:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2012/10/15.jpg

The first one: His first apartment (lived there maybe 5 months)
The second one: When he stayed at his parents for a few weeks before he moved into hi new place.
The third one: His new place.

The IP resolves to c-XX-98-85-162.hsd1.de.comcast.net (xx'd out for privacy reasons).

It also didn't take me long to find one of our longtime members that joined 4/9/11 with 1,547 posts who logs in nearly every day and posts. He has ONE IP address that also resolves to Comcast in Illinois. He actually has another IP address showing up, but that's resolving to Cloudflare which when using with vbulletin will cause everyone's IP to change to that (we had it for maybe a week).

So please, don't tell me that Comcast IP's change often - they don't. I don't pay extra for a static IP (that requires a business account). Myself, my business partner, and a few hundred people have to have their IP whitelisted on our membership sites - which they'd be screaming at me in an email if they suddenly lost access due to their IP changing. Please, tell about how these are all anomalies!

This is irrefutable proof that you can't disregard with rumor and hearsay. The only thing I'll acknowledge is that around the time Comcast rebranded to XFINITY, they started adding dynamic accounts and new customers are under this system. Their old system is different and your IP does not change very often - let alone when you "reset" your modem "completely". I'll also acknowledge that my IP DOES change - but the last one I had for nearly 2+ years. Google defines "dynamic" as "Characterized by constant change, activity, or progress."

I wouldn't consider IP's that rarely change "dynamic".

- Ryan

Simon Lloyd
10-22-2012, 07:05 AM
Ryan, after your rant did you try the plugin code i supplied?

Jennifer2010
10-22-2012, 07:13 AM
Ryan, after your rant did you try the plugin code i supplied?

Sorry for not responding to that!

I'm not familiar with the process of creating a plugin, so I'm a bit lost on how exactly I would try to implement this...

Simon Lloyd
10-22-2012, 07:18 AM
I'll test it later when i've had some sleep and make it a product that you can just import with just one setting in vbulletin options, simply turn on or turn off.

It wont be until around 19:30 GMT as im working nights so im just off to bed now :(

Jennifer2010
10-22-2012, 07:20 AM
I posted this in the paid discussion and was going to pay someone for this anyways, so I would be happy to pay you for your time as well. Going to send you a PM with some details to see if you're interested. I'm actually trying to get a specific mod that'll do a little more than just grab the post/reg ip's, so I wouldn't want you to waste your time just for me.

nhawk
10-22-2012, 02:54 PM
FYI...

If you have a true static IP, when you do a whois on ARIN.NET for the IP address it will show a customer other than "Comcast Cable Communications, Inc".

True static IP addresses for Comcast show "Private Customer".

If your IP shows a customer of "Comcast Cable Communications, Inc", you're on a dynamic IP and it can change at any time. That doesn't mean it will, but it CAN.