Ban Proxy Surfers?

[bikeboy]

I did a search and found nothing that would help...

These are my issues:

1. I have a couple of banned users that continue to access our site by using Proxy Servers.
2. It is not a big deal if Proxies can see the site, I just don't want them being able to post.

I need this product to protect our site and our users. Proxies are good, but when banned members use them to create kaos within our board that is not good.

any ideas on what can be done?

[Tom Dooley]

this would be a great thing :)

[bikeboy]

I know there is a site at www.elitehackers.com (a bunch of kiddies that have no real clue) they have this feature in place where you can't post from a proxy

[Palmer ofShinra]

The only way I see of doing it would be to get a list of proxies out there, then add all their IPs to your banned IP list.

[LoB]

you can check the HTTP referrer session variable, if it's set, dont allow them access, simple :) worked like a charm on my board software

[LoB]

sorry should have been clearer, have a look at this code, might come in handy


if ($HTTP_SERVER_VARS["HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR"] != ""){
$ip = $HTTP_SERVER_VARS["HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR"];
$proxy = $HTTP_SERVER_VARS["REMOTE_ADDR"];
$hostname = @gethostbyaddr($HTTP_SERVER_VARS["HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR"]);
}else{
$ip = $HTTP_SERVER_VARS["REMOTE_ADDR"];
$hostname = @gethostbyaddr($HTTP_SERVER_VARS["REMOTE_ADDR"]);
}

[maverick1236]

where do i put that?
global.php?

[bikeboy]

okay, so I check yes to referal in the control panal, but where do I place this code. and what happens if they try to post from a proxy, do they get sent to another page telling them what they are doing wrong?

[LoB]

Originally posted by bikeboy
okay, so I check yes to referal in the control panal, but where do I place this code. and what happens if they try to post from a proxy, do they get sent to another page telling them what they are doing wrong?

depends what you do with it....
put the entire bit of the code in a place where itll always be called...

then after the code put this:


if(isset($proxy))
{

die("SORRY, ACCESS FROM A PROXY IS FORBIDDEN!");

}


or something like that...

[Razzie]

Don't all AOL users go through a proxy? You'll be cutting off a lot of (potential?) users.

[LoB]

Originally posted by Razzie
Don't all AOL users go through a proxy? You'll be cutting off a lot of (potential?) users.

they should know better than to surf with AOL, just like you wouldent design websites for a resolution of 640x480 just because some idiots are fixed on using it :)

[Jon P]

A few years ago when using WWWBoard I had a major problem with abuse from open proxies. My solution was to modify the WWWBoard script to scan the poster's IP address for common proxy ports that were open. This did restrict a small amount of legitimate users from posting, but it stopped the abuse dead in its tracks. Back then I didn't consider the implications, but if a solution like this was tried today, I'd recommend making the user click through a disclaimer message that tells them that their IP address will be scanned, and the reasons why. Trying to maintaining a list of known proxies isn't the way to tackle this problem. They'll always be one step ahead of you.