Auto Post Google Alerts
 

I will no longer be supporting this hack as 3.6.x supports feeds, making this hack obsolete.

This hack will automatically post to a forum of your choice, as a user of your choice, any Google alert received. In fact, it should work for any alert service.

If you do not know what Google Alerts are, see this page:

Requirements:

A POP email box to receive Google Alerts.

Install is simple. Upload the PHP file, install the product, define the settings in adminCP, test, and set up a scheduled task in the adminCP then:

Click Install

You can limit who can post alerts by restricting domains allowed to email the POP box. I advise you use a secret, previously unused POP box/email address. Any mail in the POP box that is not in the domain list is deleted, otherwise it is posted.

I will offer support as I can here, or in the forum at my website at www.worldwidecreations.com

this looks awesome, ill surely check it out!!

and if I add my email details the same message appears !?

Either the popserver, username, port or password are wrong or, on some servers, you may be required to edit vbox.php where it says:

To:

How about a screeny?

Screen added of a google alert based on the keyword "bush" and a screen of the settings in adminCP..

Do the posts add to the user defined post count?

No it does not.

Hi

I am 99% sure i done this right....
When i run the script it says

Loading Directly.
done processed 0 of 0 mails

Even though i have run the test and have sent an email to the address used...

I know my domain has pop and i have inserted the mail.*****.com into the domian box, is this correct?

thanks!

If you want to test this first, here is what you do.. Use a mail client like outlook to check the POP box and make sure email is arriving to it. If you know how to, set the option on the mail client to NOT delete mail when it retrieves it.

This way at least you can validate that mail is actually arriving to the mailbox.

Also, MAKE SURE, no other mail client is accessing the same box, otherwise, it will delete the mail before the script can get it.

Cheers for that, I forgot to keep mail on server...
Right...its processed the email now but didnt post it in the forum specified.
Does it not do this yet or should it have done it?

Like i said, it processed it and deleted it from the mailbox lol

possible security problem...could someone with malicious intent fake the domain from which the emails come from. giving an authorized person access to post on your forums what ever content they want. i remember some at vb.com telling me that using a domain from an email came from is unreliable since it can be easily modified. it was for my suggestion on alternative to email confirmations but them sending emails to confirm themselves.

You must make sure that the user ID is correct, and that user has permissions to post to the forum ID you specified.

Make sure you are using ID's here and NOT names. It is a numeric value.

Yes of course, which is why you must keep the mailbox secret so only google (and yourself) knows the email address.

You could also setup something in say Spamassassin that will verify email comes from where it says it comes from, but to me that seems to be a bit overkill.

The content posted, can only be posted in the forum you choose. No user can actually spoof the identity as far as logging in and changing anything.

Is it 100% secure? No. Can anything malicous be done with it? I doubt it. If you are really worried about it, set the user so everything they post is moderated.

I am using my ID which is 1 so i couldnt have gone wrong there really lol
Also there forum id is deffo correct!!

Your hack is processing the email and not posting it, but deleteing it from the mailbox!

Are you sure you entered the correct setting in the domains? What does the script say when it does retrieve the email?

hi..

It says

Loading Directly.
Ignoring ntlworld.com
done processed 1 of 1 mails

Then you didn't enter ntlworld.com into the "Domains to accept email from" setting.. It is ignoring your email..

But....

My email.....Oh i see now...just for the test, add NTL...ok 2 secs lol

Right ok...sorry about the thicko minute...

Sorted now, although it didnt post the actual email body only yhe subject
i take it thats cause its setup for googles email templates or sommat, i dont know lol

Anyway...will keep you informed when i get my 1st proper email from them :)

Now to setup the scheduled task

Thanks again for ya help and a great hack

Same error !?

Then your username, pass, server, or port is incorrect.

Can this be configured to run multiple alerts and post them in multiple forums?

It can handle multiple alerts, but it does not post into multiple forums.

So in order to post to multiple forums, what would you suggest?

Example. My site has a forum for star wars, warcraft, and dark and light. Would like 1 alert posting star wars news in star wars forum, 1 posting for warcraft, etc.

Would I just rename your files, and setup 3 times?

Hmm.. Well, if you really want to do that, what I would do is make a copy of vbox.php for each forum you wish to post to. Edit each vbox.php script to find all of the:

$vbulletin->options['variable']

Replace them with your own variables that you define at the beginning of the script.. For example, create a variable for your popserver:

$popserver = 'localhost';

Then find:

$vbulletin->options['gvbpopserver']

Replace that in the script wherever you find it with $popserver.

Same thing with :

$vbulletin->options['gvbuser'] - pop username
$vbulletin->options['gvbpport'] - pop port
$vbulletin->options['gvbpass'] - pop password
$vbulletin->options['gvbfuser'] - user ID to post as
$vbulletin->options['gvbforum'] - forum ID to post to

Then you can call each script as you want through the scheduled task or manually.

You will have to set up a separate POP box for each alert.

That is the only way I can suggest at the moment.

Installed. Gonna work on what you said for multiple tho too.

I did the test, the vbox.php said checked and the post was created, subject title there, however the body of the post only stated the email it came from and no body message.

Hello,

is it possible to defince several Google Alers for differens forums?

Like Graffiti Alerts only in the Graffiti Forum

or Breakdance only in Breakdance?

That would be very cool!

I've got exactly the same error as TTG, but my infos are correct.

Okay, what is the correct servername?
"localhost"
or "Twister" (my Mailserver)
or "pop3.domain.tld" which is necessary for setting up POP3 accounts at OutlookExpress

how do I find out, which port is the correct one?

Andreas

Hello Jafo232

I have got this error


Unable to add cookies, header already sent.
File: /usr/local/psa/home/vhosts/xxxxxxx.com/httpdocs/vbox.php
Line: 14

When do you get this error?

Hello,

i now got the same error:

In Germany:

Loading Directly.

Die Cookies konnten nicht gesetzt werden, da der Header schon an den Browser geschickt wurde.
Datei: /www/htdocs/hegbtnfd/community/vbox.php
Zeile: 14

This looks cool I am going to test first and if I like I will click install

First I've got the same error like TTG
Now I get the same error like Junaid and Schahab resp.

There must be somthing very strange as we all get the same errors!
I've deleted the cache, but still the same!

Andreas

Some help please...

Forgetting about Google or other alerts for a moment, could this be used as a simple way for me to start new threads on the road, directly off my Treo 650?

(Just set up a special email addy, and email to it?) Or would there be special customization needed to make it work in that capacity?

Errors have nothing to do with Google. And it is already what you wanted. Sending eMail to an eddy which posts into the threads. No matter whether the mail comes from your Laptop or from Google Alert.

So problems have to be solved before!

Andreas

I too get an error when trying to invoke this manually
(by going to http://www.myforumname.com/forums/vbox.php)

Here is the error I get:

I tried changing /pop3/tls/novalidate-cert to /pop3 in the vbox.php file... same error. Changed it back again, same error.

I know my popserver, username, port and password are correct, since I am able to log into it using the exact same information at mail2web.com's "Advanced" login page. But vbox.php doesn't succeed for some reason.

Any help would be appreciated.