Stop spammers registering - Recommendations please
 

I know that there are a couple of threads (with code) on here and I started to read them but after the first few pages of each my brain just switched to sleep mode. :erm:

Basically, at this stage all I want to happen is when a user registers a check is done on their I/P address and email address, on the StopForumSpam database. :up: If the I/P or email addy is then found they are put on my forum's banned list :up: and the user deleted from the forum. :up:

Oh, I don't want hassle with bugs and stuff :down: and it must be easy to use :up: coz I'm simple and like simple things. :)

Please could someone recommend what the best code/way forward would be for me. :)

Many thanks

The simplest way to do this is going to be the Spam-O-Matic plugin for your forum. I recently installed it and it works VERY well:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=248470
Good Luck!

Many thanks for your reply NuttyPro67. Can I presume that you haven't experienced any side effects/problems in other areas/functionality of your forum as a result of/since installing the plugin?

I have not however I'm not NuttyPro67 so forgive me for hijacking your thread ;).

I do not have it installed on my actual site due to other methods I have in place including moderation of new accounts however I have had many requests by some of my clients to install it and I have seen no issues with it nor have any been reported back to me in my ticket system etc.

I did initially chew them out over admitting to not knowing what vB4 had built-in in regards to spam management however it is a nice mod and works well so it turned out well imo!

spam-o-matic is great. Can be combined with: vmail, ISBOT and let moderators approve new registrations.

Many thanks TheLastSuperman, I had read some of your and others comments on the actually Spam-O-Matic thread and it made me think that it might be more hassle than benefit. However, I am glad to hear that you think it is a nice mod and works well. It's given me some confidence that it may be suitable for me after all. :)

Many thanks to you to Alfa1. My confidence in spam-o-matic is continuing to grow. I will probably have a go at installing it later today. :)

vb does have a good spam stopper in its question sign up option, its just got to be configured and have some question and answers applied, they can be changed every once in a while too or add 10 of them its silly to worry about spam, when it does have a solution built in. even without captcha it would have to have a script made on a board by board bases to beat the built in question option, it works use it!

I have the confirm/type random letters function initiated but that still doesn't appear to deter the unwanted from registering. :down: I feel that if spammers are going to the bother of typing in the letters displayed then it's not going to be too much more hassle for them to answer a question, is it? :up: :down:

What I would like is just for checks to be done on their I/P and email addy at the time of registering and if either are found in the stopforumspam database then they will be added to my forum's banned list and the user deleted automatically. :up:

Is my way of thinking the best approach? :confused: Any comments most appreciated. :)

I'm a n00b, and I installed spam-o-matic on my own vB3.8.6 site, as well on a 4.1.0PL2 site that we upgraded to 4.1.1. Not a single problem with it, and it has caught 99% of spam registrations. I highly recommend it. I also recommend subscribing at stopforumspam.com and activating the API key (it's free). A lot of people contribute to the database there, and it isn't asking much to reciprocate. Again, excellent hack.

ps- spam-o-matic stops the reg before it clutters your user database. The only time there is an effect is if they slip past the filter, in which case you ban them as spammers, which auto-submits them to stopforumspam (as long as the api key is installed). You can then delete the user.

Thanks orillia, I've justed installed spam-o-matic and am waiting to see what happens.