Miscellaneous Hacks - NoSpam! - an alternative to CAPTCHA images

This hack is for vBulletin 3.6.x. For 3.5.x, please use the one provided in this thread. If you are using 3.7.x, you must use the one in this thread.

This simple hack is meant as a replacement for the default CAPTCHA system in vBulletin. There are two main reasons one might want to do this: firstly, new technology is constantly being developed to crack CAPTCHA images and make spam accounts anyway, and secondly, the more secure the CAPTCHA, the more difficult it is for genuine users to tell what the numbers in the image are. There is also the issue of visually impaired users, and the fact that not all servers are capable of generating CAPTCHA images.

So what does this hack do instead? It asks a question. Any question you want. That's the best part: YOU make up the questions, which means that every forum is unique, which means that it is impossible for spambots to be simply programmed to bypass it at all forums with the hack installed. You can make one or many questions - if you make many, the hack will pick one at random when a guest attempts to register, search, post or send mail through the Contact Us form. Their input is compared with your specified answer, and voil?, if they get it right they're pretty much guaranteed to be human. If they get it wrong, they're given an error message.

It doesn't have to be a complicated question. Heck, you can just make it "Please type 'blah' into this box." Or you can go with inserting a simple image with HTML and ask what is shown on the image. Or you can ask them to tell you two plus two. It's up to you. In fact, this can also be used as a means of forcing people to read the rules by asking for a certain password found there, or if your forum focuses on a specialized subject, ask a question concerning the subject that all your genuine users will be able to answer, but a random troll or "CAPTCHA-sweatshop-reader" will be scratching their head over.

It's simple to install, too: just one product to import, and that's it.


VERSION HISTORY:

3.0: Added functionality to allow users to specify which pages should use NoSpam!.
2.0: Extended the NoSpam! functionality to guest posts, guest searches and guest "Contact Us" in addition to registration.
1.1: Made template edit automatic (with thanks to Cole2026), added ability to have more than one answer to each question, and made answers case insensitive. To upgrade, I recommend undoing the template edit so you won't have to worry about it anymore (replace $nospamfield in the template register with $imagereg, or if you added $nospamfield above $imagereg, just remove $nospamfield altogether), and then reimport the product through the Admin CP (making sure that Allow Overwrite is set to On).
1.0: Initial release.


INSTALLATION:

Please download NoSpam!.zip, not product-nospam.xml, for the tested version. product.nospam.xml is NoSpam! 4.0 adapted blindly to 3.6, i.e. by editing the XML file for the 3.7 version without actually testing it on a 3.6 board. Theoretically it should work, but I cannot guarantee it at this time. If you download NoSpam!.zip and unzip it, it will contain another file called product.nospam.xml, which you should use.

1. Import product-nospam.xml through the Admin CP product manager.
2. Go to your vBulletin options in the Admin CP and select NoSpam! Settings. Once there, turn the system on and input your questions and answers according to the instructions there.

The system should now be functional and running.


UNINSTALLATION:

Just uninstall the product through the Admin CP.


SUPPORT:

Full support will be given here in this thread. All suggestions are welcome.

Thank you and please click "Mark as Installed" if you like it.


If NoSpam! is not working for you or you are looking for something a little different, you might want to check out Advanced Textual Confirmation.

[adwade]

Originally Posted by antialiasis

Well, as a quick non-tested solution for now to add it to the contact us form:
.
...:knockedout: (cloud of confusion to the all UN-knowing) :knockedout:
.
And that should be it. Again, note that it's not tested.

Let me repeat back what I heard you say: "If you know what you're doing, it's possible." ha, ha You lost me on step #2 I'm afraid, but then I'm not a coder. I do well to follow simple template edits without screwing things up. :nervous:

Anyway, as I said just a tremendous MOD. I think it will be able to stop many a spambot in it's tracks.

[antialiasis]

Well, to copy the text of a plugin into another one, you go to "Plugin Manager" in the Admin CP menu (under Plugins and Products, close to the bottom), find the plugin with the right name (using the browser's search function is probably the easiest way to do this), click its name, copy the "Plugin PHP Code" and then click "Add New Plugin" (the link under "Plugin Manager") and paste it into the "Plugin PHP Code" instead. Select the hook with the specified name in the "Hook Location" drop-down, and I suggest also selecting "NoSpam!" in the "Product" drop-down. Lastly, set "Plugin is Active" to Yes. To just add a new plugin with predefined text, do everything from the part where I tell you to click "Add New Plugin" again.

If you still find it confusing, it won't be long before this is all in the product itself anyway.

[Ski-Whiz]

Not sure if this is posted, but you can simply create a new profile field, make it editible on at registration..

Add a new "single line text" field.. It's pretty easy..

Good idea though..

[Skedoozy]

Installed!

I've been getting a lot of spammers signing up lately, hopefully this will take care of them. Thanks!

[Gripemaster]

*INSTALLED* Thank you! I like!

[AndyZ]

Very nice functionality, and a plug-in too!

Thank you.

[schanulleke]

Thank you for this possibility. We were looking for this.

I noticed the questions are only asked if someone wants to register. Is it also possible to use this if you want to allow unregistered people to post on the forum?

So instead of image verification for unregistered posting using these question to verify if they are human.

If this is possible, could you tell us how we can make that work?
Thank you in advance!

[Mile-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by blankoboy

Then you could simply create a different question and answer. Some example:

What do you put in your car to make it go? Gas

Bad example. Petrol, diesel, key, and a driver are all perfectly valid answers also.

[bigmonay2k]

lol nice hack

[kau]

What about a copy for 3.5.x