Multiple account login detector (AE Detector)

If you are like me and migrated from .threads, a common modification was an "AE detector", a simple mod that saved a cookie of a history of ids logged into on your site. If someone logged into more than one account, you got a PM letting you know that your site was being accessed from multiple accounts.

Over the years this was very helpful in identifying users who were posting under multiple accounts (alter-egos!) and users who would return after being banned.

You might be wondering why I don't use the vbcookie call - well, thats because on logout all vB cookies are cleared, so we need to store a cookie that is not effected by the login/logout process.

New Installation
1. Add New Product with attached XML
2. Go to vBulletin Options -> AE Multiple Login Detection Settings and set your specific settings.

Time to install: Easy - 2 minutes.

Upgrade
If you installed this as a Plug-in manually, you can delete that plugin and install this Product, just make sure to go into the Options and set them accordingly.

I hope you find this useful and will click INSTALL if you use it; should it prove useful to enough people I can look at making this installation more automated without the need for edits and an Admin Options page.

To upgrade you will want to reimport this XML file and edit your options accordingly.

1.0.3
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. Added a check to ensure that users weren't deleted when reporting violations
. added htmlspecialchars_uni call to username

Note: I am unable to get the call to construct_phrase with $vbphrase['multiplelogin_alert'] to work reliably, as such the $message variable is still set manually inside the plug-in and not via the phrase. If anyone has an idea of why this might not always work, I'm all ears.

1.0.2
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. Updated to include exclusion groups, users
. Changed so PM is sent by ae sender id

1.0.1
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. Released as a Product (thank you PHPGeek2k3 for your help)
. Added option to post to a forum versus send a PM (or both)
. All settings moved into Admin Option

1.0.0
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Initial release.

[Megareus Rex]

A small problem. The hack doesn't generate a new thread in my specified forum when the etector is tripped. All permissions for the thread poster and forum are set so new threads can be created.

Any idea what could be wrong?

[MPDev]

I have it running fine with posting threads to the forum; permissions are not required in this case. Are you sure you set the forum id properly for the forum to post to?

[Robbed]

Is there a way so it doesn't associate the each ip with the admin account.

How accurate is it? If it detects 6 users on one computer can there be another explenation?

[MPDev]

It's as accurate as the cookie system allows it to be - meaning if 6 users are using the same computer either a) one person is logging into 6 accounts or b) more than one person is using that computer to login to accounts.

We don't track IPs, although I believe a variant has been made to do just that.

[Dennis B]

Thank you this is great stuff.

[Robbed]

Originally Posted by MPDev

We don't track IPs, although I believe a variant has been made to do just that.

It's like I get the ip of the user that gets reported in the thread. So my user id get associated with all these ip's.

[Skittles]

Is there a way of making the detector delete the cookies once it's been tripped? That way it would catch repeat offenders if they return to the forum.

[Hamma]

Originally Posted by Ghanem

I am sorry.. its not working..
not sending PM msgs, not creating threads..
its a fresh install of the script, I am using VB 3.5.4
What could be the prb

Same thing here - i have tested on a seperate computer with 2 test usernames as well.

[bada_bing]

Cool idea.. Is there a way that I can have this hack send out a notification to the dual account users with a phrazed message letting then who about there accounts with message tracking turned on? It's a pain to have to email everyone by hand. Is there a way to have the hack stop sending the same dual account warning more then once, because what is happening is that some of these dual account are OK since there are several family members using different account with one PC and everytime someone logs in I get a pm and getting flooded with them

[vampireus]

Can you make the option fot it to post in one thread, I think it's easier to keep track than read every PMs separately, title of PM only show one user so we don't know what all inside until we read it