Administrative and Maintenance Tools - Multiple Account Detection & Prevention

It happens all of the time. Some members will make multiple accounts to back their own opinion or get an extra vote in a poll. Here's a modification that will detect and prevent multiple accounts, as well as notify the administration about multiple accounts. Inspiration for this modification came from the work of MPDev (creator of the Multiple Account Login Detector) and randominity (creator of the Multiple Account Registration Prevention). This is basically a combination of those two modifications but with new and improved functionality.

This is not an update to the "Multiple Account Login Detector (AE Detector)" nor is it an update to the "Multiple Account Registration Prevention." If you have either one of these (or both of them) installed, you should uninstall them before installing this modification.

With the initial release of Multiple Account Detection & Prevention, I believe that I have fixed previous bugs/complications as well as improved the efficiency and logic of the code. This is my first publicly released modification. I would appreciate any comments and suggestions!

Confirmed! This works perfectly on all vBulletin 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8 versions.

Unfortunately, I cannot give support right now. I may be able to help periodically, but until my schedule yields some more free time, I won't be much support. Please check back in a week or two.

Basic Details
File Edits: None
Template Edits: None
New Files: 6
Hooks/Plugins: 3
Global Phrases: 36
Install Time: 2 Minutes or Less
Install Difficulty: None, Very Easy

Features and Settings
- Login Detection
- Registration Prevention (Multiple Methods)
- Ignore Child Accounts
- Ignored Users
- Ignored Usergroups
- Ignored ISPs
- Prevention Usergroup
- IP Address Based Prevention
- Extended IP Address Prevention
- IP Address Time Inclusion
- Banned Account Check
- Primary Banned Usergroup
- Cookie Expiration Time
- Cookie Refreshing
- Cookie Name
- Cookie Reset
- Multiple Account Reporter
- Reports via PM
- PM Report Recipients
- Reports via New Thread
- Forum for Report Threads
- Verbose Mode
- BB Codes: LIST, URL, CODE

How it Works
With every newly recognized login/registration, an account-counting cookie is set (or added onto) with the member's User ID. Depending on the settings, Multiple Account Detection & Prevention will analyze the cookie during login/registration to see if there are any multiple accounts.

Login Detection offers cookie-checking and reporting. Registration Prevention offers the same thing, plus more advanced features. First of all, when it prevents an account from registering, it actually moves the registrant to the Prevention Usergroup so that the administration can review the case. This also allows for customized privileges for recognized multiple registrants. Registration Prevention also has IP address detection which finds out just as much information about users. Depending on an administrator's preference, this modification can also reban a new registrant if one of their previous accounts has been banned. In fact, if the administration wishes, multiple registrants can simply be denied registration all together.

Whenever there is a detection/prevention, the modification will report the information to the administration through private messages, a new thread, or both (depending on settings). The Multiple Account Reporter can be any valid user.

Known Issues
- vB Optimise users: Reporting via thread seems to get messed up by vB Optimise, so try reporting via PM instead.
- PhotoPost vBGallery users: The registration handling appears to not work properly when PhotoPost vBGallery is enabled.

From what I can tell, these known clashes have been caused by the other modification's coding. The author of vB Optimise will not even work with me to fix it. Until they improve their coding, I'm not sure if I can do anything about these issues. As far as I know, administrators that do not use the above modifications will not have any problems.

Installation / Upgrade
Unzip the package (madp.zip), upload the files to your forum location, and import the product file (allow overwrite if upgrading). Please read the ReadMe.txt file that is packaged with the modification for more information.

Please remember to mark this modification as installed if you use it!
If you like it, nominate it for the Mod of the Month!

Thank you!

[titodj]

Exactly... the system detected the log in of two different users (not related to each other) using multiple accounts

But the thing is that it did not prevented them to open two accounts, sending the new account to the dupe acc group.

In other words, the detection part, is working, but I cant make the prevention part to work.

[Kiros72]

Originally Posted by titodj

Exactly... the system detected the log in of two different users (not related to each other) using multiple accounts

But the thing is that it did not prevented them to open two accounts, sending the new account to the dupe acc group.

In other words, the detection part, is working, but I cant make the prevention part to work.

I don't believe that this is the case, but I can test it for you. Please give me your forum's web address.

[kronnos]

will this work with 3.6?

[Kiros72]

Yes, it should work just fine with vBulletin 3.6 and 3.7 and 3.8 installations.

[kronnos]

Excellent mod. It would probably take me a day or to fully figure out what all the option so so can I get a little summary of what it does for what i need.

Lets say, there is a user who is banned but then gets another IP address and tries to register a new account, will this mod be able to stop him?

[nikosb]

Yes,
work fine with vBulletin 3.8.1

thank you

[TSHNOFX]

For some reason the server load went from a measly 0.88 to 2.52 while the mod was enabled. Does to do any scans or anything?

[titodj]

Originally Posted by Kiros72

I don't believe that this is the case, but I can test it for you. Please give me your forum's web address.

Sent by PM

Originally Posted by TSHNOFX

For some reason the server load went from a measly 0.88 to 2.52 while the mod was enabled. Does to do any scans or anything?

Is it checking IP's?

[Kiros72]

Originally Posted by kronnos

Excellent mod. It would probably take me a day or to fully figure out what all the option so so can I get a little summary of what it does for what i need.

Lets say, there is a user who is banned but then gets another IP address and tries to register a new account, will this mod be able to stop him?

Since the primary method of tracking is through cookie, the person will still be caught if they use the same browser and don't touch their cookies. The IP address checks are meant for a backup (in case a user clears their cookies). Some cases cannot be helped, but with the cookie and IP address checks, most of them people will be caught (even if they don't think that they will be).

Originally Posted by nikosb

Yes,
work fine with vBulletin 3.8.1

thank you

Awesome

Originally Posted by TSHNOFX

For some reason the server load went from a measly 0.88 to 2.52 while the mod was enabled. Does to do any scans or anything?

If you have a high volume of registrations each day, and you have IP address checks enabled, this could definitely raise the average server load. Also, enabling verbose mode for the reports will also raise the server load.

Last but not least, reporting through thread uses more queries than reporting through PM, so you might want to switch to the PM method and drop the thread reporting.

Originally Posted by titodj

Sent by PM



Is it checking IP's?

Gracias

[titodj]

Well the Plug in its working.
And I really want to thank you for all your help.

Regards...