Miscellaneous Hacks - NoSpam! for vBulletin 3.7

NoSpam! is back and better than ever! The automatic template edits should be smoother than they were in the previous version, in addition to the 3.7 support. Please note that this version will ONLY work for vBulletin 3.7!

NoSpam! is a simple hack that allows the administrator to specify a number of easy questions, a random one of which must be answered correctly in order for a guest to be able to register, post, search or use the contact form. Because you create the questions and they are unique for each forum, it is impossible for a bot programmer to preprogram a bot to be able to answer them without adjusting the bot specifically to one, and thus you will be rid of all spam posted by CAPTCHA-evading advertisement programs.

This functionality was added by default in vBulletin 3.7's Q&A human verification system, so why use NoSpam! for 3.7 at all? There are a few reasons why one could prefer it:

- I have heard reports that vBulletin's default Q&A human verification is faulty and lets bots through. Truth to be told, I would not have publically released a 3.7 version if not for this. I don't quite see how this could happen and have not experienced it myself seeing as I don't use vBulletin's human verification, but if those reports are to be trusted, NoSpam! will do a better job of keeping the bots out.
- It is much easier to add questions and answers in NoSpam! en massé than in vBulletin's default system. If you want a great number of questions, vBulletin's built-in system takes terribly long to add them all in with quite a lot of page loads in between, while a fast typer can add several dozen questions to NoSpam! in a matter of minutes.
- If you have previously used NoSpam!, a simple copy-paste will get all your previous questions into NoSpam! for 3.7, while to get them into the built-in vBulletin system requires a converter.

If the reports of vBulletin's default human verification system failing are incorrect, I will freely admit that most people will do fine with the built-in system. But if you prefer this hack, by all means use it.

NoSpam! can be used with or without default vBulletin human verification. In this version, the automatic addition of the question into the templates should be flawless and not induce the often-reported problem where the question didn't appear in the previous version of the hack.

VERSION HISTORY:

4.0: Redid the automatic addition of questions to be smoother and more or less foolproof. Released for vBulletin 3.7.
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:

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 in this thread. All suggestions are welcome.

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

[onehost]

Originally Posted by Digital Jedi

At some point, your going to pass an acceptable level of effort having to be taken by users who are not bots, just to deter those that are. I don't think I'd be alone in saying that making a set of security questions per forum would be taking security a little too far. Kind of like putting a coded key pad on every door of your house. Would it make it harder for thieves to get get to your valuables? Sure. But would you want to live in a house where you had to key a code every time you went from one room to the other?

I guess if someone did a better job on protecting the front door to begin with...I would not want to have to lock every door in the house. I think this option should be there, and it would be up to the individual forum owner if he wants to place a code on certain or all forums...if a user can take 5 seconds to fill out the tag slot, then they can take 1-2 seconds to answer a simple question before submitting their post. I think some people would respect a forum for taking such action, and they would not mind answering an easy question....unless you are a member of a forum and you love to see 30 porn messages every time you log in to the forum....maybe your into that...but personally, i am sick and tired of seeing 20-40 posts, weather it is a live post or the msg is waiting for a mod to approve...and for those forums that are forced to use mod posting because of spam bots, maybe this option will allow them to set their mod posts to live.....drastic times call for drastic measures, otherwise whats the point of keeping the forum open just for porn and spammers? and if a user/member is really that lazy to answer an easy question in order to keep a forum clean, then more then likely they will not really be a quality user/member anyway...

[Digital Jedi]

Originally Posted by onehost

....unless you are a member of a forum and you love to see 30 porn messages every time you log in to the forum....maybe your into that..

I really don't see how that comment was necessary.

The point I was trying to make was the problem with drastic measures is you start impeding the experience of your users. My question is, if humans are registering to get past your NoSpam! verification, then what good is a NoSpam! on a forum by forum basis against those same humans?

[onehost]

Originally Posted by Digital Jedi

I really don't see how that comment was necessary.

The point I was trying to make was the problem with drastic measures is you start impeding the experience of your users. My question is, if humans are registering to get past your NoSpam! verification, then what good is a NoSpam! on a forum by forum basis against those same humans?

This idea is not meant for human spammers, we all know that a bot is unlimited, and will continue to spam, spam spam then a human ever could...one issue at a time, bots can be stopped if you really want them to be, humans you just have to deal with. If i was a human spammer, I would rather let the bots do it, and they do not get tired, if I had to spam forums by myself, it would get old and boring rahter quickly, again its just a feature that the individual admin should have access too, it is up to them to use it or not...personally, I would rather have something to stop all the bots cold, because most forums are not human s, they are bots doing what the humans created them to do because they were to lazy to do it themselves... if you stop the bots, the spam war will slow down a great deal.

[l SKN l CHRIS]

Thanks for this!

[intospain]

Thanks, lets see if this helps reduce the amount of spam sign ups I get

[joh]

would this work on 3.8?

[atomhead]

haven't had a bot post since i installed this -- a+

[deedaad]

uninstalled.
Super Moderators change for limited access.
can't edit post. can't change thread title, can't lock thread. and anything else.

[KURTZ]

Originally Posted by joh

would this work on 3.8?

yes

[Digital Jedi]

Originally Posted by deedaad

uninstalled.
Super Moderators change for limited access.
can't edit post. can't change thread title, can't lock thread. and anything else.

That has nothing to do with the mod.