Miscellaneous Hacks - Stop the Registration Bots

Control your vBulletin forum registration process and stop the registration bots.

This mod will check the the time it takes for a vBulletin registration form to be submitted. If the form is submitted faster then humanly possible, the registration will be denied and the admin contact will be emailed about the event. The time is settable

We will start the registration on the forum rules page in two ways. First we will add a custom hidden field with a hash. Second we will insert a randomly named hidden field with a random value. This should make it a bit difficult to program a bot since the field names on all sites will be different as well as the values.

We will use a second set of random hidden fields on the form page as well to add to the confusion.

Time stamps to check the time spent on registration submission are stored in a DB table and private.

A registration will have to come through the Rules page and the form. Every Site will be different.

Installation is very easy.

There are two templates to edit.
One database table is added.
Three hooks are utilized.
Includes uninstall code.
Adds to vBulletin options.
Set time frame option.
Includes Phrases.
Sends Mail to Admin.
No files to upload.
XML product install.
Instructions attached in zip.

Demo usage and view source at http://www.riderinfo.com/

Compatibility
This hack is known to work on vBulletin 3.6.11 PL1 and will likely work back a few versions in the 3.6.x vBulletin series. Of course it works on 3.7.x as posted too.

HISTORY
1.2.2
added admin email on/off setting
moved hook code to files to reduce overhead.
1.2.1
Added Enable/Disable setting.
Fixed coppa includes file probem
Added file upload instructions to readme file.
1.2.0
Added JS timer to registration button.
Added enable/diable for email.
Removed ACP settings for random fields on rules and reg form pages and automated.
Reworded Pharses in ACP.
Recoded rules form and reg form edits.
Renamed variables for better code following.
Added more DB fields per user reg for tracking random automation.
New Hook on start_registration for functions.
Added new functions file. includes/stb_functions.php.
1.0.3
Changed input user name on rules form to random named hidden field with hash value.
Removed \n chars from email phrases.
All changes to registration are transparent to the folks registering.
Renamed DB username field to hash.
New hook on register_signup.
1.0.2
Added new Pre Reg Name hidden field to register form edits and ACP.
Added code to deal transparently with user deciding to change name after pre submitting it.
1.0.1
Fixed typo, changed 36000 to 3600 in product file.
1.0.0
Original Release.

[noppid]

Originally Posted by segwayon

My bad. It was listed in the fresh install directions, and that was the route I had taken, but I had glazed over the needed upload of the functions file.

Retried and tested and all is well. Thanks again, noppid!

By the way, any chance that IP addresses can be included in the emails?

Also, in this 1.2.1 version did you add a space character after the listed email address and before the "Form Processing Time in Seconds" string? The emails in 1.0.3 would say "user@domain.comForm"

I got the space. Thanks, looks better.

I think we can add the IP. That shouldn't be hard. But remind me, I'm off for the weekend and I'm really burnt out on code this week. See ya soon.

[ATVTorture]

Is there any way to make this script show the IP address the potential bot came from. That would allow us to be able to reconginize a common subnet and ban that entire subnet.

Thanks!

[Quarterbore]

Originally Posted by ATVTorture

Is there any way to make this script show the IP address the potential bot came from. That would allow us to be able to reconginize a common subnet and ban that entire subnet.

Thanks!

I use the proxy checker to address this issue:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=131852

Spam bots almost always use a proxy IP so I use the script I linked to set to a later execution order to moderate users that registered from a known proxy IP. Every now and then I have to approve a user that must be real but I have not had a problem with bots registering for a while but I have a custom antispam setup that combines a number of scripts plus custom user fields that make my site just not worth the effort it would take to spam them.

Then, the one touch ban and cleanup takes me 1-second to remove the spammer that does try to get through. Life is getting better thanks to the great mods that have been shared here!

I am upgrading one of my sites to 3.7.x this weekend and I plan to install this on the new install as I like the move to the DB where it can not be faked.

[Ohiosweetheart]

Originally Posted by noppid

You didn't upload the functions file to the includes folder. I thought we updated the read me with that. I know I did on new install. I must have not added it to the upgrade section.

Nope you didn't, and still haven't. I just had the same problem, lol.

[james trevel]

Installed.

[noppid]

Originally Posted by Ohiosweetheart

Nope you didn't, and still haven't. I just had the same problem, lol.

***Forth: Upload the contents of the upload folder.
I added it to the install, not the upgrade. Sorry.

I just re-uploaded it fixed the right way. Thanks!

[Businesss]

I installed this and hope it works out...I am getting sick of these bots.

[NukeOZ]

Thanks heaps..
Uploaded and working...

[persiansat]

my vb version is 3.6.8 .... do you have this mod for 3.6.8 ?

[noppid]

Originally Posted by persiansat

my vb version is 3.6.8 .... do you have this mod for 3.6.8 ?

As noted, it should run on 3.6.8 just fine.