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 cowboycoalition

i have installed this and i still get a bunch of registration bots that register. am i doing something wrong?

If you give us a link to your site, maybe a quick look could tell us something.

[OturanBoğa]

vb4 soon please

[OturanBoğa]

vb4 soon please?

[websissy]

Not one bot registration has made it past my junk yard dogs, Stop The Registration Bots and vBSFS, in the past 10 days. Legit users got in without issues. But between them Stop The Registration Bots and vB Stop Forum Spam defeated every single bot. In fact, the ground around my site is practically littered with the corpses of dead and rotting bots.

Way to kick butt, noppid. {loud applause, cheering, foot stomping, howling and wolf whistles} I say, HELL YES!!!

Thank You!!! :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up:

[websissy]

21 days and still counting. STILL not a single spam bot has managed to get in. We've been forced to buy a backhoe to bury all the bot corpses... The bots Stop The Forum Spam does NOT catch and kill, StopTheRegistrationBots does.

So far, so good...

This pair of tools work!

:up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up:

[pts123]

I installed this last year on my 3.8.2 Forum and it stopped them all. It works perfectly! But, I now have a 4.0.2 install and I'm getting hit with Bots all the time.

Is there a version of this for VB4? I hope, I hope, I hope?

Jerry - KC

:up::up::up::up::up::up::up::up:

[Jaxel]

With vb 3.8.4 this mod no longer serves its function. It looks like they have figured out how to get past it.

[Peter Caparelli]

So what is currently our best defense against reg bots? I use vB 4 at one URL, and 3.6 at another.

[OturanBoğa]

vb4 soon please?

[Hammertime]

Update for vb4???