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.

[Afterglow86]

I've just installed due to a recent bombardment of registrations of a suspicious nature. Let's hope it works.

[Artes_Marciales]

Thanks!!!!

[xlguy]

We are using the "skip rules" plugin and have our forum rules as part of the register page. We found this increases sign-up rates. However, it means we cannot use this Stop Registration Bots plugin. Would it be possible to change the plugin so it doesn't rely on the user passing through the rules page first?

[StephenKay]

Originally Posted by adwade

One available alternative is ZB BLOCK. It just requires a single line of CODE added to your global.php file and your vB forum is protected from many kinds of bad 'bots.. Oh yeah, and it's FREE!

ZB BLOCK
Don't let the robots in the door!
A GPL V2 PHP Protection Script for your site.

This php security script is designed to detect certain behaviors detrimental to websites, or known bad addresses attempting to access your site. It then will send the bad robot (usually) or hacker an authentic 403 FORBIDDEN page with a description of what the problem was. If the attacker persists, then they will be served up a permanently recurring 503 OVERLOAD message with a 24 hour timeout.

Thanks for this link! This is exactly what I have been looking for as I am continuously being bombarded with hacker-bots attacking my register.php script, leading my ISP to threaten to close down my site for using too much of the shared resources.

I've installed it and already the log fie is showing many malicious bots being turned away. We'll see how it goes...but looks good!

[adwade]

Plenty welcome. My killed_log.txt files typically run 2mb/mo in size, so you can just image how many undesirables ZB BLOCK keeps off our website. Several admins have had a few issues with it, but as with any new program there's going to be a learning curve. Zaphod is great about responding to questions and will help you any way you can. Just watch your logs for awhile, and you'll soon be able to pick out anything questionable you might want to allow onto your site. See also, General Request - Zb Block - Stop Spam & 'bots @ Server

[letsjoy]

This mod is brilliant one
Thanks man

[AuroraStorm]

Thank you! This was right on time. I recently reopened my board registration and I got hit with spam bots. I hope this helps.

[AuroraStorm]

Okay, I have a problem - this hack disabled my Thank You Hack. How can I prevent that from happening?

[jeremyalyea]

Anyone know how to disable the email that says: "Possible Bot denied forum registration"?

[noppid]

Originally Posted by jeremyalyea

Anyone know how to disable the email that says: "Possible Bot denied forum registration"?

Go to vBulletin Options -> Stop the Registration Bots Options -> Email Notification and check no.