Administrative and Maintenance Tools - vbStopForumSpam - known spammer lookup for new registrations

vbStopForumSpam

This provides access to a RBL type system for forum admins, listing known spam IP / email / usernames. The RBL database is provided by www.stopforumspam.com. You do NOT need an API key from the website in order to access the database. only to submit data if you should wish to do so.

At the point of user registration, the mod checks if the IP number / provided username / email addresses appear on a block list and can block the registration.

Whilst this isnt the most perfect way to stop all forum spam, its another step that spammers have to overcome.

VB4 here https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...hreadid=230921
Its the same code, it works in 3.54 to 4.0


What it does

It checks with a remote database of known forum spammers. Their IP number, email address and forum username are tested and based on your configuration, you can reject / log / accept user registrations based on what you get back.

This version doesnt have
- whitelisting or the ability to submit users to the database but it will within the next week.
- automatic user deletion / post / PM purging. There are good tools out there already, this does something else.

Instructions are included in the installation.txt file - PLEASE read it first and dont forget to actually upload the files in the upload folder, otherwise it WILL kill your registration progress and you wont see the log file options in admincp. You do not need to download the product-vbstopforumspam-3.54.xml file unless you are using a vBulletin version older than 3.6.0

Changes to vB
- 3 new database tables
- 2 database table alternations
- No new templates.
- 2 Hook (register_addmember_process & register_addmember_complete)

Ive tested it but had feedback that it works with versions as old as 3.6.2... Support should go back to older versions, as long as they have hook support for register_addmember_process / register_addmember_complete

Known to work - tested by me
- vBulletin 3.6.8 on Apache 2.2 / PHP 5.1.2 on Linux using cUrl
- vBulletin 3.7 Gold on Apache 2.0 / PHP 4.4.3 on Windows without cUrl (template changes wont work on 3.7 - thats in the next version with auto template changes)

For code to submit spammers to the database, check this post for code changes
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....&postcount=288

Reported in the thread to work
- 3.6.1, 3.6.2, 3.6.9, 3.6.10, 3.7.0, 3.7.1, 3.7.2, 3.7.3, 3.74, 3.80, 3.81, 3.82, 3.83, 3.8.4, 4.0beta3

If you have 3.54, then you can use the product-vbstopforumspam-3.54.xml file attached instead of the one in the ZIP file, which will allow older vBulletin versions to access this mods' features. I personally havent tested this version, its a user contribution, thanks to Darrell Mobley, that changes the way the XML works when imported into older versions.

Installers should remember to refresh their ACP navigation window when they first install it so they can see the new log file menu item.

REQUIRES MySQL 4.1.1+

Future versions
- Automatic integration into vBulletin to add users to the stopForumSpam.com database from a form
- Whitelisting of username / IP / email addresses
- AJAX integration to allow for lookups from within the users profile
- Decreased remote query count from three per user to one per user.

Versions / Changes

0.1 Initial Release

0.2 pedigrees special brew birthday release.
- Small security update. If you have 0.1 installed, download 0.2 and replace your existing functions_vbsfs.php with the one in the archive. It just tests to see if its running inside the VB framework before anything else. This is what happens when you code at 2am after drinking wine

0.3
- stopped it processing valid registrations twice
- moved all non-function code into the plugin. Not a big one as 0.2 basically did that
- fixed a typo in the log pruner that stopped it working (404)
- removed unused fields from the database for people with mysql that doesnt support varchar > 255 (ie mySQL4). If you have 0.2 installed and dont need to prune your logs just yet, you dont really need to install this version but can instead wait for 1.0 unless of a massive security update.

0.4
- logs registrations that arent/wouldnt be blocked
- fixed XML errors when username has a space it in
- tightened up the cache so that it doesnt test a username against an email name to give a bypass result (for when a username is an email address that isnt banned where the email address is)
- fixed some basic logic errors in the PHP

0.6
- Should work on PHP 4.4 now - rewrote the XML with PHP4 in mind (tested on Apache2.0/PHP 4.4.3)
- Fixed a caching system where data wasnt being updated correctly which could cause a remote query when one wasnt needed
- Possible false negative situation when a spammer was blocked due to SFS.com being down who then visited again when it was up but within the cache expiry time
- Remote query failure when the result page isnt XML should work a bit better now. It does a very basic test for valid XML results.
- Fixed log purging (again) and it should actually work properly now.
- No longer requires PHP5
- The log viewer now links to a user profile when registration is allowed.

v0.61 - Removed a template change that was invalid vBulletin code. The package you download will still say its 0.60 however

NB : When upgrading from any version to 0.6, you must remove and then add the plugin due to changes in one of the database tables

You need to have an API key from www.stopforumspam.com in order to submit data, its free and easy to get... You DONT need an API key in order to use this mod however, only to submit spammer data.

Issues are
- The usergroup permissions / view details etc DONT work. I jumped the gun and put the permissions controls in there before I put the code in. Please delete the includes/xml/bitfield_vbstopforumspam.xml file and rebuild your postbit

Installation
- Follow the instructions in the zip file, that includes upload the correct folders
- ONLY download the 3.54 xml file if youre using a vbulletin version prior to 3.6.0. use this file to install the mod instead of the xml file in the zip file.

Please click Installed

[gpc10347]

Originally Posted by DS MrSinister

by any chance do you have Enhanced ACP Navigation mod installed?

(if that's for me, sorry - I've not seen that one!)

[gpc10347]

'tis I again.. Very pleased with this mod as today seems to be SpamDay and it's performing as advertised...

One small feature request if that's even possbile: Here's the last entries from the log: Sorry for the repetitiveness...

kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:37:11 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration
kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:37:01 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration
kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:36:50 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration

kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:35:45 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration
kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:35:22 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration
kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:35:11 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration
kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:35:01 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration
kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:33:11 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration
kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:32:46 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration
kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:32:22 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration
kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:31:40 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration
kegdenwers 2008-10-05 10:31:21 kegdenwers@gmail.com 90.150.117.41 Allowed registration


Obviously the time is significant as no-one could possibly enter the info that quickly. Is there a possibility that an upcoming version of this tool could eliminate these idiots too?


Thanks again for a great mod

[pedigree]

Originally Posted by gpc10347

'tis I again.. Very pleased with this mod as today seems to be SpamDay and it's performing as advertised...

One small feature request if that's even possbile: Here's the last entries from the log: Sorry for the repetitiveness...
Thanks again for a great mod

Firstly, youre welcome

Secondly, there is already a mod that does this but I cant (as Ive had a bottle of wine) remember it. ahh, try IsBot

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=135094

[AdrianH]

Originally Posted by pedigree

Firstly, youre welcome

Secondly, there is already a mod that does this but I cant (as Ive had a bottle of wine) remember it. ahh, try IsBot

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=135094

The mod he needs is https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=183917 (Stop the Registration bots) it is excellent at dealing with bots/spammer progs.

Combined with your superb vbStopForumSpam spammers are going to find life much harder.:up:

[ngx]

Utterly Awesome.

I installed it after a serious rise in spam sign ups - we were deleting 20+ a day and moved to moderating users to stop the posts. No sooner had I installed this and one of them decided to test it out. Caught. A test sign up by me also showed it didnt slow down the sign up at all, which was bonus.

Thanks bunches.

[Wired1]

Originally Posted by gpc10347

'tis I again.. Very pleased with this mod as today seems to be SpamDay and it's performing as advertised...
Obviously the time is significant as no-one could possibly enter the info that quickly. Is there a possibility that an upcoming version of this tool could eliminate these idiots too?


Thanks again for a great mod

That's not someone filling out the whole form. That's someone re-entering the password, or hitting back or something. They'll make an entry in the log anytime that page loads for ANY reason.

[gpc10347]

Thanks again for the best mod ever...

I installed IsMod after seeing the first note and I'm now up to 479 entries in the log... 2 of these are real users and the rest are repeats or mostly spammers. Since installation of IsMod in tandem, the repeat entries seem to have slowed... (one)

I like the options I see in Stop the Registration bots.

In my wish list, these would all be vBulletin native options but since that isn't the case, it's be pretty slick of they were combined into a single application.. Botstoppers?

No matter what, Installed and Nominated.

[hobsdv]

installed and nominated

[ngx]

Okies, Something weird has happened and I am not sure what it is..

I have a vague idea and I just want some confirmation. There were three allowed registrations but only one account. And *dozens* of entries in the system for all three. The one that did get through - the second bot - got the next UID in line so it shows that bot one failed somehow.

Now I did a test sign up as noted above, but stuffed up captcha once - and there was two entries on the list. Is this a major botched captcha code problem for the bot/underpaid human who actually just does it for the free porn? I actually didnt think it was doing anything before but I guess it is now! Would it log those attempts, even if something is wrong?

First Bot - Second Bot (Showing Link) - Third Bot

If thats true then I guess I am glad its working too, but looks like I am leaving the forum on moderated. *sigh* Thanks for looking!

[Evaporate]

Going to install this and isbot tonight . In the past 2 weeks I'm now getting 20-30 spammer bots a day sining up. 80% are gmail and the rest are .ru or .cn.

I found the stopforum spam link on google and was using it to stop the spammers (though most are quite obviously just random words jumbled together. )

Google should seek to remove the spammers as they are giving gmail a bad name imo.

Anyway after doing this manual process for a week or so I've given up and via the magic ofVbulletin.org search found this.


I will install tonight and look forward to reclaiming my time back. I've always had to manually accept users after they have verified there email so this has saved me from most of the forum spam.

Thanks for the mod anyway. As someone said Mod of the Millenium!