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

[thbertram]

The site that I have this plug-in installed on is a low-traffic, very specific board, and all registrations are moderated. Once a year, we turn off the moderation for a short burst of high traffic, but watch the registrations carefully. (running vBulletin 3.8.3)

The module works extremely well. As the StopForumSpam database builds, the number of registrations that get through continue to drop. I'm now seeing one every month or so that get through, and as many as a thousand that don't.

With that said, I would like to advise all of the folks that are installing this, and having difficulties, to please take the time to troubleshoot the problem, and provide some detail when you finally post here with problems.

I "hear" the frustration in Pedigree's "voice" when you come on here and say "it's broken...what's wrong with your program?" This is definitely a case of PEBKAC

Sorry...this isn't the place for me to sound off, but I'm a programmer too and have to deal with the same stuff... Pedigree, I give you two-thumbs-up! :up::up:

[pedigree]

Yes thanks

Fustration, oh yes. The amount of PMs I get that are "I installed it and it doesnt work - why?" are increasing and they all come down to one of one things

1. The person hasnt read any of the documentation or used the "search" in this thread and have installed it incorrectly
2. Arent using the required version of mySQL, php or cURL.

and of course, expect the database to be 100% accurate, up to date and purged of old spammers. The later we are discussing but there is functionality in the mod to ignore old spammer fields.

[kylek]

I have had to uninstall it from 2 sites for blocking people registering after verifying the problem myself. Tried with 3 different email addresses and had others try also. All were using either ip providers email or yahoo, msn, etc.

[pedigree]

Originally Posted by kylek

I have had to uninstall it from 2 sites for blocking people registering after verifying the problem myself. Tried with 3 different email addresses and had others try also. All were using either ip providers email or yahoo, msn, etc.

Would you like to provide the usernames/ip/email addresses so that we can verify this?

[pedigree]

Please people, you must understand this

The database WILL provide a tiny amount of false positives known as "back scatter"

Its the same as a spammer using your email address as the "from" source when spamming millions of people. You will get the bounces. Same thing here. If a forum spammer uses an IP address on an ISP that trunks everything out a proxy server (ie AOL) or from an IP address that you happened to have been assigned when you dialup, then that IP address is listed.

Simple solution

- Dont block on IP addresses.
- Configure the mod to IGNORE positive results older than 30 days.
- Set your forum NOT to block registrations if our database is not available

Functionality was been provided, please use it. Again, please dont just post "It stopped working" without providing logs or details, youll just get ignored. If you would like some help and support, its a two way street.

My ability of telepathy only works within 10 square miles....

[Alfa1]

Originally Posted by pedigree

My ability of telepathy only works within 10 square miles....

We are very disappointed!

Thanks again for this great hack.

[jburnette84]

This works like a charm! Thanks so much for writing this.

It would be nice to see this checking against project honey pot as well.

[luism]

I searched the thread but could find no clues.
If I get a 404 Not Found page when I click on the vbStopForumSpam Log in the A CP..
does it just mean that no spammer has signed in yet so that is why there is no page created therefore not found?

Thanks

website is

http://gaga.com/

[jeremyalyea]

I receive about 20 spam registrations per day between my two Vb installations despite all of the other spam prevention mods I have installed. I am installing this today and will report back on this mod in a couple of days.

Fingers crossed.

[luism]

Originally Posted by luism

I searched the thread but could find no clues.
If I get a 404 Not Found page when I click on the vbStopForumSpam Log in the A CP..
does it just mean that no spammer has signed in yet so that is why there is no page created therefore not found?

Thanks

website is

http://gaga.com/

UPDATE..

There was afile missing from the install..

:erm: