Anti-Spam Options - vbStopForumSpam

vbStopForumSpam

Mod of the month winner October 2009.... That cant be bad :up:

Apologies in advance, this is a copy of the 3.6/3.7/3.8 mod that has been verified to work in 4.0 (its so that I dont get a billion PMs asking if it works in 4.0)

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.

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.

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

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

Reported 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, 4.0 Gold, 4.2pl1,2

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+

There is a small mod, coded by Wired1 that will allow you to submit spammer details to the database from the admin control panel, here https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....&postcount=289 This relies 100% on javascript being enabled and makes no tests that it is enabled.

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 the file upload the correct folders.

Please click Installed

The original thread is at https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=176481 where there is a wealth of knowledge about the mod, please ask questions in there.

[motorola]

I plan to uninstall this and I want to know if there are any files that i should remove ?

[Alan_SP]

For this, always look what you installed. If you uploaded some files, you can remove them. Or not...

[edie]

You wrote:
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"

Do I do this before or after I upload the files to the root?
Why is this message emitted from installation instructions that came with the download installation?

- confused.

thx!

- Edith Williams

[Delphiprogrammi]

Originally Posted by edie

You wrote:
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"

Do I do this before or after I upload the files to the root?
Why is this message emitted from installation instructions that came with the download installation?

- confused.

thx!

- Edith Williams

1) delete the mentioned file
2)login to your admincp
3) type index.php?do=buildbitfields
4)done

[Delphiprogrammi]

Originally Posted by motorola

I plan to uninstall this and I want to know if there are any files that i should remove ?

yes all files used by the modification

[Dozer826]

Is there a way to add usernames or IPs to a safelist? I'm getting a few random people contacting me saying that they are being marked as spam.

[Sc00by22]

I am getting a MySQL error when trying to import the plugin, my MySQL version is 5.5.11

Invalid SQL:

	   CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `fl_vbstopforumspam` (
          APIKey VARCHAR( 255 ) NOT NULL ,									
          PRIMARY KEY ( APIKey )
      ) TYPE=MyISAM;;

MySQL Error   : You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'TYPE=MyISAM' at line 4

EDIT

I fixed it myself TYPE=MyISAM had to be ENGINE=MyISAM

[pedigree]

Sorry about the delays in responding. I spend most of my spare time on the stopforumspam.com site improvements. Glowhost is working on improvements to the source (and god knows it needed it!)

I hope to, one day, upgrade some of the code with requests but I just dont have much in the way of spare time given the ongoing requirements in just keeping stopforumspam.com running. I hope you all understand. Maybe once its all working just the way I want it, then Ill start coding mods for all the blogs and forums that I can (legally) for my hands on.

[washingtonboise]

For improving the database, spammers have to me manually reported, one at a time. Sounds like a losing war. They automate, so should we. Any reason not to other than the 1% chance that someone is marked as a spammer when they weren't and that prevents them from easily going to other forums?

[Paul.]

Originally Posted by Paul.

Hi Pedigree, I've installed this on three forums we have. No idea if it's working, but we'll see!
Getting a lot of ''thanks for post, great post'' or similar.

But, is there a way I can see logs of what has been rejected?


Edit: 24 hours later.. not one spam post has been made.. which is technically a record.

I've had about 3 in total for our three forums..
How can I mark some as Spammers, and mark others who aren't that have been mistook as spammers?