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

[puncol]

Thank you.

Can you help me with that mod, please?

What I have done so far:
- Uploaded the contents of the upload folder into the root of my forum (I am sure I have done it 100% right)
- Imported the xml into products. I have uploaded that file product-vbstopforumspam.xml (without overwriting).
- Edit the options. (AdminCP -> vBulletin Options -> vbStopForumSpam) - I do not have this options

So.... should I rebuild/refresh something?

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by puncol

- Edit the options. (AdminCP -> vBulletin Options -> vbStopForumSpam) - I do not have this options

Double check. If it's really not there, try reimporting the product file.

[joe1989]

I have obtained an API from SFS and entered it into my VB options in the appropriate field, but I cannot figure out what to do next to start submitting my spammers to the DB.

Thanks! Keep up the great work on a fantastic mod!

[djbaxter]

See https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....&postcount=453

[Simon Lloyd]

Originally Posted by ESADCG

Have upgraded to MySQL 5.5.30 and this will not install any longer. Any chance of getting it updated?

Database error in vBulletin 3.8.7:

Invalid SQL:

       CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `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
Error Number  : 1064

In the xml and or php files that come with this mod change TYPE=MyISAM for ENGINE=MyISAM

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by stevether

4.2.1 here. Doesn't seem to work.

This user should have been blocked on username and email



I'm guess "remote error" means it couldn't hook into the API (which I've set it to allow registration in that case), but API services were up at the time of this request.

No it is working. It did exactly what it should do when the SFS database isn't available - allow registration.

The SFS database is having intermittent problems with a server, so there has been more of this than normal the past week or so.

The fact that you could access the database to submit a spam report is entirely consistent with the problems they are having with that server.

See Stop Forum Spam announcement .

[metalguy639]

New issues with this mod. Out of nowhere my client is now getting this error when a new person tries to register on their site.

Registration denied. We check new registrations against a database of known forum spammers. At this time, we are unable to contact this database to verify your registration. We are sorry for the inconvenience but please do try again later.

For now I have disabled the hack and registrations work again, but that is not optimal as we need to keep spammers out. Please help. Thanks.

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by metalguy639

New issues with this mod. Out of nowhere my client is now getting this error when a new person tries to register on their site.



For now I have disabled the hack and registrations work again, but that is not optimal as we need to keep spammers out. Please help. Thanks.

1. The SFS server is having intermittent issues. See Stop Forum Spam announcement.

2. AdminCP >> Settings >> Options >> vBStopForumSpam

Query Connection Errors
What should happen if the remote connection times out when querying the new registration?

Set this to Allow Registration. You have yours set to Block Registration.

[metalguy639]

Originally Posted by djbaxter

1. The SFS server is having intermittent issues. See Stop Forum Spam announcement.

2. AdminCP >> Settings >> Options >> vBStopForumSpam

Query Connection Errors
What should happen if the remote connection times out when querying the new registration?

Set this to Allow Registration. You have yours set to Block Registration.

Thanks that worked.

[theforumist]

This plugin = awesome. I wish I had found it long ago on past forums that I've owned/operated. Since I implemented it about a week ago, 109 registrations have occur ed and 100 of which have been blocked due to matching a database entry.