Anti-Spam Options - Automatically deny registration for users with multi-dotted email address

On my forum many bots have multi-dotted email address so I wanted to avoid them to create a new account on my forum.

The way to do this is create a new plugin to recognize these multi-dotted email address provided at time of registration and delete them automatically.

Steps:

• Create a new plugin using hook userdata_start

• Use this code:

$this->validfields['email'][VF_CODE] = '
    $max_dots = 1;
    if ($retval = $dm->verify_useremail($data))
    {
        $parts = explode("@", $data);
        if (is_array($parts) && substr_count($parts[0], ".") > $max_dots)
        {
            $dm->error("bademail");
            $retval = false;
        }
    }
    return $retval;
';

It only checks the part before the '@', so set $max_dots to the number of dots you will allow (I think one dot in an email name probably isn't unusual, but that's up to you). Also, this uses the default 'bademail' phrase, but if you'd rather have a special error messages for "too many dots" you can create a phrase and use the varname in place of 'bademail'.

Special thanks to kh99 who provided this solution.

[Boofo]

I have complete faith in you, sir.

[djbaxter]

LOL. Well you're not going to get rich that way.

[Boofo]

I'll always be rich in friendship with you as a friend.

[kh99]

Originally Posted by Snowhog

You could write two additional plugins (give each a unique plugin name) using the code with only a slight modification.

That's a good thought, but unfortunately it won't work the way this is written. It replaces the code that verifies an email address, so if you have multiple plugins doing the same thing, only the last one to run would have any effect.

You might be able to do something like this:

$this->validfields['email'][VF_CODE] = '
    $max_chars = array("." => 1, ":" => 0, ";" => 0);
    if ($retval = $dm->verify_useremail($data))
    {
        $parts = explode("@", $data);
        if (is_array($parts))
        {
           foreach($max_chars AS $char => $max)
           {
               if (substr_count($parts[0], $char) > $max)
               {
                      $dm->error("bademail");
                      $retval = false;
                      break;
               }
           }
        }
    }
    return $retval;
';

(But I haven't tested it at all).

[Boofo]

You could even make the array a setting option to expand it.

[John Lester]

Shouldn't this be titled something like "Automatically deny registration for users with multi-dotted email address" since it doesn't actually delete anything?

[cloferba]

Originally Posted by John Lester

Shouldn't this be titled something like "Automatically deny registration for users with multi-dotted email address" since it doesn't actually delete anything?

you are right

[Boofo]

Or "Prevent users from registering with SPAM-like email addresses".

[victorvu]

Hi:

This is totally unrelated, but I ask anyway. Hope that I will get the suggestion.

I want to deny guests who IPs do not show up in the list. How can I do this?

Thanks.

Victor

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by kh99

That's a good thought, but unfortunately it won't work the way this is written. It replaces the code that verifies an email address, so if you have multiple plugins doing the same thing, only the last one to run would have any effect.

You might be able to do something like this:

Perfect.

Slight modification to prevent commas, semicolons, and colons, since I got another Chinese bot this morning trying to register with the email "liantianha,ofangjiancong@gmail.com":

PHP Code:

$this->validfields['email'][VF_CODE] = '
    $max_chars = array("." => 1, "," => 0,  ";" => 0, ":" => 0);
    if ($retval = $dm->verify_useremail($data))
    {
        $parts = explode("@", $data);
        if (is_array($parts))
        {
           foreach($max_chars AS $char => $max)
           {
               if (substr_count($parts[0], $char) > $max)
               {
                      $dm->error("bademail");
                      $retval = false;
                      break;
               }
           }
        }
    }
    return $retval;
';