Anti-Spam Options - Spambot Stopper - Prevent Spambots from Registering

What is it?
----------------------------
This mod rejects registrations where the form is filled out in less than a minimum time. You can configure one of the following actions to be taken when an automated registration is detected:

- Show a "No Permissions" page
- Display the "Successful Registration" message but without creating an account
- Redirect the user to any URL you choose
- Reload the registration page with an error message of your choosing

You can also provide a list of email addresses to be notified each time a registration is blocked.

Added for version 1.1.1: Time delay enforcer, maximum time option, time limits to cut down on email notifications, posting to a thread.

In the future, I'd like to add some simple logging and statistics, and a summary type of email notification (because people seem to quickly get tired of the single emails).

Note: I coded this myself from scratch, but I would like to acknowledge a couple of previous mods that used this same idea, by users Calorie and noppid, and maybe others. In any case, I believe this one adds some features that the others don't have.

Other advantages: no ads or links, no abuse of update notifications, no disappearing features, no threats to delete the mod (it will never be deleted, at least by me). Also, translations are allowed.

Installation:
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1) If you have "Is Bot", "Stop the Registration Bots", "Spammers Suck!", or another mod that works on registration time, note any admincp settings for that mod then uninstall it.

2) Import the product XML file from the Product Manager.

3) Go to Settings > Options > Spambot Stopper Options and configure the desired settings.

4) IMPORTANT: try to register a new user to make sure that there are no problems with humans registering. If you want, you can also temporarily set the minimum time to a higher value (like 60 seconds) and test to see if the spammer rejection is working.



History:
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1.1.1 (Feb 16, 2013)

• Added timer for enforcing minimum time
• Added maximum registration time limit
• Added time limits for email notifications
• Added posting notificatiosn to a thread

1.0.1 (Feb 01, 2013)

• Fixed bug
• Added check for fake timestamps

1.0 (Jan 31, 2013)

• Initial Release

[kh99]

Originally Posted by rhody401

Some of them are hiring students to physically create the accounts, at human speed.

Yeah, on our site (not vbulletin.org) we get 2 or 3 a day and I'm pretty sure they're human. Edit: ...and spam-o-matic doesn't stop them either.

[Max Taxable]

Originally Posted by rhody401

That is true. Very few spammers get as far as SOM, on our forum, with this installed. But I still like having that extra layer of security

Some of them are hiring students to physically create the accounts, at human speed.

Can never be too many arrows in the quiver.

[TheLastSuperman]

Since Sept 18th of 2013 up until January 2nd of 2014 on one forum alone I installed this on, it has prevented over 64,375 spam registrations! Thanks for the mod kh99 nothing but "a job well done" or "bravo" from me to you after seeing those statistics .

[kh99]

Thanks, but I think I should give credit where it's due. Max Taxable was telling people to use calorie's Is Bot mod for a long time, and to be honest I was skeptical. But Max paid someone to make a vb4 version with some options, which became very popular, and when that one was deleted by the author I coded this one so that it would still be available. There was also another previous mod by user noppid that works on the same principle.

[Max Taxable]

Originally Posted by kh99

Thanks, but I think I should give credit where it's due. Max Taxable was telling people to use calorie's Is Bot mod for a long time, and to be honest I was skeptical. But Max paid someone to make a vb4 version with some options, which became very popular, and when that one was deleted by the author I coded this one so that it would still be available. There was also another previous mod by user noppid that works on the same principle.

Let's not forget I tried to pay YOU first, to code the new version.... But you told me you weren't doing any more Mods. Glad you changed your mind on that you're a good egg in my book.

[kh99]

Originally Posted by Max Taxable

Let's not forget I tried to pay YOU first, to code the new version.... But you told me you weren't doing any more Mods. Glad you changed your mind on that you're a good egg in my book.

lol, yeah, that was probably one of the many times that I was going to stop working on vbulletin.

[kevinh]

Can thank you enough for this.

I was using the old bot_blocker which worked wonders but I needed to re-install it and couldn't find it anymore (the replacement by the same author is just not the same thing).

Your mod is the new bot_blocker

[Phaedrus]

If you disable the button does it make it so the mod won't work? How can it catch a spammer if the button won't even work until after your limit has passed?

[Max Taxable]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus

If you disable the button does it make it so the mod won't work? How can it catch a spammer if the button won't even work until after your limit has passed?

Bots can't read, they will click the button regardless of what we humans see.

[Phaedrus]

I thought it disabled the button so that it couldn't be clicked. Installed, tested. Working.

How do I get it to move IP addresses to the Miserable users?