Administrative and Maintenance Tools - Add Anti-spam links to "New User" Admin email

This is modified from a suggestion by Feldon23 at vBulletin.com dated August 15, 2009. It is especially useful for vBulletin forums requiring Admin validation of new accounts.

1. Go to Admin CP | Languages & Phrases | Search in Phrases
   
   
2. Find: Varname $vbphrase[newuser], Text "There is a new user, $username at $vboptions[bbtitle]"
   
   
3. Click on Edit this phrase
   
   
4. Translation for 3.8.x and 4.x prior to 4.1.4:
   
   

   There is a new user, $username at $vboptions[bbtitle]
   
   View Profile: $vboptions[bburl]/member.php?u=$userid
   
   Check IP location in Melissa:  http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/iplocation.asp?ipaddress=$ipaddress
   
   Check for Spam (email): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$email
   Check for Spam (name): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$username
   Check for Spam (IP): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$ipaddress
   
   Delete this User: $vboptions[bburl]/admincp/user.php?do=remove&u=$userid
   Ban this user: $vboptions[bburl]/modcp/banning.php?do=banuser&u=$userid 
   
   Email Address : $email
   Birthday : $birthday
   Referrer: $referrer
   IP Address: $ipaddress
   
   $customfields

   Version for 4.1.4 and up
   
   

   There is a new user, $username at $vboptions[bbtitle]
   
   View member profile: $memberlink
   
   Check IP location in Melissa:  http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/iplocation.asp?ipaddress=$ipaddress
   
   Check for Spam (email): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$email
   Check for Spam (name): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$username
   Check for Spam (IP): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$ipaddress
   
   Delete this User: $vboptions[bburl]/admincp/user.php?do=remove&u=$userid
   Ban this user: $vboptions[bburl]/modcp/banning.php?do=banuser&u=$userid
   
   Email Address : $email
   Birthday : $birthday
   Referrer: $referrer
   IP Address: $ipaddress
   
   $customfields

5. Click on Save

v1.01 Added option to ban user if desired, instead of deleting. Tested on 3.8.4 PL1. Works for me.

v1.02 Added links for IP check. Tested up to 4.1.4

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by firefoxextreme

I have another mod that works better than Stop Forum spam that I use as well. Its nice to have the link to check as I always check anyway. I also check Project Honeypot, the Stop Forum Spam Mod you refer too gives too many false positives for my liking. I believe it involves the function to reject a registration when connection to Stop Forum Spam times out.

No, that is optional. I have it set to approve the registration if the connection to the database times out. i also have it set to checkp IP and email address but NOT member name, which is where I suspect you'd get false positives.

I haven't checked 100% of course but I don't believe I've had any false positives on my forum.

What's the other mod you mention?

[firefoxextreme]

No, that is optional. I have it set to approve the registration if the connection to the database times out. i also have it set to checkp IP and email address but NOT member name, which is where I suspect you'd get false positives.

Yes I did also but I think it causes a bug to reject people not on the list

[0ptima]

Thanks, I installed this.

[joeychgo]

Originally Posted by Wired1

Why not just use the vBStopForumSpam mod itself?

I use both. The vBStopForumSpam mod is not foolproof. It's good, dont get me wrong, but its not foolproof.

One thing that I think would greatly enhance this mod, would be to have the IP's location revealed in the email. (intergrate with ip2location.com or something similar)

I know when someone from bangledesh registers on my classic mopar forum, they are a spammer, and delete them right away.

[djbaxter]

Good points, Joey. In fact the latest version of what I'm using on my own site looks like this:

There is a new user, $username at $vboptions[bbtitle]

View member profile: $memberlink
Check IP location in Melissa:  http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/iplocation.asp?ipaddress=$ipaddress

View Profile: $memberlink
Check for Spam (email): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$email
Check for Spam (name): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$username
Check for Spam (IP): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$ipaddress

Delete this User: $vboptions[bburl]/admincp/user.php?do=remove&u=$userid
Ban this user: $vboptions[bburl]/modcp/banning.php?do=banuser&u=$userid

Email Address : $email
Birthday : $birthday
Referrer: $referrer
IP Address: $ipaddress

$customfields

[joeychgo]

Nice! Thank you!

[djbaxter]

Actually, what I posted above is for vBulletin 4.1.4.

Here are the changes for 3.8.x and 4.x prior to 4.1.4:

There is a new user, $username at $vboptions[bbtitle]

View Profile: $vboptions[bburl]/member.php?u=$userid

Check IP location in Melissa:  http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/iplocation.asp?ipaddress=$ipaddress

Check for Spam (email): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$email
Check for Spam (name): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$username
Check for Spam (IP): http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=$ipaddress

Delete this User: $vboptions[bburl]/admincp/user.php?do=remove&u=$userid
Ban this user: $vboptions[bburl]/modcp/banning.php?do=banuser&u=$userid 

Email Address : $email
Birthday : $birthday
Referrer: $referrer
IP Address: $ipaddress

$customfields

[joeychgo]

What would be FANTISTIC would be if the IP location would be fetched and sent in the new user email --

SO that instead of getting:

Check IP location in Melissa: http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/iplocation.asp?ipaddress=76.102.90.132

You get something like this:

Check IP location in Melissa: Sunnyvale, CA

That way you know immediately if there might be a spammer.

[djbaxter]

Melissa is a free service. The problem with your suggestion is that it would send automated queries to that service, which would be unfair to the service owners.