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

[Aric Hoek]

First, thank you so much. I am a small business owner, and I am starting a second business which is a paid membership site. This mod has been fantastic in allowing me to spend time on my first business.

I have ben reading page after page, and immediately I have stopped reading after 24 pages. I had a problem today. People trying to register said they would go through the registration process and then were taken to a white screen. I can only find one instance posted earlier that this was reported to happen.

So StopForumSpam.com has stopped responding (5/23 4amPST) for the last 30 min or so (DOS??). The result is that registrations are failing with a blank white screen.

Forgive me if this is to basic of a question. Will setting the Query Connection Errors to Allow Registration solve this problem?

Thank you again for this fine piece of work.

[pedigree]

yes, it will. If you set to allow registrations, then they will be allowed if the sfs website is down.

and youre welcome

[ricardoNJ]

A user named Antonia was register in my forum, but this Mod's blocked her 'saying' that the name was as spam. I searched her name on the website sropforumspam.com but does not appear. It appears neither the IP nor the email that she used for registration. Is there will be any way to move her of the relationship to spammers?

[skippybosco]

@ricardoNJ: First thing I would do is check your local SFS logs to validate that she was blocked as spam. Secondly, a lot depends on your configuration of how you handle returns from the API. Do you block, do you move to a special group with less access, etc.

[ricardoNJ]

Originally Posted by skippybosco

@ricardoNJ: First thing I would do is check your local SFS logs to validate that she was blocked as spam. Secondly, a lot depends on your configuration of how you handle returns from the API. Do you block, do you move to a special group with less access, etc.

I don't know what's SFS logs and how to do that, sorry . :P

[skippybosco]

You can check your logs under the logs section of your Vbulletin Admin Control Panel, or:

http://yourdomain.com/admincp/vbstopforumspam.php

where yourdomain.com is your domain and admiccp is your path to your admin control panel (where you do your admin work)

[pedigree]

The generic error doesnt give either the name,ip or email address for a reason - that being that people can try again by changing one.

[SirShaw]

I just want to say thank you for such a wonderful product. I no longer have to worry about bots signing up and posting garbage on my forum. def voting mod of the month!

[ricardoNJ]

In the "vbStopForumSpam Logs" in my forum, I'm seeing an user:

nepAscenefgaf 2009-10-02 20:45:12 d.p.aterson1970@**** 95.133.**** Allowed registration

This guy have "allowed registration"a lot of time with the same IP address and email.

[skippybosco]

that usually means he is failing other things such as captcha, etc.