Multiple account login detector (AE Detector)

If you are like me and migrated from .threads, a common modification was an "AE detector", a simple mod that saved a cookie of a history of ids logged into on your site. If someone logged into more than one account, you got a PM letting you know that your site was being accessed from multiple accounts.

Over the years this was very helpful in identifying users who were posting under multiple accounts (alter-egos!) and users who would return after being banned.

You might be wondering why I don't use the vbcookie call - well, thats because on logout all vB cookies are cleared, so we need to store a cookie that is not effected by the login/logout process.

New Installation
1. Add New Product with attached XML
2. Go to vBulletin Options -> AE Multiple Login Detection Settings and set your specific settings.

Time to install: Easy - 2 minutes.

Upgrade
If you installed this as a Plug-in manually, you can delete that plugin and install this Product, just make sure to go into the Options and set them accordingly.

I hope you find this useful and will click INSTALL if you use it; should it prove useful to enough people I can look at making this installation more automated without the need for edits and an Admin Options page.

To upgrade you will want to reimport this XML file and edit your options accordingly.

1.0.3
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. Added a check to ensure that users weren't deleted when reporting violations
. added htmlspecialchars_uni call to username

Note: I am unable to get the call to construct_phrase with $vbphrase['multiplelogin_alert'] to work reliably, as such the $message variable is still set manually inside the plug-in and not via the phrase. If anyone has an idea of why this might not always work, I'm all ears.

1.0.2
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. Updated to include exclusion groups, users
. Changed so PM is sent by ae sender id

1.0.1
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. Released as a Product (thank you PHPGeek2k3 for your help)
. Added option to post to a forum versus send a PM (or both)
. All settings moved into Admin Option

1.0.0
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Initial release.

[WNxWakko]

Ok, it seems to be working.

However, I logged into my test account, logged out, logged into my second test account and then logged out.

It sent me the alert.

However when I loggged in to the test1, then out, then test2, then out again, I did not get another alert. I logged into both back and forth several times and got nothing. Then I logged into a 3rd test account and then I got the alert.

So does that mean it only alerts one time? and then after will not alert me if they are still doing it?

[SCRIPT3R]

Originally Posted by MPDev

Ah, okay, I see what you are saying; I was a little confused by the "my IP list", but I see now you are talking about the "view ip addresses" of vB.

Nice to know, something I'll see if there is a workaround for.

this is vB related... same thing happens when an account is set to automatically create a thread with information from another account. same thing happens with the Welcome Thread and Birthday Thread hacks. just an FYI that might help point you in the right direction.

[Milesian]

Is there any way to make it so that when it makes a report, it names the other account(s) that matches?

At the moment, it only tells me that someone's account has tripped it.
I then have to go looking in the ACP for ip addies to see who matches up.

[MPDev]

I'm not sure what you mean "the other account(s) that matches"? The text of the PM or the message posted should list all of the accounts which have been used on that computer previously.

However when I loggged in to the test1, then out, then test2, then out again, I did not get another alert. I logged into both back and forth several times and got nothing. Then I logged into a 3rd test account and then I got the alert.

So does that mean it only alerts one time? and then after will not alert me if they are still doing it?

It's working as designed - it won't notify you every time the user logs into each of those accounts; only on the initial detection of a subsequent new login for that computer.

[luroca]

It would be very useful to know the usergroup of the different users. By example:

... User1 (registered) and User2 (Premium) in the same PC ...

Regards

[Milesian]

Originally Posted by MPDev

I'm not sure what you mean "the other account(s) that matches"? The text of the PM or the message posted should list all of the accounts which have been used on that computer previously.
.

Mine doesn't for some reason.
It makes a post in a pre-designated forum saying " XXX tripped the AE Login detector" then the post itself merely says

multiplelogin_alert

Nothing else

[MPDev]

Milesian, make sure you have a current version installed as that is a phrase that should have been installed; this may have been from an earlier version.

[Milesian]

Originally Posted by MPDev

Milesian, make sure you have a current version installed as that is a phrase that should have been installed; this may have been from an earlier version.

Ok, I'l try a re-install tonight. Thanks.

[dai-kun]

For the setting "Userid of who PM sender / Alert poster", I set it to myself. I've also made for the alerts to be posted in a specific forum.
The problem is that for some reason, when it creates a new thread, it adds that user IP under my username "[Find More Users with this IP Address]". So even though I never posted using their username (or even logged into theirs), when a new thread is created for someone who was detected, their IP and username gets put under mines.

Hope I sound logical.

[SCRIPT3R]

Originally Posted by dai-kun

For the setting "Userid of who PM sender / Alert poster", I set it to myself. I've also made for the alerts to be posted in a specific forum.
The problem is that for some reason, when it creates a new thread, it adds that user IP under my username "[Find More Users with this IP Address]". So even though I never posted using their username (or even logged into theirs), when a new thread is created for someone who was detected, their IP and username gets put under mines.

Hope I sound logical.

yup, it's already being discussed.