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.

[HBC]

Originally Posted by PhenomLeader

I am using 3.6 and it works for me. Question.... does the user see anything? Does it not allow them to login or something ?

user has no idea..

and yes they can log in on all accounts they have until you stop them by whatever means you deem necessary.

[PhenomLeader]

Ok, was just wondering!

[NeitherSparky]

All right - I have installed this in 3.6.0 and it is working. For some reason though, while it is successfully sending a post to my Staff forum it is NOT sending me a PM even though I have specified Send PM on Multiple Login Detection=Yes (can it not do both?). Otherwise it is fine.

edit: Figured out what I did wrong, it should be fine now.

[b6gm6n]

vB3.6... works like this, you can do both (PM/Thread) or PM only... but not thread only... if you disable PM's...you also disable new thread creation to!

-b6

[MPDev]

I hadn't planned on upgrading to vB3.6 initially; so didn't have anything to offer in terms of ideas on what to change. I've recently upgraded and will take a look at the code - as far as being "supported", it was relased for 3.5 and I've supported it on 3.5.

It appears to be working for me on 3.6 and I do not use PMs at all; just new threads in a private forum.

[Ghanem]

Originally Posted by MPDev

It appears to be working for me on 3.6 and I do not use PMs at all; just new threads in a private forum.

Its working on my 3.6 board, creates new threads, sends PMs, and ignores users I set it to do so

[NeitherSparky]

Okay, I am *guessing* that this isn't working? I have this crazy guy who's been harassing me for a long time, he has two accounts on my new vBulletin forum. He is on, right now, with both accounts, with the same exact IP address. Shouldn't this detector have gone off if it was working?

edit: Nevermind, he's probably on two computers next to eachother in a computer lab. Sorry, my bad.

[Quarterbore]

I installed this on a fresh install of vB 3.6 and I do not use the PM function and it seems to work... well with an issue I can't figure out!

I am getting TONS or Multiple account notices... I installed this early this AM (like 1AM here) and we have about a dozen alerts already. Most of the members we have asked have replied they have no idea why this would be...

IP addresses don't match, locations are not even close...

I am going to try to figure it out by looking at the code...

I know that when I tested it that it DID detect multiple logins that should have been (I have five test accounts) BUT the false hits are really something!

[MPDev]

Given that there is no IP tracking at all in this mod; it can only be tripped if users access multiple accounts on the same computer - there is no way to create a "false positive".

[Quarterbore]

Originally Posted by MPDev

Given that there is no IP tracking at all in this mod; it can only be tripped if users access multiple accounts on the same computer - there is no way to create a "false positive".

No, there has to be something wrong here...

I have about 2-dozen hits now and I know some members are on the west coast while others are here on the East. This works by looking at the cookie and my guess is that there is something in the cookie that is getting added by vb 3.6 that is causing me problems... or I have some other conflict on my site.

Frustrating as I really want to use this!

I will be looking at this to try to see if I can find any differences between what 3.5.x put in the cookie as opposed to 3.6.0 but something has changed... at least on my site it did!