Check if IP address is in use, deny registration

[Jennifer2010]

Hi Everyone!

Can anyone recommend how I could have vBulletin take the registrant's IP address, check to see if any members currently have it tied to their account (whether it be via a post ip or registration ip), and deny registration if there's a match?

Any help would be appreciated...

Thank you!

[borbole]

Originally Posted by Jennifer2010

Hi Everyone!

Can anyone recommend how I could have vBulletin take the registrant's IP address, check to see if any members currently have it tied to their account (whether it be via a post ip or registration ip), and deny registration if there's a match?

Any help would be appreciated...

Thank you!

Do you mean to deny the registration of a second account from the same Ip? If so you would need a custom mod that.

[snakes1100]

Originally Posted by Jennifer2010

Hi Everyone!

Can anyone recommend how I could have vBulletin take the registrant's IP address, check to see if any members currently have it tied to their account (whether it be via a post ip or registration ip), and deny registration if there's a match?

Any help would be appreciated...

Thank you!

That wouldnt be a good idea, most isp's ip's aren't statically assigned for long term & change depending on the isp, some as little as 2 weeks, some a lot less that 2 weeks.

[kh99]

This doesn't prevent registrations, but it does give you a report on members using the same ip: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=282525

[Jennifer2010]

Thank you for the responses. I posted a mod request in the paid request forum.

I realize user's ip's change - but this is strictly for registration, and 95% of our users IP's, dynamic or not, are not shared with other users - making this a viable solution to prevent multiple registrations from the same user.

My IP is static and I'd say half of the users on our forum have static IP's. Mainly from US customers on Comcast/Charter or other cable connections.

[snakes1100]

That would be incorrect, comcast & charter IP's are not static unless you pay for them.

Comcast is as simple as unplugging the modem, waiting about 10 minutes, then repower it, your IP will change, it technically stays the same ip for a few months based on comcasts own comments, but beyond that, your ip isnt static, it is dynamic & it will change.

[Jennifer2010]

Originally Posted by snakes1100

That would be incorrect, comcast & charter IP's are not static unless you pay for them.

Comcast is as simple as unplugging the modem, waiting about 10 minutes, then repower it, your IP will change, it technically stays the same ip for a few months based on comcasts own comments, but beyond that, your ip isnt static, it is dynamic & it will change.

I disagree. For the Comcast cable connection I've had since 2007, my IP has changed maybe 3 times. Before that, when I lived in Wisconsin, my connection with Charter was also static and never changed.

I actually called Comcast about a year ago to ask them if I'm able to change my IP (I wanted to change it) and they told me no. They did, however, tell me that new Comcast customers are set up on a different system than old ones - and get dynamic IP addresses. This was surprising to me.

From what I see based on my own experience, the members on my forum (with their IP's resolving to cable company hostnames) - most cable connections are STATIC here in the US.

Another example: We have a GeoIP script on about 5 of our WordPress sites that redirects users based on the state they're in (including the one I live in, and my business partner's). To get around this, we add our IP addresses to a white list. They've been there for over 2 years, and neither I or my business partner has had to change the IP whitelist.

I've also had customers in these states that I had to whitelist - and for as long as they've been members, they've never had to email me again to get re-whitelisted under a different IP.

Also, on my dedicated server the only IP whitelisted to access via ftp/ssh/whm is mine - so if my IP ever changed, I wouldn't be able to log in via ssh/ftp and I'd be forced to go through the WHM security questions - which I've never had to do since I've had the server since 2010.

And to really make my point concrete, we have an account sharing violation on our Wordpress membership sites that state no user can ever log in from multiple IP addresses. In the last 2 years, we've had well over 10,000 members and maybe 10 times have had to deal with multiple IP's accessing accounts - which all were from sharing violations.

MOST IP's are static. The only non-static IP's are noticed are from dial up and DSL services, and a small amount from cable services - primarily in Europe.

I've reset my Comcast modem a million times and it never reset my IP.

[kh99]

I've had Comcast in several areas over the years, and my take is that while you do not normally get a static ip address, the fact is that it rarely changes and you might have the same address for years. I've even tried doing what someone suggested, unplugging the modem for a while and plugging it back in, only to get the same address back every time (maybe I was just lucky?). But that doesn't technically make it a static address. A static address would be one that was guaranteed not to change. It is possible that some customers do have a 'true' static ip address for one reason or another, but I don't think it's the norm because even if it doesn't ever seem to change, they could decide to change your address whenever they want (well, they probably need to wait for the DHCP lease to expire).

In any case, it still might be useful to block by ip address because a lot of times it *won't* change for a long time, and many people might not understand what's going on or want to bother trying to change their address. On the other hand, someone who really wants to annoy you will use a proxy server.

[In Omnibus]

In my experience, even if an IP changes it is usually with a predictable range of numbers.
A provider can't simply change your IP address from, for example, 208.107.117.109 (Grand Forks, ND) to 208.207.117.109 (Burlington, MA). In this example, only the last six digits can change and still reflect a Grand Forks, ND IP address. Unless your member base is exclusive to one location, it is possible to block a range of IP addresses without blocking valued members.

[snakes1100]

Originally Posted by Jennifer2010

I disagree. For the Comcast cable connection I've had since 2007, my IP has changed maybe 3 times. Before that, when I lived in Wisconsin, my connection with Charter was also static and never changed.

I actually called Comcast about a year ago to ask them if I'm able to change my IP (I wanted to change it) and they told me no. They did, however, tell me that new Comcast customers are set up on a different system than old ones - and get dynamic IP addresses. This was surprising to me.

From what I see based on my own experience, the members on my forum (with their IP's resolving to cable company hostnames) - most cable connections are STATIC here in the US.

Another example: We have a GeoIP script on about 5 of our WordPress sites that redirects users based on the state they're in (including the one I live in, and my business partner's). To get around this, we add our IP addresses to a white list. They've been there for over 2 years, and neither I or my business partner has had to change the IP whitelist.

I've also had customers in these states that I had to whitelist - and for as long as they've been members, they've never had to email me again to get re-whitelisted under a different IP.

Also, on my dedicated server the only IP whitelisted to access via ftp/ssh/whm is mine - so if my IP ever changed, I wouldn't be able to log in via ssh/ftp and I'd be forced to go through the WHM security questions - which I've never had to do since I've had the server since 2010.

And to really make my point concrete, we have an account sharing violation on our Wordpress membership sites that state no user can ever log in from multiple IP addresses. In the last 2 years, we've had well over 10,000 members and maybe 10 times have had to deal with multiple IP's accessing accounts - which all were from sharing violations.

MOST IP's are static. The only non-static IP's are noticed are from dial up and DSL services, and a small amount from cable services - primarily in Europe.

I've reset my Comcast modem a million times and it never reset my IP.

That is incorrect, just because you hit the reset button, doesnt mean you have disconnected your cable modem from the comcast service, you simply soft reset it with a quick repower. That also applies for charter, you do not get a static ip.

You do NOT have a static IP, they are not allowed in a residential based account, you can quote that from comcasts web site if you want or call them, just because you get lucky and keep the same ip, doesnt mean its static.

--------------- Added [DATE]1350866665[/DATE] at [TIME]1350866665[/TIME] ---------------

Originally Posted by kh99

I've had Comcast in several areas over the years, and my take is that while you do not normally get a static ip address, the fact is that it rarely changes and you might have the same address for years. I've even tried doing what someone suggested, unplugging the modem for a while and plugging it back in, only to get the same address back every time (maybe I was just lucky?). But that doesn't technically make it a static address. A static address would be one that was guaranteed not to change. It is possible that some customers do have a 'true' static ip address for one reason or another, but I don't think it's the norm because even if it doesn't ever seem to change, they could decide to change your address whenever they want (well, they probably need to wait for the DHCP lease to expire).

In any case, it still might be useful to block by ip address because a lot of times it *won't* change for a long time, and many people might not understand what's going on or want to bother trying to change their address. On the other hand, someone who really wants to annoy you will use a proxy server.

You have to unplug it, that means everything, even the cable line.