BotScout "BotBuster" for SMF 1.x and 2.0 Beta 4

MrMike · February 27, 2009, 10:36:32 AM

Link to Mod

Prevent spambots from registering on your forum. The SMF BotBuster uses the http://BotScout.com API to check each attempted registration against the BotScout.com database of known bots. Both the email and IP address are tested against over 100,000 bot signatures (with more being added every day).

Failed registration attempts are halted with a false "Registration Disabled" error message. Additional "failure" actions are easy to add (such as forwarding the bot to Disney.com, displaying mysterious, random error messages, or returning a frustrating "CAPTCHA Failed" error).

Works with SMF versions 1.1.x and 2.x
Minimal code changes, no extensive modifications required
Checks both email and IP to ensure a high detection rate
Provides results in simple string format or XML format

For more information please visit http://BotScout.com

Special thanks to Blue Dream for the mod packaging!

madman71 · February 27, 2009, 02:10:47 PM

Very nice!! Must try!

PerryM · March 03, 2009, 12:49:30 PM

I installed the mod and I see no difference.

I didn't activate anything nor did I see any changes when registering as a new user.

How do I know this thing actually works?

Thanks

P.S.
Don't get me wrong - if this works I'm thankful it will be there scouting for scum....

MrMike · March 06, 2009, 12:44:44 PM

Quote from: PerryM on March 03, 2009, 12:49:30 PM
I installed the mod and I see no difference.

I didn't activate anything nor did I see any changes when registering as a new user.

How do I know this thing actually works?

It doesn't produce any changes to the interface, it just silently blocks attempted registrations (unless you have the email notifications turned on). You could turn the email notifications on for a few days and see if you're getting any alerts.

I would add config options in the SMF admin panel, but I'm afraid I don't know how I'd go about doing that. If some one wants to give me a hand with that, please PM me or let me know here (a PM is better because I'll get a notification of it).

kenrank · May 12, 2009, 07:13:21 PM

Hi...
I installed this mod and I have (in BotScout.php):
// Send e-mail notices?
$send_alerts = true;

It worked by not permitting a Bot email address to register in our forums, but it failed to send the email notice.

Is there something I need to check?

Thanks

kenrank · May 14, 2009, 07:23:28 PM

I got it figured out.

It was only sending emails to the webmaster address and not to the admins.

Thanks

RaXavier69 · May 18, 2009, 10:34:42 PM

3. Execute Modification ./Themes/default/languages/Modifications.english-utf8.php Skipping file
sinc ei use a custom theme do i need to edit the mod file or reg file in the defualt thing?

also is there a section in the amdin panel i can play with this?

improv · July 10, 2009, 08:16:35 PM

It bugged my whole site somehow (registration), now I'll need to reinstall it again ..

JeremyB. · July 10, 2009, 09:03:17 PM

What error message did you get, and when did you get it?

-JB

improv · July 10, 2009, 11:48:59 PM

Not a message, but each time when I installed it/or uninstall my registration gets messed up.
For example the verification image is broken and my fonts are changed.
Now, I'm not 100% if your mod caused it, but I'll notice it. I removed it for now, if this problem doesn't occur anymore I'll notify you.

MrMike · July 12, 2009, 04:57:42 PM

Hmmm, I'm not sure what to say- the mod was designed to be very non-intrusive and it shouldn't mess with the registration or verification code. It should add one line that performs an intercept of the submitted registration info and queries the BotScout database...other than that, it should not make any changes to any code.

Quote from: improv on July 10, 2009, 11:48:59 PM
Not a message, but each time when I installed it/or uninstall my registration gets messed up.
For example the verification image is broken and my fonts are changed.
Now, I'm not 100% if your mod caused it, but I'll notice it. I removed it for now, if this problem doesn't occur anymore I'll notify you.

imno007 · July 14, 2009, 02:50:50 PM

Hi, I noticed someone who was trying to sign up was getting this message:

Quote8: Undefined index: ! <html><body BGCOLOR='#FFFFaa'>Anonymous hit limit reached for IP Address 209.62.39.20. Why not get an <a href='/getkey.htm'>API key</a>? It's free, and it'll allow you to perform a larger number of bot-screening lookups each day. If you aren't the webmaster for this domain, please tell them about this error message.</body></html> <pre>

Does this just mean they were trying to sign up from an anonymous ip?

JeremyB. · July 14, 2009, 02:55:19 PM

It seems as if theres some kinda limit set for how many times someone can visit that page,well is what it looks like to me anyways, though I'm not the best at this, so He got this error after completing registration?

improv · July 15, 2009, 08:10:53 AM

Hey MrMike,
It might sound weird but it really appears that your mod didn't work properly on my forums.
It messed up the text size on my forum & users where unable to register duo the fact that image verification is gone when installed.

MrMike · July 18, 2009, 04:13:23 PM

What this means is that the forum hit the anonymous IP limit, which is set at 20 per day right now. We figured that would be enough for low volume users who didn't want to get an API Key.

An API Key raises the limit to 300/day, and if necessary we can raise it higher should your forum need it. There's no cost for an API Key, it's just a way to prevent people from hitting our server a billion times a day and keeping other users from the service.

Quote from: imno007 on July 14, 2009, 02:50:50 PM
Hi, I noticed someone who was trying to sign up was getting this message:

Quote8: Undefined index: ! <html><body BGCOLOR='#FFFFaa'>Anonymous hit limit reached for IP Address 209.62.39.20. Why not get an <a href='/getkey.htm'>API key</a>? It's free, and it'll allow you to perform a larger number of bot-screening lookups each day. If you aren't the webmaster for this domain, please tell them about this error message.</body></html> <pre> 

Does this just mean they were trying to sign up from an anonymous ip?

MrMike · July 18, 2009, 04:15:18 PM

I'm not sure what to say; the mod is designed to be very non-intrusive and to make minimal changes to the code (basically a single line). I can't say how it will play or coexist with other mods. You can always get the generic version and use it- it just needs one line added to a single file (register.php) to function.

Quote from: improv on July 15, 2009, 08:10:53 AM
Hey MrMike,
It might sound weird but it really appears that your mod didn't work properly on my forums.
It messed up the text size on my forum & users where unable to register duo the fact that image verification is gone when installed.

Antes · July 18, 2009, 04:45:17 PM

Awsome mod ...

Turkish >

Code Select

$txt['botscout_mail_subject'] = 'Bot Girişimi Durduruldu';
$txt['botscout_mail_body'] = 'Bot kayıt yapmaya çalıştı, fakat girişim durduruldu.' . "\n\n" . 'Bot İsmi: %s' . "\n" . 'Bot E-mail: %s' . "\n" . 'IP Adresi: %s';

might be you add a "sent this user to BotBuster" but this can be abused ...

MrMike · July 18, 2009, 06:20:02 PM

Quote from: Antes on July 18, 2009, 04:45:17 PM
Awsome mod ...

Thank you, I'm glad you like it.

Quote from: Antes on July 18, 2009, 04:45:17 PMmight be you add a "sent this user to BotBuster" but this can be abused ...

Send them to http://www.theybannedme.com/

improv · July 19, 2009, 08:42:53 AM

I'll do a manual install these days and check what could possibly be wrong.

vendejp · August 02, 2009, 09:05:32 PM

I tried an email address I found in hxxp:botscout.com [nonactive] and was able to register in my forum with now problem.

This was the only way to see if it was working, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

News:

BotScout "BotBuster" for SMF 1.x and 2.0 Beta 4