Stop Spammer

[SilverLining]

@snoopy_virtual, lol, that's handy! Is having an explanatory text like that a built-in feature or something you have to modify?

@Can you ask them to type a certain work backwards? Or might a bot get that?

[snoopy_virtual]

The main idea of those Anti-Spam Questions is to have them different in any forum.

Bots can read questions, but they cannot understand them. The only way they can ever give a right answer is if it's already programmed into their database, and a botmaster is never going to program a question and answer inside a bot's database unless is a question that has been repeated in a lot of places.

For example there are a few questions that have been seen a lot of times in a lot of webs:

"What color is an orange"
"1+1="
etc

If you use one of them common questions, there are a lot of probabilities than maybe a bot has already the answer programmed into their database, so what you need to do is to create a brand new question that nobody has used before. It doesn't matter at all how easy is the question. If it's an original one the bots won't be able to answer it.

Is having an explanatory text like that a built-in feature or something you have to modify?

Is not in SMF Anti-Spam Questions by default. I have modified my questions in every one of my forums to be completely different in every forum I administer for the same reason I was explaining before.

If you get me through Skype I will help you to create something original for your forum if you cannot see a way to do it yourself.

[imburner]

I am having a problem loading it on a site that the owners previously attempted to install it on. I have not had the time to try to debug it yet but I wanted to see if there is any issues with database files being thrown off by previous versions or by similar anti spam plugins? I would love this to run on the site as its currently being plagued by spammers. Please advise and thank you for the help!

[SilverLining]

@snoopy_virtual, my forum is fairly niched so if I make a q that has to do with the topic it shouldn't be in any database. But if I feel I need an explanatory text and I can't figure out how to code it myself I will certainly take you up on that offer! =) Btw, this thread and its people rock! I've asked about the ban problem in the general board and days go without answer. Same goes for most mods it seems, it takes a while to answer or you don't really find anyone who can help you because the mod's creator doesn't want to do anything that caters to a specific person's needs. That's understandable of course, but it's so awesome to find people who actually are happy to answer questions and help out as readily as here! =)

[snoopy_virtual]

I am having a problem loading it on a site that the owners previously attempted to install it on. I have not had the time to try to debug it yet but I wanted to see if there is any issues with database files being thrown off by previous versions or by similar anti spam plugins? I would love this to run on the site as its currently being plagued by spammers. Please advise and thank you for the help!

Yes, it can be a big problem if there was already an attempt to install this mod that wasn't completed or fully uninstalled later. You would need to check manually to see if there are pieces of code of this mod left and delete them before trying to install it again.

Also there are other anti spam mods (or pieces of them if they were not uninstalled properly) that can interfere with this mod. But not all of them. Some anti spam mods are fully compatible with this one.

Could you tell me what version of SMF are you using?

Could you also give me a list of the mods installed just now and also another list of the mods that you think were installed but not uninstalled properly?

@snoopy_virtual, my forum is fairly niched so if I make a q that has to do with the topic it shouldn't be in any database. But if I feel I need an explanatory text and I can't figure out how to code it myself I will certainly take you up on that offer! =)

If you already have mod httpBL (if I remember properly you have) you can go to the httpBL help section and you will see when I am connected or not and how can you get me. 

Btw, this thread and its people rock! I've asked about the ban problem in the general board and days go without answer. Same goes for most mods it seems, it takes a while to answer or you don't really find anyone who can help you because the mod's creator doesn't want to do anything that caters to a specific person's needs. That's understandable of course, but it's so awesome to find people who actually are happy to answer questions and help out as readily as here! =)

Well ... Thanks. 

I suppose that's the way I am.  Anyway I don't always answer quickly. Some times I am too busy and don't see a question for a few days. The good thing is I have a good bunch of collaborators always ready to help when I'm not here. 

[imburner]

Unfortunately I already tried to remove and delete the other spam programs but as I suspected traces are still lingering in the database or edited files. Is there a way I can pull this up with the database and manually remove anything? I did take a database backup so I can hunt through there if needed.  Please advise and thanks for the plugin and support!

Currently running.. (which is now allowing the Stop spammer plugin to run half way by halting new members to the awaiting activation stage.) SMF 1.1.14
Mod Name    Version    
1.    SMF 1.0.21 / 1.1.13 Update    1.0    [ List Files ] [ Delete ]
2.    AjaxChat Integration    2.5    [ List Files ] [ Delete ]
3.    Stop Spammer    2.3.9    [ Uninstall ] [ List Files ] [ Delete ]
4.    SMF 1.0.20 / 1.1.12 Update    1.0    [ List Files ] [ Delete ]
5.    SMF 1.0.21 / 1.1.13 Update    1.0    [ List Files ] [ Delete ]
6.    SMF 1.1.14 Update    1.0    [ Uninstall ] [ List Files ] [ Delete ]
7.    SMF 1.0.17 / 1.1.9 / 2.0 RC1 Update    1.0

I am having a problem loading it on a site that the owners previously attempted to install it on. I have not had the time to try to debug it yet but I wanted to see if there is any issues with database files being thrown off by previous versions or by similar anti spam plugins? I would love this to run on the site as its currently being plagued by spammers. Please advise and thank you for the help!

[snoopy_virtual]

As I can see in that list, most of the packages you have are only updates from one version of SMF to a newer one.

The only problem I can see there is the "SMF 1.0.21 / 1.1.13 Update" that appears twice in the list (#1 and #5) but I suppose that must be an internal error in the package manager and I don't think you should worry about it too much, as you have already applied the update to 1.1.14 (#6) apparently without problems.

I wonder though what happened with the updates to 1.1.10 and 1.1.11. I can see the update to 1.1.9 and from 1.1.12 onwards, but not those 2.

So really the only mods you have (as far as the package manager can see) are "AjaxChat Integration 2.5" and "Stop Spammer 2.3.9".

As you said, Stop Spammer 2.3.9 is not working properly, and I can also see that AjaxChat Integration must also have some kind of problem because it doesn't have the [ Uninstall ] option that all the packages properly installed have. As far as I know that mod has no problems with Stop Spammer, but if it's not installed properly it may have some unexpected issues.

On top of that, (as you said) you have "already tried to remove and delete the other spam programs" but as they don't appear in that list, I don't know which ones are them, so I cannot tell you exactly what changes they could have done to your database if you don't tell me their names.

So if that forum was mine I will do a drastic clean-up to both the files inside the forum (doing a full upgrade to 1.1.14) and the database (doing also there a full upgrade to 1.1.14 and a manual check up looking for all the changes every mod may have done).

The changes inside the database are not so important though. I would leave that for later and concentrate first in the full upgrade (both in the files and the database).

Let's go step by step.

The first thing you need to do if you want to do this drastic clean-up is start with all the files inside your forum:

1.- Go to the proper place and download the SMF 1.1.14 - upgrade original package.

2.- If you are using the default Theme, the newer version is already included in that package, but if you are using any other Theme, you need to go to the place where you got it from and download a version made specially for SMF 1.1.14

If nobody have done an updated version for your Theme you cannot continue doing this full upgrade. In that case stop here, don't do the rest of the steps and contact me to tell me what Theme is that. Even better, send me the Theme you are using by email and I will try to update it for you.

3.- If you are using the default Theme or if you have found an updated version for the Theme you are using you can continue, so put your forum in "maintenance mode" so nothing get changed in the database while you are working on this upgrade.

4.a.- Upload all the files and folders inside the SMF 1.1.14 - upgrade package to your forum overwriting all the files there (to be sure there are no more edits made by any mod and that all the files are like they would be in a fresh install).

4.b.- If you are not using the default Theme delete first all the files in the Theme you are using and upload all the new ones in the updated version you got. (If you just over-write the files there you may leave some unwanted ones that can cause problems).

5.- Visit with your browser the file upgrade.php (it's one of the files inside the package you have just uploaded to your forum) and execute it to be sure everything inside your database is up-to-date as well.

6.- When you finish with that file upgrade.php delete it from the server together with all the files related to it (all the files like "upgrade.whatever.sql").

7.- Delete all the packages you have in the Package Manager. All the packages to update from one version of SMF to a newer one are no use now that you have a fresh copy of 1.1.14. And the 2 mods you have there ("AjaxChat Integration 2.5" and "Stop Spammer 2.3.9") may be corrupted.

8.- Get a fresh copy of the latest versions of both mods (checking first they are compatible with SMF 1.1.14) and install them again. The latest version of Stop Spammer is 3.2.9 and it's compatible with SMF 1.1.14 but the latest version of AjaxChat Integration is 3.2.1 and as far as I can see is not compatible with SMF 1.1.14. If I were you I would ask the author before installing it.

9.- Take your forum out of the "maintenance mode".

10.a.- If mod Stop Spammer is working now properly (go to admin => members => registration => settings and scroll down to see if there is a green sign saying so) relax, have a beer and be happy. 

10.b.- If it's not working properly, don't relax, nor have a beer and let me know what's wrong.

[imburner]

Alright so the forum is live so I was hoping to create a fresh install and update the files and database?

1: Create a new forum with 1.1.14 or the 2.0 as recommended

2: The theme I believe is custom or possibly a hacked up theme to meet requirements on the site.

3: Import files and database

Pmed you the site and eagerly waiting your response. Thanks for the excellent level of support!

[snoopy_virtual]

There are a couple of things I don't understand.

Why did you send me a link to your forum?

Were you hoping that I may recognize the name of the Theme you are using just looking at it?

I don't know how many millions of Themes are there, but I can assure you there are a lot of them, and it's a lot more difficult if it's a Theme that has been created expressly for that forum. 

I was telling you the process you should have done when you were upgrading a live forum to 1.1.14 because it's obvious it's not working properly. (Don't understand why you said your forum is live, because all the forums I work with are live, and that's why one of the points I was telling you was to put it in maintenance mode while working on the process).

But it doesn't matter if you are going to do that process or if you want to do a fresh install. In both cases you will need to use a Theme that it's made for the version of SMF you are using. So you still will have exactly the same problem in both cases.

Now let's try to analyze the 3 steps you want to do:

1: Create a new forum with 1.1.14 or the 2.0 as recommended

It's up to you if you want to go to 1.1.14 or 2.0

In my case I am upgrading all my forums to 1.1.14 (haven't finished yet though, I have upgraded only 3 of them and the rest are still in 1.1.13) and I am not going to upgrade any of them to 2.0 because I prefer to wait a few months until Wedge is finished. I don't see any point upgrading all my forums from 1.1.14 to 2.0 and then upgrade them all again in a few months to Wedge. For me it makes more sense to wait and then upgrade all of them directly from 1.1.14 to Wedge in just one process.

But if you are not planning yo move to Wedge, they say that 2.0 is supposed to be better than 1.1.14 but I cannot say for sure because I haven't try it yet.

Anyway even if you are planning to move to Wedge later, if you are going to do a fresh install instead of an upgrade, I suppose it would make more sense to do it with 2.0

2: The theme I believe is custom or possibly a hacked up theme to meet requirements on the site.

I have already talked about that. Whatever you do, you need a Theme made specifically for the version you are using.

3: Import files and database

Either if you do the proper full upgrade I recommended you, or if you do a fresh install, importing the files from the old forum to the new forum will make no sense at all. Those files have mistakes and the reason to do a full upgrade or a fresh install is to be sure all the files are the way they are supposed to be.

Importing the database from the old forum to the new forum, yes it's needed if you are doing a fresh install. It's not needed if you are doing the full upgrade I was talking about yesterday because in that case there is only one forum and one database.

Anyway in both cases you will need to clean the database of all the rubbish left from all the mods installed and uninstalled wrongly.

If you know the names of all the mods, that's a very easy process, because you just need to look in the installer of every mod and see what changes it's supposed to do in the database.

Even if you only know the names of a few mods, you can try just to undo the changes those few mods did and it should be enough, because most of the problems with mods uninstalled wrongly are inside the files. I have only seen a couple of mods that make dangerous changes to the database. Most of those changes are harmless if you leave them there after uninstalling a mod.

Anyway if you want to do a fresh 2.0 install may be you won't need to clean the database.

I left the SMF support team last December and I have been working with Wedge since then, so I don't know exactly what they have been doing here, but I suppose they must have done a kind of script to import a database from a 1.1.x forum to a 2.0 forum extracting only the good data and leaving the rubbish behind.

At least that's what we are doing in Wedge with our scripts to import the data from a forum 1.1.x to Wedge or a 2.0 to Wedge.

So, if they have already done a script to do that, you will just need to apply it.

But you will need to ask somebody in the SMF support team where is that script and how it works, as I don't know it.

[imburner]

Alright I am slightly confused now. I went to the database to look for additional strings to delete but have no clue where to start. The old database I was going to look at for the mods apparently is corrupt since I was backing it up from the smf forum and not through phpmyadmin at the time.

Please let me know the easiest way possible to accomplish this, and thank you for the time.

[snoopy_virtual]

Either I haven't explained myself correctly or you didn't understand.

When you have problems with mods uninstalled wrongly the database is not important at all, the main problems are always in the files.

To clean the files you either need to do a full upgrade, following all the steps I told you a few posts ago or do a new clean install.

Have you already decided which one are you going to do?

And anyway, to help you better with this process you need to tell me the names of the mods you had problems with. Without knowing those names it's impossible to know where to look into the database. I already asked you that a few times and you didn't answer yet.

Is it a big secret or something?

[imburner]

I do not know the names of the old mods as I either deleted or uninstalled them and not sure where to look to see. There is no secrets here other than the url which I did not want to post publicly.

I will try to disable the theme and upgrade per your suggestion above, but want to get full clarification before I end up trashing a site that people are using currently.

[snoopy_virtual]

I started with SMF so many years ago that sometimes I forget how it was for me when I was a newbie.

Re-reading again everything I was telling you in the previous posts I just realized half of it (if not all) may sounds to you as Chinese. 

Maybe it would be better to do this talking directly using microphones. Do you use Skype, Yahoo or MSN?

The people who use my other mod httpBL have inside it a small module that tells them what I am doing at any moment and if I am connected to talk with me. As you haven't got that mod, you can see if I am connected or not here:

http://www.snoopyvirtualstudio.com/contact.php?language=english

I have even added there a "Time Table". 

All the upgrade process I was telling you may look complicated, but it's really easy (once you know what you are doing) and the only step that may take some time is uploading all the files via FTP. The rest of the steps shouldn't take you more than a few minutes really.

[imburner]

You are a excellent coder that showed me many tricks yesterday, and I thank you greatly!

[snoopy_virtual]

You are welcome.

I told you doing it through Skype and TeamViewer it was a lot easier. 

[thechronic2001]

just a update,

been using this for a while now,,, excellent mod, nice job guys, the amount of spammers ive prevented getting into my forum is unreal, probably more blocked than i have registered members

thanks guys, keep up the good work

[scythe944]

This is a great mod, but ever since upgrading to 2.0 Gold, I don't think it has worked.  Is there going to be an update soon I hope?

[Kindred]

works fine for me on 2.0 final

[Nosy]

Hi,

I've read a lot in this thread, but can't find a hint for my problem.

Installed version is SMF 1.1.14
- as Test Forum
- the (real) Forum

All Modifikations are first tested in the Test Forum and afterwards implementated in the Real Forum
Installed Mods are:
- AjaxChat Integration    3.2.1   
- Tapatalk SMF Plugin    1.2.0   
- Aeva Media add German    1.1b   
- Skype Integration   2.1.2   
- Simple Image Upload    1.1.0   
- SMF 1.1.14 Update    1.0
- Aeva Media    1.3   
- httpBL    2.5.1   
and a
- Countdown (PHP Code Snippet)

Today I parsed the Mod Stop Spammer, changed all files manually, expanded the smf_settings table, get the API from StopForumSpam ...
=> in Test Forum it works perfectly
=> in the Real Forum if I go to : Admin > Members > Awaiting Activation or to if I go to : Admin > Members >Show Members
I receive the error Message
"Unknown column 'is_spammer' in 'field list'
Datei: /.../Forum/Sources/ManageMembers.php
Zeile: 703 " (Awaiting Activation)

or

"Unknown column 'is_spammer' in 'field list'
Datei: /.../Forum/Sources/ManageMembers.php
Zeile: 515 " (show Members)

Hope I get a hint here.

Greetings
Claudia

[snoopy_virtual]

Try uploading this file to the root of your forum an execute it.
(Just visit it with your browser going to hxxp://<your_site>/<your_forum>/install_1.php)

It looks like you did the changes in the database properly inside the test forum but not in the real one. This file will tell you if the changes were done properly or not and will do them if needed.

NOTICE:
This file will work only in SMF 1.1.x (the one Nosy is using) not in 2.0