Usering users more then one time using same ip address

[bigjoe11a]

Hi everyone. I been having some problems with the same users registering on my board more then one time using the same ip address.  I looked as far as I could and I didn't see any thing that can stop it from happening. So I was thinking maybe some one here mite have an idea on what to do.

Joe

[Illori]

are you actually using SMF 2.1?

[bigjoe11a]

At the bottom it says SMF 2.0.11 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines, so No to your answer.

[br360]

There really is no way for someone to register again with the exact same username of someone already registered on your forum, so when you say they are the same users, are these legit users or just spammers using similar usernames? (br360, br36o, etc.) Have you checked the IP addresses to see if they are in fact spammers?

Try running their ip address through http://whatismyipaddress.com/ip-lookup

[bigjoe11a]

There really is no way for someone to register again with the exact same username of someone already registered on your forum, so when you say they are the same users, are these legit users or just spammers using similar usernames? (br360, br36o, etc.) Have you checked the IP addresses to see if they are in fact spammers?

Try running their ip address through http://whatismyipaddress.com/ip-lookup

I mean that they register in different names with the same IP Address. I wanted a way to stop this. It would stop spammers from creating more then one account. I do ban the user names, IP addresses and email address and the accounts gets deleted. It's just I shouldn't need to do this. There has to be a way to limit only one account per IP Address.

[br360]

Are you sure these are spammers and not legit users? More and more people are using mobile devices, and since multiple members from around the country can use the exact same IP address if they are on the same mobile network, banning by IP address has the potential to ban many real users. Also, the more bans you have, the better chance you have of potentially slowing down your forum quite a bit.

First thing you should consider is checking to see if a member's IP address is a legit one or is in fact a spammer. Try copy and pasting their IP into the link I posted above, and it should give you some fairly accurate info. You can also try running their IP address and email address through stop forum spam- http://www.stopforumspam.com/

If you are getting a lot of spammers, take a look at this link for some really good tips to minimize spam registrations- http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Spam_-_my_forum_is_flooded_with_spam,_what_can_I_do

[chrishicks]

I'm guessing this is what bigjoe is talking about:

https://i.imgur.com/Bc2Y3SE.png

I see this on my forum every so often. Install this and it will at least cut back on them fully registering:

http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=1547

[bigjoe11a]

I'm guessing this is what bigjoe is talking about:

https://i.imgur.com/Bc2Y3SE.png

I see this on my forum every so often. Install this and it will at least cut back on them fully registering:

http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=1547

Yes, This is what I'm talking about. I installed honypot ok and the mod required another mod called http:BL and I installed that one. How ever when I tried to install the mod stop spam. It won't work with the version of SMF I have, is 2.0.11. and That mod only works with SMF 1.1.1 - 1.1.12
SMF 2 RC4. When I try and install it.It gives me page errors. I would have to edit the pages by hand. and at my age. I just can't do that any more. Is this mod required for what you wanted me to do or ?..

Let me know

[bigjoe11a]

are you actually using SMF 2.1?

No, I'm not. I'm  using 2.0.11. and 2.1 is still in beta and most of the mods I have more then likely won't work with that version of SMF

[chrishicks]

BigJoe,

I have Stop Spammer(the mod in the link) installed on 2.0.11 and I didn't have to do any edits at all. It just installed. I don't use http:BL though so I'm not sure if that may make a difference with the install. Now with Stop Spammer installed it will check every new registration against the stopforumspam.com database for username, email and IP without any input from you. I just visit the awaiting approval area in the members area in the admin panel once/twice a day and approve/reject as needed. You can also run a manual check on already registered members but that would be up to you.

Another thing is to make use of the built-in Anti-Spam feature(Admin-->Config-->Security and Moderation-->Anti-Spam-->Verification Questions) by adding a bunch of random questions for people to answer. I currently have about 10 different questions and only ask 1 during registration and I don't see many spammers even making it to the Stop Spammer mod. Just don't use questions like "what is 1+1?" or anything that can be Googled. Hope this helps.

[bigjoe11a]

BigJoe,

I have Stop Spammer(the mod in the link) installed on 2.0.11 and I didn't have to do any edits at all. It just installed. I don't use http:BL though so I'm not sure if that may make a difference with the install. Now with Stop Spammer installed it will check every new registration against the stopforumspam.com database for username, email and IP without any input from you. I just visit the awaiting approval area in the members area in the admin panel once/twice a day and approve/reject as needed. You can also run a manual check on already registered members but that would be up to you.

Another thing is to make use of the built-in Anti-Spam feature(Admin-->Config-->Security and Moderation-->Anti-Spam-->Verification Questions) by adding a bunch of random questions for people to answer. I currently have about 10 different questions and only ask 1 during registration and I don't see many spammers even making it to the Stop Spammer mod. Just don't use questions like "what is 1+1?" or anything that can be Googled. Hope this helps.

Ok, so I huess I don't need the other mod, That's fine. and I'll check the settings and so on. Thanks for your help

[bigjoe11a]

I'm still getting a lot of users registering and using the same IP Address. There has to be a way to stop them from doing this. and as soon as they get registered. The spam and crap out of my board. I did want to ask.

How can I tell if a user has passed email validation. Sense this is required before they can even post. Some thing in the users account needs to state if email validation has been completed. And the user is required to post 25 posts before approval is not required. That's what I have setup.

1) I need a way to stop users from registering using the same IP address more then once.
2) A way to tell if they been threw Email Validation.
3) a way to delete the account in 24 hours if email validation doesn't get completed.

I need to see if there's a mod that can do all of this.

Any help would be great.

[Kindred]

For item 1... No, you don't.   What you actually need, is to stop spammers.  That has very little, if anything, to do with ip addresses.

For item 2... You can turn on email validation in the registration settings. However, again, that is basically useless against spammers, since they can and do validate their emails.

For item 3... There is no automated way in smf currently.

What you ACTUALLY need to do is add good questions to your registration.   Read the wiki regarding spam.

[tpgames]

Sometimes, you might have one household with two members who both love your forum. However, assuming that is not the case:

On a board that has enough help: What I have done to stop spammers from getting in at all, is to have each member have to request to join, and require each member to have a friend already on the forum to sponsor them. I then manually register each person. By "I", I really mean moderators who I've given the access too.

I also have ticked the box to deny anyone from being able to register.

Another Idea:
Have a series of 10 questions that they have to find the answer to, in order to register. Most spammers are not going to take the time to do a series of 10 trivia questions requiring googling the answer to. If these questions reflect what your member base should know - themed to the forum's purpose - then it should be easier for the true fans to sign up, while hopefully, making the spammers want to give it a pass. You do want the questions to be something your users could answer. Thus too geeky may not work for most forums. And, the sample questions I posted below will NOT work in 99.99% of the forums. I only posted them for humour effect. 

I used to have fan fiction site that was word of mouth only, that kept getting spammed by two spammers. They were crackers who would just change IP addresses and spoof using many different computers.  Because that site was only meant for our friends, I just deleted any thing related to "register here" and that stopped all spamming.

Lastly, two of the questions I used to use (on a forum where this could be used safely):
If  Y + M = S, what is Y, M and S?   Y, M and S actually stands for words that are key to the forum (and will not be posted here, because I won't post actual religious stuff.) It is also in a different language that was transliterated into English.
or
What is the Morality of Aspiration as divided by the Morality of Duty? Answer: Minority and Majority in peace together.

[Kindred]

you should have 10-20 questions in the pool... but you only have to ask 2-3 for the registration

Since it will cycle through the pool of questions, the spammers can not just document and auto-fill.

And the questions should be specific to the forum niche.
(for example, "What color was Luke's lightsaber in ROTJ" is a pretty good question (but not great, because it can be easily googled))

[bigjoe11a]

Thanks for the answers. How ever not one will help. I have one person registering with the same IP Address. I'll have to ask for a mod for this. I don't know of any way to stop them from creating more then one account. Blocking users from creating an 2nd account with the same Ip Address would stop them from making too many accounts.

I have honeypot installed and httpBL installed and setup. I don't know what it does. I hope at some time this works.
Is there a mod that can read the post being posted. Then if words were fount in the post. It could be aborted for that reason. ? I'll have to ask about that.

Thanks for your help.

[Kindred]

I don't think that you are reading what we are writing...

If it is an actual spammer, then blocking the IP address is absolutely useless.
Utterly a waste of time.
Spammers can and do change their ip in seconds, when they get a banned message.
It will also affect real users who are either in the same household, of register using a mobile device, which then passes the ip to someone else with a new connection.

In other words, what you THINK is the answer is utterly and absolutely wrong thinking and you need to throw out your assumptions and actually read what we have written.

You need to get a good set of questions. That will stop your spam problem in a heartbeat.


If you are talking about a single individual... Not a spammer, per say,  but a user who is posting useless content with new accounts...  Then just ban the IP address and be done.

[bigjoe11a]

I don't think that you are reading what we are writing...

If it is an actual spammer, then blocking the IP address is absolutely useless.
Utterly a waste of time.
Spammers can and do change their ip in seconds, when they get a banned message.
It will also affect real users who are either in the same household, of register using a mobile device, which then passes the ip to someone else with a new connection.

In other words, what you THINK is the answer is utterly and absolutely wrong thinking and you need to throw out your assumptions and actually read what we have written.

You need to get a good set of questions. That will stop your spam problem in a heartbeat.


If you are talking about a single individual... Not a spammer, per say,  but a user who is posting useless content with new accounts...  Then just ban the IP address and be done.

Yes I did and not one of them works. Your saying add questions. I don't have too. They all ready are. I guess httpBL adding 3 in for me. and as for users wanting to use the same pc for register. The idea is to stop that. I need to show you screen shots. I get so many users registering on the same IP Address. Then after they register. in a day or 2, They spam the crap out of my board. What your saying doesn't work. They all ways can answer the questions and register. Some of the accounts I have date back to 2006. and they never been used. That's because they use those accounts to spam with.

Sorry. Another idea is needed

[Kindred]

If you have questions, and the spammers still get through, then that indicates that your questions are poor, easily answered by bots or have been documented.

Switch out your questions.

What you are asking for is useless.


I have not had a single spammer on several popular forum sites in several years now.

[bigjoe11a]

If you have questions, and the spammers still get through, then that indicates that your questions are poor, easily answered by bots or have been documented.

Switch out your questions.

What you are asking for is useless.


I have not had a single spammer on several popular forum sites in several years now.

Why don't you have a look your self. http://www.df-barracks.com/index.php?action=register

I just check the logs from httpBL and there's a lot going on. Just people registering more then one time using the same IP Address.

[a10]

Forget about ip's. Have tried that route in the past, even .htaccess'ing all of cn, ru, ua etc, too much to keep control over and ultimately made more trouble than good. Also, Captcha is useless.

A dozen or more good questions, 3 active = zero spam registrations. Using 'Admin approval' on top and checking suspicious ip\email will stop any human bots (just 2 or 3 a year here). Am using no other anti-spam measures.

The system on my forum, many years without a single auto-bot registration

[Kindred]

yup... those questions are pretty much useless.

[chrishicks]

Joe,

Just a suggestion but if you attach your managemembers.php file to the Stop Spammer topic I'm sure someone would make the manual changes for you so you can use the mod. There is a good group of people here that are willing to help if you let them. They have helped me numerous times through the years.

And in regards to your registration questions. Are those the only 3 you have? I refreshed the registration page a good dozen times and they never changed. If that's the case they've most likely been figured out and need to be changed like others have said. Make sure to look at the link a10 provided as that is the method I use and it makes a huge difference.

[tpgames]

In addition to having a good list of 20 questions that your users can figure out the answer too...

You set up a different forum in a sub-domain where by all people who want to register must go to.
They then have to post a legit post. And, if they pass inspection - have a different IP address, then...
"you" manually add them to your forum, and send them the details.

This will stop all spammers because they will not be able to spam your board. They will be sent
to another forum to spam. I would just explain that only legit users will be allowed full access to the forum.
I would also have this forum be the same theme as the real forum. This way, it looks very legit.

You could also have the requirement that 3 legit users have to sponsor a new person, in order for them to get a invite to join. You would still be manually adding them to your forum. 

[Kindred]

tpgames -- that is an incredibly time-consuming and unnecessary way to do things.

As I said - I have not had a single spammer in several years -- and there is nothing like the overhead that you suggest.

[bigjoe11a]

Then all of you have me so lost I don't know what to do. I keep getting emails letting me know some one registered. and they have to be people, Right? Well the next day the start spamming my board. I have to go in and ban them, and then I just delete the account.

Most of these people must be new to spamming or making money on it. what ever comes 1st. The only problem I have is that I need some way to keep them off.

I will try your ideas and let you know. All so my ManageMembers.php is attached. So I don't know is any one can edit it so that it will work.

Joe

[Kindred]

your best defense is to add a pool of 20 questions, asking 2-3 of them per registration.

some good mods are
Stop Spammer
Bad bevaior + httpBL

You can also install the anti-spam link mod...   which can be set to prevent people with fewer than X posts from posting links.

when a mod fails to install automatically, it's usually because another mod has already modified that section of code.
In general, it's a straight forward task to find the code spot and add the mod changes.
Unfortunately, I am accessing from mobile, so I can not edit your file for you.

[bigjoe11a]

your best defense is to add a pool of 20 questions, asking 2-3 of them per registration.

some good mods are
Stop Spammer
Bad bevaior + httpBL

You can also install the anti-spam link mod...   which can be set to prevent people with fewer than X posts from posting links.

when a mod fails to install automatically, it's usually because another mod has already modified that section of code.
In general, it's a straight forward task to find the code spot and add the mod changes.
Unfortunately, I am accessing from mobile, so I can not edit your file for you.

What I did was sense your last message 6 more people have registered on my board. 3 or them spammed the crap out of it. and what I decided to do it change the registration on  it and change it to "Approval by Admin". So I'll have to do it by hand.

until someone comes up with a better idea. The problem with adding 20 questions for users to register. Most of them won't even bother. even the ones that are good posters. So I don't think that's a good idea. Are you still even getting people to register.

[Kindred]

you are, again, not reading carefully.

you need a POOL of 20 questions.
You only ask 2-3 at registration.

The pool roates the questions which prevents the spam bots from cataloguing the answers and then auto-answering them after that....

[chrishicks]

You don't need to have all 20 questions showing at once. On my forum I currently have around a dozen questions(I'm still adding them every so often) and I only ask one during registration. The idea for 20(or even more) is that they will rotate so people won't get the same question every time they try to register. When I first updated to 2.0 I only used a single simple question(last word in my websites name) which stopped spammers from fully registering but after about a week or two they "cracked" my answer and then the swarm started up again. At that point I took some time and looked at better options for my questions. That's when I discovered a10's post(the link he posted above) and added about 6 or 7 questions in the way he described and my spam registrations pretty much stopped. I'll still see maybe 1 or 2 get through in a months time but then they get caught by the Stop Spammer mod so they never get to post anything on the forum anyway.

[bigjoe11a]

No wonder I was having a hard time under standing you. Ok, I didn't know that the questions can rotate. How ever I did add some more questions and tried it. and the questions don't seem to be rotating. Is there a check box I need to check, Or does it rotate all by it self.

And I could use some more sample questions.

Joe

[Kindred]

Enter a bunch of espionage, but leave the number count at 2

[chrishicks]

For a few questions you could try something like:

Enter only the letters in the following: 38Au627bz - to which the answer would be aubz (the question type a10 recommended)

You could randomly make up 5-6 more in a few minutes time. I also avoid using 1, I and l in my questions of this type because not everyone has perfect vision(I sure don't) and may see the wrong character. They aren't related to your forum but the above works wonders. And I'm seeing rotating questions on your registration page. I saw 7 or 8 different questions with about 15 page refreshes.

[bigjoe11a]

I tried to refresh my page and nothing happen. As long as your saying it works. that's fine. Thanks for the help,