Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

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alvaro
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by alvaro »

Thanks on this how-to post:

I am brand new to the phpBB code as an administrator, and the amount of spam we received was driving me insane :evil: . After running the Textual Confirmation MOD, ALL SPAM via bots stopped completely. I have not received one request for logon from any spammer, and all my new users have been able to figure out the confirmation question and answer. I will probably return the forum back to the users without having to go through me for authentication. thx again :D
hamsrfd
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by hamsrfd »

I have successfully followed your instructions and I have no spam. However I still get many peopel registering on my site. Is there a way to easily delet them without having to type in their username?
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ric323
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by ric323 »

hamsrfd wrote:I have successfully followed your instructions and I have no spam. However I still get many peopel registering on my site. Is there a way to easily delet them without having to type in their username?
The first post wrote:
Section 4: Miscellaneous
  1. SPAM removal tools
    Admin Toolkit (mirror) - Allows you to mass delete users. Users should never be deleted straight from the database using tools such as phpMyAdmin.
The Knowledge Base contains solutions to many common problems!
How to fix "Doesn't have a default value" and "Incorrect string value: xxx for column 'post_text' " errors.
How to do a clean re-install of the latest phpBB3 version.
Problems with permissions? Read phpBB3 Permissions
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HdLounge
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by HdLounge »

I found this MOD very helpful and love the idea of stopping the human spammers (and bots) from signing up on the forums at Heroes Lounge. It was a very tedious job, adding email addresses and user names to the ban control list, (which didn't really do anything but waste my time).

I was at my wits end, until I found this MOD and installed it today. So first things first, thank you for the easy-to-understand MOD and guide to get it installed.

However... ONE PROBLEM:

In my haste to get it copied over to our website, I accidentally copied the usercp_register.php file into the main forum directory. Once I noticed what I did, I immediately copied the revised one into the forum/includes/ directory -- where it belongs.

However, I only made a backup copy of the original usercp_register.php file that resides in the /includes/ directory and did NOT make a back up of the usercp_register.php file that was originally installed into the main forum directory when the software was installed on the website.

Is this a major OOPS or what?

Do I need to download a copy of the 2.0.22 files again and get that original PHP file back into my main forum directory, or can the revised RAC MOD one stay there? Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
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RMcGirr83
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by RMcGirr83 »

you don't need a file called usercp_register.php in the root of your forum (where index.php, memberlist.php and viewtopic.php resides), unless you have something else going on with your files.
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HdLounge
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by HdLounge »

RMcGirr83 wrote:you don't need a file called usercp_register.php in the root of your forum (where index.php, memberlist.php and viewtopic.php resides), unless you have something else going on with your files.
Thanks for the heads up RMcGirr83!

I had already figured this out, after transferring the file to the forum/includes/ directory and then deleting the file from my main forum directory. Tested the registration form and it worked like a charm, so I knew right then, it was just a mishap on my part, putting it in the wrong folder.

All is well now -- but thank you so much for responding so quickly!
Speedwright
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by Speedwright »

Many, many thanks for providing this information. Being a newbie I had to do some research to figure out how to mod the correct pages. Needless to say it took me well over the estimated 3 minutes however all is working great. My next mod should be a lot easier. :)
Thanks again,
Speedwright
webbydu
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by webbydu »

Not sure where to put this question ...
I've put this RAC mod on my bulletin board and am getting the following error message when anyone goes into register ... not sure why this is showing up. Can someone assist?

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '}' in /home/grands/public_html/phpBB/includes/template.php(127) : eval()'d code on line 72


The bulletin board can be seen at http://www.grg.org.nz/phpBB/index.php

We are getting hit by many spammers who try to register, but never get activated (we don't activate them) - but we are sick of them!!

Any help greatly appreciated. I formally and humbly apologise if I've have erred in protocol and put this question in the wrong forum. :?

Regards
Liz (in New Zealand)
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ric323
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by ric323 »

As with any MOD, the correct place to ask for support is in the release topic for that MOD.
i.e. http://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopi ... 6&t=552845

You have made an error editing a template file. Have a read of Knowledge Base - Parse error: eval()'d code
If that doesn't help you find it, please ask more questions in the release topic.
The Knowledge Base contains solutions to many common problems!
How to fix "Doesn't have a default value" and "Incorrect string value: xxx for column 'post_text' " errors.
How to do a clean re-install of the latest phpBB3 version.
Problems with permissions? Read phpBB3 Permissions
snapper25
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by snapper25 »

I also recently installed PHPBB. I only have around 10 users so far in my forum but i get at least two spam registrations/posts daily. I've been googling for info to stop the spam but this is by far the best I've found. Thanks for putting it all together! :)
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HdLounge
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by HdLounge »

snapper25 wrote:I also recently installed PHPBB. I only have around 10 users so far in my forum but i get at least two spam registrations/posts daily. I've been googling for info to stop the spam but this is by far the best I've found. Thanks for putting it all together! :)
It has been two weeks since I installed this MOD and I have not had any new spam registrations since.

A refreshing change, no doubt about it!
poethouse
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by poethouse »

Toolkit not working - Please help - I'm new

This is my 2nd post. I am a newbie with very little forum experience. I posted this (apparently in the wrong section) and took the time to acknowledge it wasn't in the right spot and the welcome I received was to tell me I didn't post in the right spot and my post was locked. Thanks for the warm welcome to the person who did that without suggesting exactly where I might go or moving my post (which is what should have happened). I am hoping that others here might be more welcoming and supportive. Below is the post I created last night. I would appreciate any feedback or support one could give beyond measure. I don't knwo what I'm doing wrong. Thanks in advance for any constructive, supportive responses.

Warm regards,
Kevin

Greetings:

I'm new to this forum and set up a forum on my website a while back. It has 1430 Russian Rx Members with no posts. I want to do a mass deletion to clean them out so I downloaded the phpbb tool kit and thought I followed directions. I uploaded it to my forum directory where my files are housed but I keep getting this error when I click on the URL. Supposedly when I click on the URL I'm supposed to be able to use the tool kit. Can someone help me or point me in the right direction. I'm not sure if I even posted in the right spot. I have phpbb 2.0 something or other. I have no idea what I'm doing. Any help would be great. Please respond in a manner in which my simple brain will understand. I have virtually no experience with websites or forums. Below is the error I receive when I try the toolkit URL. Thanks for your guidance.

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_ENCAPSED_AND_WHITESPACE, expecting T_STRING or T_VARIABLE or T_NUM_STRING in /home/kevinr/public_html/Forum/toolkit.php on line 75


Warm regards,

Kevin
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ric323
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by ric323 »

Kevin, how exactly did you get the toolkit, and upload it to your website?

Please do me a favour, on your web server, rename it to toolkit.txt, and post the url (or PM it to me if you're worried about publishing the address).
The Knowledge Base contains solutions to many common problems!
How to fix "Doesn't have a default value" and "Incorrect string value: xxx for column 'post_text' " errors.
How to do a clean re-install of the latest phpBB3 version.
Problems with permissions? Read phpBB3 Permissions
surekha
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by surekha »

in which category my site will go
lots of porn and pharmacy bots and users scubscribing, i have made registration to
Enable account activation > Admin
Enable Visual Confirmation > Yes
Allow automatic logins> Yes
but still lots of users registering daily. forum is newly started and spam coming, please see the list

< Link removed - not required for responce : ChrisRLG>
<Edit - woops - Just seen ric's post - I must read the whole topic next time : ChrisRLG : Sorry did not save the link>

i am manually removing their details but bored of doing this daily.

1. users remain in the database even if i dont accept them as registered users when i receive mail
2. no option to delete the user
3. is it possible to deny user request as i receive mail for registration
4. is it possible to select many users and delete at a time
Last edited by ChrisRLG on Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Link removed - was not required : ChrisRLG
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RMcGirr83
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Re: Preventing SPAM - Bots and Humans [*Read the First Post!*]

Post by RMcGirr83 »

The admin toolkit in ric's sig will allow you to delete multiple users at once.

To stop the spam bots from registering in the first place use either the RAC Mod or the Security Question mod in the first post of this thread.
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