Disabling user registrations


Moderators: Omphalos, Freakzilla, ᴶᵛᵀᴬ

User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

So we have an interesting option for spam control that I'd like to try. It's a graphical (mouse-driven) dealie where you are presented with a list of terms, with a question on how to filter the list. Here's a demo:

http://www.derky.nl/sortables/posting.p ... ly&f=2&t=1

What I'd like to do is have you guys come up with a list of canonical Dune characters that most enthusiasts would know, and a list of non-Dune SF characters. We would present that to a potential registrant with the question, "which of these characters were in Dune?" I'm thinking pretty obvious answers that a machine would have problems with, since it wouldn't understand the question. An example list would be Paul Atredies, Vladimir Harkonnen, Luke Skywalker, Jean-Luc Picard, and Helen-Gaius Monyhan.
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

Omphalos wrote:Honestly, this onslaught is kind of recent. I used to weedwhack the user registrations, and in fact did it a few months ago and there were only a few new registrants. Maybe a page each time.

But after that, we got bombed. Not sure why.
It's happening because I finally got around to unfucking mail coming from the server. :D
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
User avatar
Omphalos
Inglorious Bastard
Posts: 6677
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 11:07
Location: The Mighty Central Valley of California
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by Omphalos »

ragabash wrote:
Omphalos wrote:Honestly, this onslaught is kind of recent. I used to weedwhack the user registrations, and in fact did it a few months ago and there were only a few new registrants. Maybe a page each time.

But after that, we got bombed. Not sure why.
It's happening because I finally got around to unfucking mail coming from the server. :D
What I am talking about has got nothing to do with the email, Bro. I think. What I am saying is that a few months ago all of a sudden we had a jillion new members waiting in the queue for approval, and all of them were spam accounts.
Image

The New & Improved Book Review Blog

Goodnight Golden Path!
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by Freakzilla »

The emails are certainly working now, it's a constant flood. I just ignore them then delete the lot daily. There's no way I could sort through even a fraction of them.
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
ᴶᵛᵀᴬ
Joseph-Vintimille Tariki Askaris
Posts: 309
Joined: 11 Mar 2009 10:54
Location: Dune Jacurutu Ф TΛU
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ᴶᵛᵀᴬ »

Guys, spam is no more an issue at all in the new board version. The Test Forum is still in development. I beg your indulgence and a little more patience. Maybe just 2 or 3 days and you'll see 8)
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by Freakzilla »

ᴶᵛᵀᴬ wrote:Guys, spam is no more an issue at all in the new board version. The Test Forum is still in development. I beg your indulgence and a little more patience. Maybe just 2 or 3 days and you'll see 8)
:dance:
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
Serkanner
Administrator
Posts: 2974
Joined: 17 Feb 2008 18:44
Location: Den Haag - The Netherlands

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by Serkanner »

:banana-blonde:
"... the mystery of life isn't a problem to solve but a reality to experience."

“There is no escape—we pay for the violence of our ancestors.”

Sandrider: "Keith went to Bobo's for a weekend of drinking, watched some DVDs,
and wrote a Dune Novel."
georgiedenbro
Posts: 1035
Joined: 11 Jun 2014 13:56
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by georgiedenbro »

:cookie sm:
"um-m-m-ah-h-h-hm-m-m-m!"
User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

Omphalos wrote:
ragabash wrote:
Omphalos wrote:Honestly, this onslaught is kind of recent. I used to weedwhack the user registrations, and in fact did it a few months ago and there were only a few new registrants. Maybe a page each time.

But after that, we got bombed. Not sure why.
It's happening because I finally got around to unfucking mail coming from the server. :D
What I am talking about has got nothing to do with the email, Bro. I think. What I am saying is that a few months ago all of a sudden we had a jillion new members waiting in the queue for approval, and all of them were spam accounts.
Oh, I see. The timeline seems longer than that to me; when we upgraded the board to 3.0.14, it broke the CAPTCHA system we had installed, and that's when I noticed the spam accounts flowing in. I went back and bulk deleted them over a few days the week before last.
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

ᴶᵛᵀᴬ wrote:Guys, spam is no more an issue at all in the new board version. The Test Forum is still in development. I beg your indulgence and a little more patience. Maybe just 2 or 3 days and you'll see 8)
New version? Are we going to upgrade Jacurutu again?

Also, if you are using spam tools, I'll need a complete list of what to install on the back end. How much effort is this going to involve?
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
ᴶᵛᵀᴬ
Joseph-Vintimille Tariki Askaris
Posts: 309
Joined: 11 Mar 2009 10:54
Location: Dune Jacurutu Ф TΛU
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ᴶᵛᵀᴬ »

ragabash wrote:
ᴶᵛᵀᴬ wrote:Guys, spam is no more an issue at all in the new board version. The Test Forum is still in development. I beg your indulgence and a little more patience. Maybe just 2 or 3 days and you'll see 8)
New version? Are we going to upgrade Jacurutu again?
Yep, from 3.0.14 version [May 2015] to 3.1.10 [October 2016].

phpBB 3.1 Ascraeus is the culmination of nearly 8 years of development since phpBB 3.0—an eternity when it comes to web development. When phpBB team finally released phpBB 3.1, they announced that phpBB would from now on see feature releases on an annual basis.

3.1.10 is not the latest version (3.2.1), but it's stable, complete & fully TESTED. I've been working on it for the past six months (upgrading style & customizing some functionalities).
ragabash wrote:Also, if you are using spam tools, I'll need a complete list of what to install on the back end. How much effort is this going to involve?
No more "MODS" with the new "extensions" system. Just copy and past. A piece of cake, truly. You'll see :wink:
User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

ᴶᵛᵀᴬ wrote:
ragabash wrote:
ᴶᵛᵀᴬ wrote:Guys, spam is no more an issue at all in the new board version. The Test Forum is still in development. I beg your indulgence and a little more patience. Maybe just 2 or 3 days and you'll see 8)
New version? Are we going to upgrade Jacurutu again?
Yep, from 3.0.14 version [May 2015] to 3.1.10 [October 2016].

phpBB 3.1 Ascraeus is the culmination of nearly 8 years of development since phpBB 3.0—an eternity when it comes to web development. When phpBB team finally released phpBB 3.1, they announced that phpBB would from now on see feature releases on an annual basis.

3.1.10 is not the latest version (3.2.1), but it's stable, complete & fully TESTED. I've been working on it for the past six months (upgrading style & customizing some functionalities).
ragabash wrote:Also, if you are using spam tools, I'll need a complete list of what to install on the back end. How much effort is this going to involve?
No more "MODS" with the new "extensions" system. Just copy and past. A piece of cake, truly. You'll see :wink:
I was reading up on it, I'm sure it will be. :) My only concern is the amount of time to upgrade. I have a lot of constraints on my time from now until mid-October. How time intensive is the upgrade process?

I presume there's going to be a significant amount of back end work.
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
ᴶᵛᵀᴬ
Joseph-Vintimille Tariki Askaris
Posts: 309
Joined: 11 Mar 2009 10:54
Location: Dune Jacurutu Ф TΛU
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ᴶᵛᵀᴬ »

ragabash wrote: My only concern is the amount of time to upgrade. I have a lot of constraints on my time from now until mid-October. How time intensive is the upgrade process?

I presume there's going to be a significant amount of back end work.
Well, this is not a quick process, though - we might end up with an unusable forum if we've only allocated 10 minutes or so to do it! So, I think it's always better to be safe than sorry :lol:

Upgrading to phpBB 3.1 will render previously installed MODifications and styles unusable. phpBB 3.1 is not compatible with 3.0 and most of the previous files will need to be removed prior to upgrading to 3.1.

Last thing : Your server must be running at least PHP 5.3.3 and less than PHP 7
User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

ᴶᵛᵀᴬ wrote:
ragabash wrote: My only concern is the amount of time to upgrade. I have a lot of constraints on my time from now until mid-October. How time intensive is the upgrade process?

I presume there's going to be a significant amount of back end work.
Well, this is not a quick process, though - we might end up with an unusable forum if we've only allocated 10 minutes or so to do it! So, I think it's always better to be safe than sorry :lol:

Upgrading to phpBB 3.1 will render previously installed MODifications and styles unusable. phpBB 3.1 is not compatible with 3.0 and most of the previous files will need to be removed prior to upgrading to 3.1.

Last thing : Your server must be running at least PHP 5.3.3 and less than PHP 7
I'm currently running php 5.3.3.

I agree that it will take time to do the upgrade properly. My point is that I don't currently have that much time to devote to it, at least until mid-October.

Are you making the theme work with phpbb 3.1 on the test server?
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
ᴶᵛᵀᴬ
Joseph-Vintimille Tariki Askaris
Posts: 309
Joined: 11 Mar 2009 10:54
Location: Dune Jacurutu Ф TΛU
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ᴶᵛᵀᴬ »

ragabash wrote: My point is that I don't currently have that much time to devote to it, at least until mid-October.
Mid-October, no problemo :character-bart:
ragabash wrote:Are you making the theme work with phpbb 3.1 on the test server?
Of course 8) . Upgrading to phpBB 3.1 will render previously installed themes unusable (jacurutu, prosilver, subsilver). Styles for 3.0.x can not be used on 3.1.x and vice versa. So, I made a new jacurutu theme.
User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

ᴶᵛᵀᴬ wrote:
ragabash wrote: My point is that I don't currently have that much time to devote to it, at least until mid-October.
Mid-October, no problemo :character-bart:
ragabash wrote:Are you making the theme work with phpbb 3.1 on the test server?
Of course 8) . Upgrading to phpBB 3.1 will render previously installed themes unusable (jacurutu, prosilver, subsilver). Styles for 3.0.x can not be used on 3.1.x and vice versa. So, I made a new jacurutu theme.
Very nice. :) Thank you for your work. :)
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

I'm trying a new tactic. I'm using RBLs (realtime black lists). They're lightweight, fast services that spam control services use to track spam domains.

I installed an apache mod that queries two popular RBL sites with the source IP of every request to the site, and denies anyone from spam domains.

Contact me of facebook if you can't log into the site.
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by Freakzilla »

It seems to be working. I originally tried having the RBL scanner protect the entire site, but that seemed a bit draconian; I changed it to only protect the registration URL. This seems to be working. I haven't seen a spam account registration since last night. The mod_secure log is full of rejection messages.

There may be false positives if either of the RBLs we use identify a spammer incorrectly. That's why I limited access to only the registration page. If someone who should have access gets a 403, they should be able to get contact info via the site itself and let us know. I hope we display that somewhere. :D
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

Freakzilla wrote:It seems to be working. I originally tried having the RBL scanner protect the entire site, but that seemed a bit draconian; I changed it to only protect the registration URL. This seems to be working. I haven't seen a spam account registration since last night. The mod_secure log is full of rejection messages.

There may be false positives if either of the RBLs we use identify a spammer incorrectly. That's why I limited access to only the registration page. If someone who should have access gets a 403, they should be able to get contact info via the site itself and let us know. I hope we display that somewhere. :D
Whoops! that last post was me, not Freak, sorry about that! I guess I have Freak's credentials stored in my browser and used them by mistake.
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by Freakzilla »

:o

I seem to be getting less emails today.
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

I've extended the RBL protecion to TaU as well.
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
User avatar
ragabash
The Benefactor
Posts: 78
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:45
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by ragabash »

Hah, look at this excerpt from mod_security's log.

[15/Sep/2017:11:52:19 --0700] [tau.solahpmo.com/sid#7f9de1a07b70][rid#7f9de1d99d18][/ucp.php][1] Access denied with connection close (phase 2). RBL lookup of 244.152.28.37.zen.spamhaus.org succeeded at REMOTE_ADDR (Illegal 3rd party exploits). [file "/etc/httpd/conf/mod_security_phpbb3.conf"] [line "14"] [id "400010"] [msg "Spam host detected by zen.spamhaus.org"]

The IP it's using isn't valid; it's from a reserved block for future use. So someone is spoofing an IP that doesn't even exist yet.

What a tool.
GLaDOS wrote: This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
User avatar
Omphalos
Inglorious Bastard
Posts: 6677
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 11:07
Location: The Mighty Central Valley of California
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by Omphalos »

Like putting Freak's pants on and walking around the room, do you?
Image

The New & Improved Book Review Blog

Goodnight Golden Path!
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by Freakzilla »

I have nice pants! :obscene-smokingpimp:
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
Serkanner
Administrator
Posts: 2974
Joined: 17 Feb 2008 18:44
Location: Den Haag - The Netherlands

Re: Disabling user registrations

Post by Serkanner »

Freakzilla wrote:I have nice pants! :obscene-smokingpimp:
Pictures or get the fuck out.
"... the mystery of life isn't a problem to solve but a reality to experience."

“There is no escape—we pay for the violence of our ancestors.”

Sandrider: "Keith went to Bobo's for a weekend of drinking, watched some DVDs,
and wrote a Dune Novel."
Post Reply