[XMB 1.9.11] Registration Question v1.0

Something I found in some strange kind of TEMP folder while cleaning my C-drive.. Thought I'd share it


Hack Name: Registration Question

Description: This hack will do the following:
- Add a field to the registration page where you can challange the user with a Question/Answer puzzle.
If they answer incorrectly, they will not be able to register.
- Add an area to the Admin Panel to maintain your various questions & answers.

Compatibility: XMB 1.9.11

Version: 1.0

Author: Mouser

Release Date: 2011-09-24

License Note: This mod is released under the GPL License.
Give credit where credit is due.

Note: For your own safety, backup the effected PHP file(s) and template(s) before proceeding with this hack.




Attachment: [XMB_1.9.11]_Registration_Question.txt (13kB)
This file has been downloaded 606 times

Hi!
So I decided to try this hack out today as the problem with spam is increasing. I followed the instructions and got this now on my admin panel. Double checked everything and tried removing comments from code, no luck. Any ideas what could cause this?

The problem is, most forum spammers aren't automated bots. They're generally humans living in less-fortunate countries making pennies every time they post a link somewhere. This is usually the result of a sketchy SEO "service" offloading their work to third party "contractors" who then engage in this unscrupulous and questionably beneficial process.

A human will easily pass these checks, although increasing the time to money ratio can help change their calculus (ie: this site isn't worth it). Problem is, if you increase it too much you'll throw off normal users as well.

A standard CAPTCHA check along with one of the many anti-spam systems works wonders. I had 6+ spam registrations per day, now I get 2-3 per week. And they've all (thus far) been caught by the anti-spam system even after registration and are subject to endless redirects to not-so-pleasant places. My favorite is a decoy forum that can be emptied out every couple of weeks. Another option is an endless stream of "are you human?" checks that will fail them no matter which way they answer.

As far as your question is concerned, you could implement the question like this in the member registration template right inside the form they're using to register/fill out their profile. Suggestion would be to place this just above the submit button (<input type="submit">

Code:

Answer "500" to this question! What is the atomic number of Helium? <input type="text" name="regquestion">

Then in member.php?action=reg add (somewhere around the $email variable input would do)

Code:

$correctanswer = "500"; $theiranswer = $_POST['regquestion']; if($theiranswer != $correctanswer) { error("You answered the question incorrectly!"); }