• From: Israel
  • Registered: 2006-09-28
  • Posts: 35

Topic: Image Verification

Hello again guys,

Is there a way to mod Image_Verification-1.0.3 so that a user will first have to enter the 'code' and only then an email will be sent to it in order to activate/enter the forums?

BTW,
- Is this plug-in compatible with 1.2.13?
- Is there a 3rd way to activate an account, namely, manually and not via email/image verification+email/image verification?

  • Smartys
  • Former PunBB Developer
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2004-04-30
  • Posts: 7,844

Re: Image Verification

Moved to Modifications

Is there a way to mod Image_Verification-1.0.3 so that a user will first have to enter the 'code' and only then an email will be sent to it in order to activate/enter the forums?

That's the way it works

Is this plug-in compatible with 1.2.13?

Yes, but you may have to edit install_mod.php

Is there a 3rd way to activate an account, namely, manually and not via email/image verification+email/image verification?

Not directly, but you can make a group with limited permissions and set it as the default group for new members. Then you can manually bump people up to the level of member wink

3 Reply by YtseJam (edited by YtseJam 2006-10-01 17:32)

  • From: Israel
  • Registered: 2006-09-28
  • Posts: 35

Re: Image Verification

A queue page with a two-column table (username, group) and checkmarks would be better, but alas...

  • Smartys
  • Former PunBB Developer
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2004-04-30
  • Posts: 7,844

Re: Image Verification

User Management plugin? Or a plugin you write yourself? tongue

  • From: Israel
  • Registered: 2006-09-28
  • Posts: 35

Re: Image Verification

mm. :\

Another question -- how strong is the "security" of the currently implemented image verification?
I know that with time more modern bots are used to bypass this...

  • Smartys
  • Former PunBB Developer
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2004-04-30
  • Posts: 7,844

Re: Image Verification

I haven't heard of anyone breaking it, I'm not sure how difficult it would be to read.
If you have an issue with people getting around it, try using a different font (and keep in mind that some groups manually register accounts)

  • From: Ottawa, Canada
  • Registered: 2006-09-05
  • Posts: 308

Re: Image Verification

"security" is an illusion. No matter how tight you box up your computer there's always a way to "break" it. I could disconnect my computer from the internet, and lock it up inside my room, but if I give my friend the key... well... tongue Optical character recognition (OCR) software has been around for ages, and I know of a few people who have managed to write neural-nets to do image to text for the more garbled verifications (that even I have trouble reading with my own dam fleshy eyes! Dam you yahoo, dam you hotmail, dam you and your skwinty eyed verification systems!).

The best way to stop bots is with a series of many systems (image ver, e-mail ver, user management, a good keen eye and some brains tongue). That being said, many bots are either scriptkiddios or fools who are trying to sell junk, and they lack basic computer literacy, so as to be unable to "update" or alter thier bot. It's normally enough to just rename the "username" field to "realname" and the "realname" field to "username" (<input name="<username|realname>"). Hehe, I'd love to see 500 hits from a bot trying to log on with it's real name, lol. Plus, if you don't have a problem with bots yet, it's a safe bet you don't have to worry for a while big_smile

echo "deadram"; echo; fortune;