#1 2009-12-09 11:55 am

pedigree

uıɐbɐ ʎɐqǝ ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ buıʎnq ɹǝʌǝu ɯ,ı

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2008-04-16

Posts: 7,104

HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

This is quick and blunt

If you write a mod/plugin/code that checks the API for every incoming/connection, then you will soon find your IP banned.

The scope of this site it to provide a look up at the time of a forum/blog comment or post and NOT as a general blacklisting service for your homepage.

For that, use ZB Block.

cgdev.org just got an IP block because of this.

Again, we will NOT give any warnings, you will just find your access blocked.

Other reasons for banned is excessive or obvious trolling of the database or continual invalid testing (like from 204.14.90.25)

Any RFI attempt on any page = automatic 100% permanent ban

paul

Member

Registered: 2009-11-29

Posts: 27

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

If you write a mod/plugin/code that checks the API for every incoming/connection, then you will soon find your IP banned.

How should I interprete this... currently I have my Guestbook protected with an automated API call which means that each attempt to write something in my Guestbook will result in a request.

At current, it seems this generates somewhere between 100 and 150 requests a day (which I thought was no issue as it was well below the 5000).

So this is only for Guestbook entries, not for every connection to my site.  Is this acceptable ?

pedigree

uıɐbɐ ʎɐqǝ ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ buıʎnq ɹǝʌǝu ɯ,ı

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2008-04-16

Posts: 7,104

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

On write is just fine, thats perfectly oK

Now, if you had it check the API whenever someone loaded your homepage, then expect a ban

Youre fine.

cgdev.oprg
xaviermedia.net

These sites have been querying the api on every connection incoming, regardless of the page, that and some religious video rip off (in my opinion) website out of France

Russ

Guest

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

So this is only for Guestbook entries, not for every connection to my site.  Is this acceptable ?

Acceptable, and that's its intended use. We have found most sites that query the API never come close to hitting the daily limit, and you shouldn't unless you're hitting it on every page load.

diabolic.bg

Member

From: Bulgaria, Eastern Europe

Registered: 2008-11-03

Posts: 589

Website

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

In my site to your API only binds my registration page, which means 3 - 4 requests per day. But I removed the script and left only with the protection of ZB Block. She is enough. But what happens with sites that use  MysteryFCM's Spambot detector (with the use of this API)?

Last edited by diabolic.bg (2009-12-10 3:34 pm)

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diabolic.bg

Member

From: Bulgaria, Eastern Europe

Registered: 2008-11-03

Posts: 589

Website

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Still waiting for someone to answer me.

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pedigree

uıɐbɐ ʎɐqǝ ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ buıʎnq ɹǝʌǝu ɯ,ı

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2008-04-16

Posts: 7,104

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

I've only just found this website after having to manually delete spam posts before now.

I've got two questions.

1. When using the API to lookup an IP, where do you include the api key? I seem able to look up fine for now without it, or the api just used when submitting spam not already in your database ?

2. How exactly do you use dnsbl.tornevall.org to look up instead? most of the pages I've found aren't in English, it looks like a proxy blacklist to me, and the one English post about stopforumspam on their site hasn't been answered :-/

Some resolve to 'NXDOMAIN' (including blacklised IP's on SFS) and some to 127.0.0.89 .. is there a delay?

Anyway hope the IP addresses etc I've given which had spammed me but were not in your blacklist were appreciated

You havent read anything yet, I can tell

1. You dont. Yes
2. Youl need to ask them or ask in the General Help section.  The how to forum isnt for general support.

floppyfringe

Member

Registered: 2009-12-10

Posts: 4

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Thanks, that really helped

andriko

Member

Registered: 2010-05-11

Posts: 2

Website

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone has used the API with a statistics / analytics software, I'm thinking of somehow integrating this data in order to create a nice way of displaying this info...

pedigree

uıɐbɐ ʎɐqǝ ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ buıʎnq ɹǝʌǝu ɯ,ı

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2008-04-16

Posts: 7,104

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

I have most of this in the new site, which Ive been debugging this morning.

andriko

Member

Registered: 2010-05-11

Posts: 2

Website

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Thanks Pedigree... if you neeed any beta testers just let me know

pedigree

uıɐbɐ ʎɐqǝ ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ buıʎnq ɹǝʌǝu ɯ,ı

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2008-04-16

Posts: 7,104

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Due to the nature of what the site does, beta has to be kept strictly away from the databases so its all closed behind two cisco firewalls.

nightcrawler

Member

Registered: 2010-08-14

Posts: 7

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

I don't really know, but I am using SFM module for pligg and it checks evevry user on SFS database when try to register. Does it have to do with my Ip getting banned?

pedigree

uıɐbɐ ʎɐqǝ ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ buıʎnq ɹǝʌǝu ɯ,ı

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2008-04-16

Posts: 7,104

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

When you register, thats fine, thats why the site is here.  Checking every IP number when they visit any page, before serving content, that will get you banned

Elektra

Member

Registered: 2010-09-29

Posts: 1

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Okay, so here's the deal: I own a Comics-writers forum called "All Worlds RPG Forum." I get about 30-40 visits a day, which is good, but I am using internet tracking tools that tell me that many of these visits are spammers.

On our forum, you can't usually spam it unless someone uses an exploit (But I know how those things work and would know if my site had an exploit). I am not only the owner, but security as well.

While I was away for about a year and didn't have acess to the internet, my co-admins were running the place and it all got shot down. Whether they screwed it up or someone hacked it, I do not know. What I do know is that it took me a very long time to get it back to where it is now, and it STILL isn't finished. I lost 300 members as well when it was hacked/destroyed.

My question is this: I need to know whenever a spammer comes in. I do not want to ban ever single guest's IP though (and that is too time consuming), so what is the best route for me to take?

Thanks much,

Elektra

pedigree

uıɐbɐ ʎɐqǝ ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ buıʎnq ɹǝʌǝu ɯ,ı

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2008-04-16

Posts: 7,104

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Setup your registration page to check the API

and maybe

- Download the username/ip and email lists on the downloads page and check users against those as they visit.  But what you DONT want to do is check every incoming visitor against the API.  Thats going to get your IP number banned for excessive scanning.

Alex Kemp

Moderator

From: Nottingham, England

Registered: 2009-12-02

Posts: 2,457

Website

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

I need to know whenever a spammer comes in ... so what is the best route for me to take?

Here's the route taken buy the routines linked in my sig, to give you some ideas:

1 check each IP via RBL/DNSBL databases
- those cannot be done in real time, therefore:
- do the first check offline & cache (default 30 mins)

2 on registration check email on SFS
- vital again to cache (default 3 months)
- if later spam, add to SFS & local cache

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IP Aggregation (Help) · Easy Firewall Generator (Help)  · Conteg v0.13.14

Ashley

Member

From: North Dakota

Registered: 2010-08-31

Posts: 21

Website

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Is this that daily spammers thing, or is that something else? If it's the daily spammers thing, I have found that tool useful and don't want to be banned because of it.

WiredCommMan

Member

Registered: 2011-01-19

Posts: 2

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Hey -- I'm the Community Manager of Wired.com. Your site has been incredibly useful in detecting potential spammers who apply for membership at one of the Wired.com sites and I want to pay it forward by listing other spammers. Could someone direct me on how to get an API key for this site? When I tried it said there were site problems or something... Thx.

Cyberfreak

Spam Buster

From: UK

Registered: 2010-02-19

Posts: 423

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Hi

You can get an API key by signing up here - http://www.stopforumspam.com/signup

WiredCommMan

Member

Registered: 2011-01-19

Posts: 2

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Thanks for the reply, this is the error message I'm getting from that link:

"Sorry

Due to abuse by certain people, we are currently limiting API signups to members of the forum. We are sorry that we have had to take this course of action but we hope to have things back to normal shortly

If you would like to submit data using your own API key, then please click on this link and register in our forums. Once you have registered on our forums, then you can signup for your own API key.

Notice for SMF users. Youll need to signup to the forums here in order to use the 'Stop Spammers' mod as it does not include an API key by default anymore"

Cyberfreak

Spam Buster

From: UK

Registered: 2010-02-19

Posts: 423

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

This will probably work - http://stopforumspam.com/signup

It seems that if you sign into the forum without the www. then access the forum with the www. then it will show you as not logged in.

pedigree

uıɐbɐ ʎɐqǝ ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ buıʎnq ɹǝʌǝu ɯ,ı

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2008-04-16

Posts: 7,104

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

You need to be logged into the forums in order to get an api key.  If youre logged in, accepting site cookies, then youll be able to go to http://www.stopforumspam.com/signup to get a key

as fowler says, please use the www. until I can figure out a way to fix the forum cookies

goroddy

Member

Registered: 2011-09-01

Posts: 25

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Hi gang, after some discussion with a member at the support forum at vbulletin they gave me this link

http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=248042

Now i am completly new to all this and i made the comment how i was getting spammed by many people, the reply explained it was probably bots and then i was given the link above

To be honest i am still a bit lost and still feeling my way around my forum controls where i did fin the spam control section , here there is a anti spam section that offers a box for a vbulletin key ????

So i guess i am asking what i need to do to use this service ??

all help is very much appreciated in these early days of learning for me

...regards

pedigree

uıɐbɐ ʎɐqǝ ɯoɹɟ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ buıʎnq ɹǝʌǝu ɯ,ı

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2008-04-16

Posts: 7,104

Re: HOW TO: Use the API Within the Scope of SFS

Install Spam-o-matic and go   Thats all you need but if you do get a spammer, we would appreciate you adding it and for that, you will need a key, which you can get at www.stopforumspam.com/signup