RNYA and nukeSPAM enhancements

Site Admin Joined: Jun 04, 2004 Posts: 6432

It's been a while, but we haven't stopped looking for ways to help websites expand their reach and operate more efficiently. Since member management continues to be a challenge, especially with the continued onslaught of spammers, the current focus for nukeSEO is on these areas.

Your feedback in the forums will help determine priorities.

Currently, we're looking to:

RNYA
- Replace the grid, search and maintenance functions with the DataTables class used in nukeSPAM
- Add functions to delete users without notification and add domain / subdomain to the blocked mail domains list
- Share blocked mail domains list across sites
- Add tools for removing members who never logged in, identifying members from blocked domains

nukeSPAM
- Integrate nukeSPAM with RNYA for simplified domain blocking (e.g. add this domain / subdomain to the blocked domains list)
- Integrate nukeSPAM with additional blocking tools for email validation services and Disposable Email Address (DEA) lists / services
- Auto-block domains / subdomains with multiple offenders

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2017 10:27 am

The current functions for managing users are inefficient and could be significantly improved by replacing the list, search functions with the DataTables class used in nukeSPAM.

Spammers create new aliases, email addresses, and spoofed IPs all the time and use them to get past nukeSPAM. The option to simply suspend, deactivate, or remove these accounts without providing an explanation would be useful. I'm not sure whether this should be a configuration option (i.e. send a notification when suspending, deactivating, or removing users), or separate functions so you have the choice at the user level. I'm leaning towards the configuration option.

There is a great tool for removing inactive users called Last Visit. This tool runs periodically to identify inactive members, but could modified to also identify spammers, DEA, etc. Integrating it with RNYA might be useful. For example, it could specify the reason when suspending, deactivating or removing an account, and for flagging accounts to be suspended, deactivating or removed.

Sharing a blocked domains list across sites would enable us to minimize maintenance effort across sites. For example, this site's list is quite extensive and includes domains that frequently spam, DEA domains, and most free email domains. It would be helpful to consider replacing or merging or consolidating with the receiving site's current blocked domains.

Since there are limits to services that identify known spammers, as well as to the additional services that validate, identify and qualify email addresses, it's important to only submit those requests after comparing a new registrant with previously blocked domains. Enabling nukeSPAM to easily add blocked domains to the list, will help this, as well as automatically adding domains with more than a specified number of unique blocked email addresses (e.g. [ Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! ], [ Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! ]). Of course, there should be a list of domains excluded from autoblocking (e.g. gmail.com), as well as a log showing what was autoblocked.

Which of these are important to you? Which are NOT important?

Theme Guru Joined: Jan 11, 2006 Posts: 170

Note to Kguske ... remove any/all of my code if it's posted in the wrong forum.

The increasing number of new registrations from temporary email accounts and free email accounts caused me to delete all of the accounts on my site and also close my site to new registrations. Although my site is basically used for working on my new theming system, it would be nice to have those new features that you are describing in your post. All of the RN sites that I visit have been closed down because let's face it, Nuke, in general, has died on the vine. But, if RN could get added to the large list of software in Softaculous it might help bring it back. I noticed PHP-Nuke is added.

* ------------------------------------- Modernize your copy of RN (comment only on Jguske's post) in the near future ---------------------------- *

It's a shame that so many users left RN. But I've kept my site running to show my PMC Theming System (PMCTS) that I continue to work on. Think about creating a new theme by just adding simple CSS to the style sheet. I have about 30 themes available to new members but I am not going to open my site back up due to the problems I mentioned in the first paragraph. So, these enhancements may cause me to open it up for new registrations.

Here are some things I've done with my theming system thus far:

- Forum files and theme.php is the same across all themes and can be installed into any theme and still show the same style across the entire theme.
- Download and Your Account areas both match the theme.
- Simple CSS is used to create the site and I have added a new CSS page to the style. Builder.css. RN users can create their own theme in just minutes by simply creating a button (utility found on my site) file to obtain the needed code to copy and paste in the builder.css page.
- And more .....

The CSS below is basically a theme. The code in the first line should be broken down so that each area can be fine tuned. I bunched them together for display here only. Look at my site's Home page for a demo, if anyone here wants to become a member send me a PM and I'll open it up for you to register. --> Papa Mike Creations

The following is only added because hopefully it will just be available for anyone coming here to read Kguske's post and not to be commented on. It's included in a news column here and on my Home page (see link on above line).

.main-bg, .bg, .news-bg, .foot-bg, .forum-bg, .option, .rcorners, .blocks, .blockcontent, .blockcontainer {
border-top: 1px solid #000;
background: #382e2e;
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(#170808), to(#382e2e));
background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #170808, #382e2e);
background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #170808, #382e2e);
background: -ms-linear-gradient(top, #170808, #382e2e);
background: -o-linear-gradient(top, #170808, #382e2e);
padding: 8.5px 17px;
-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
-moz-border-radius: 5px;
border-radius: 3px;
color:#FFF;
text-align: center;
margin: 0 auto;
font-family: UpperEastSide;
font-size: 2em;
}

Below is the CSS for all mouseover buttons. Notice that all code is repetitious throughout the theme.

.quick-link {
border-top: 1px solid #000;
background: #382e2e;
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(#170808), to(#382e2e));
background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #170808, #382e2e);
background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #170808, #382e2e);
background: -ms-linear-gradient(top, #170808, #382e2e);
background: -o-linear-gradient(top, #170808, #382e2e);
padding: 8.5px 17px;
-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
-moz-border-radius: 5px;
border-radius: 3px;
color:#CCC;
text-align: center;
margin: 0 auto;
}

.quick-link:hover {
border-top-color: #171502;
background: #171502;
color: #CCC;
}

.quick-link:active {
border-top-color: #000;
background: #000;
}

- Some of the code above can be removed.
- Fonts, gradients, colors and all of the other effects are customized by changing the CSS values.
-- Fonts can be found and imported from Google Fonts.
-- Gradients can be created by using the "Button Maker" utility found on my home page.
- in-depth instructions will be included when released, and it will be eventually.

I added all of this about my theming system just in an attempt at letting people know if and when the changes that were spelled out in Kguske's post. And also to maybe entice new users to register knowing that they can create their own up-to-date look for RN.

Thanks for reading ... please leave comments about Kguske's additions and not PMCTS.

Site Admin Joined: Aug 22, 2007 Posts: 1772

@kguske: I like the ideas for RNYA and nukeSPAM. Sounds good for me. The option to send a notification when suspending, deactivating, or removing users I have totally disliked in RN2x. This was one of the frist changes which I made after a fresh installation.This only relevant for the admin and in this case is no notification needed. A script for removing inactive users is also a great idea - to have a list of the affected users would be helpful. So an admin can decide which users be deleted or not. Sharing blocked domains should be available via opt-in. I would prefer that the userinfo-pages are hidden by default for visitors (also all user-specific details in the Forums module). These pages are containing sensitve data like email-adresses, usernames. Perfect to grab for spambots. The admin should have a option, if it is needed.

@papamike: I understand your approach but only to use gradient-backgrounds or different border-colors will not really modernize a old-fashioned Nuke-distro. To give the users by default the chance to style his own account-page is maybe not really the best way. You have the risk that the user could deface your template (which is maybe based on a CI) with different fonts, sizes, colors etc. The current way of webdesign is following the rule: "less is more" - clean, structured, semantic, wisely chosen colors and fonts, in consideration of typography and last but not least it must be responsive on all devices. On a smartphone a box-shadow or an gradient-background would be hardly noticeable - perhaps in a button set only. For example on a iPhone with a sreen-resultion of 320px or 640px for websites - all box-shadows, background-effects etc are not more really relevant. The question is: How to get the important content on the easiest way without barriers. Framworks like Bootstrap or Foundation are following this approach and providing the basic stuff. Things like this should be possible as we know it from other cms:
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Worker Joined: Sep 28, 2006 Posts: 241

So nice to see enhancements in the works, Spam accounts can get out of hand quickly, thank you for the efforts on improving this area friends.

Hangin' Around Joined: Feb 27, 2012 Posts: 30

Hi.

Where could i find a usable nukespam version for phpnuke please?

Thanks.

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2018 9:59 am

You can find it on nukeSEO.com, but I'd recommend using RavenNuke rather than phpNuke for many, many reasons. No guarantees that it will work with phpNuke as it hasn't been tested. Some of the features require RNYA (RavenNuke Your Account module).

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2018 5:06 pm

and on a fork of phpnuke? Smile

worst?

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 8:41 am

gravutrad, some of the features require RNYA (RavenNuke Your Account module)!

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 4:58 am

I'm blocked by a fork of phpnuke which isn't anymore developed. (php maximus)

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 8:01 am

Which module database tables are filled with data? Normally stories, users and forum tables... Maybe weblinks and downloads, too?

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 3:48 pm

yes. stories, users, forum, downloads principally. but stories are managed with a new blog module.

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:49 pm

I guess you have BBtoNuke as Forums module. RavenNuke is using a patched version 2.0.23 and it contains some upgrade scripts from prior versions. I made a RavenNuke BETA for PHP7x and MySQL5.6. If you are familiar with WAMP or XAMPP you could try to check the database structure of RavenNuke and port the affected tables into it. I prefer WAMP because I can switch between PHP5 and PHP7. Its not really a big deal and with a local test server you will be able to test the tables without losing data.

1. Install WAMP or XAMP on your local computer
2. Install an backup of your working website into it.
3. Install a fresh RavenNuke from github (PHP7 ready, including NukeSPAM)
4. Compare the tables in PHPMYADMIN
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 6:10 am

My table are renamed. (not really a problem but...) and yes, maximus use bbtonuke 2.0.23 patched too.
php maximus is really forked on certains modules (modules news not more used, replaced by a blog module)
I'm not sure how to recover this.

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:36 pm

That is the risk, when you are using forks. At the end you can only try the way, which I shown. RavenNuke has a different code base as PHP Nuke since many years. You can only try to port your content to RavenNuke and then you have to use our core-modules. The most forks are/were security bugholes - the most reason why many forks are closed.

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:32 am

Big differences between ravennuke and phpnuke? (my fork is php maximus, which is too a big fork)

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 12:20 pm

It's the exploring that makes you really smart. Wink

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:44 am

I remembered after that i hadn't renamed my tables to let open it to a conversion if no more update for the cms. So i will work to go to php maximus to ravennuke.