Rip Prevention Mod

Rip Prevention Mod
Summary	Prevents rapid access to site
Validation	V8.1.2a is XHTML compliant.
Mod Updated	15 Nov 2023
Download link	For TNG 14.0 Rip_prevention_v14.0.0.3 For TNG 13.0 Rip_prevention_v13.0.0.2b For TNG 12.0 Rip_prevention_v12.0.0.0e For TNG 11.0.2 Rip_prevention_v11.0.2.0b For TNG 10.1.0 Rip_prevention_v10.1.0.0b For TNG 8.0 rip_prevention_v8.1.2a
Download stats	See download statistics
Author(s)	Brian McFadyen Brent Hemphill
Homepage	Rip Prevention Mod (This page)
Mod Support	TNG Community Forums
Contact Developer	TNG Community Forums
Latest Mod	14.0.0.3
Min TNG V	7.0.0
Max TNG V	14.0.0
Files modified	tng_begin.php admin.php admin_genconfig.php admin_leftmenu.php admin_backup.php admin_optimize.php admin_restore.php admin_utilities.php customconfig.php
Related Mods	Rip Challenge Mod
Notes	May require customization

Purpose of the mod

This TNG modification includes several features:

• Rip Prevention

It can help deter some of the automated processes that simply rip (copy) our sites for potential commercial gain. It monitors the time interval between visitor accesses. If the accesses are rapid and repeated, a warning is issued. If the accesses continue rapid and repeatedly, the visitor is temporarily banned and an explanation page is displayed. Warnings and bans are disabled for administrators.

A few rapid accesses will result in a warning page. Simply wait a few seconds and operation will return to normal. Repeated rapid access will result in a 60 second ban where an explanation page is displayed.

To deter those slow automated programs that scrape your site, you may optionally add a Rip Prevention Captcha challenge. If added, you may configure the number of visits within a specified time that you will be allowed before a graphical challenge is presented to confirm the visitor is human and not an automated program.

• Site Access Statistics Page

In addition to the warning and ban pages, a simple access stats page is available on the admin page. The left banner will include an entry (in English) "Show Access" which will display the current stored access information. I have sorted it by Bans, Warnings, Total fast visits, and Total accesses. A button is included to optionally sort the information using alternate columns.

• Custom Message to browsing IP address

Create a custom message to specific IP addresses that are browsing your site. This feature allows selection of the IP/Host that is viewing your site, adding a custom message, and monitoring whether they have viewed it or not. The custom message will be displayed for a selectable (1-9) page views, then disappear. The number of page views left will be displayed in the site statistics page. To view this in action, check the link above to the statistics page, sort by time, and your address should be at the top. Since you are not logged in as administrator, the messaging system will only work for your originating IP address/hostname. A default message (max 1000 characters) is included, but may be customized.

• Specific Host Banning

Provides a convenient way to permanently ban specific user accesses based upon host name. This feature allows selection of specific host names on the "Show Access" page by using the "B"an button. Banned host names will be displayed with their IP address bolded in a red font. Clicking the "B"an button of a banned host name will remove the ban. Users logged in as admin will not be banned, but be careful. Banning your IP, then logging out will cause you to be banned. (You'll have to log in from an alternate IP and then unban yourself).

Developer

The Rip Prevention Mod was developed by Brian McFadyen.
The Rip Prevention Mod was updated for MySQLi support by Brent Hemphill. Table deletion, good indexer list, forcing admin only access, and some messaging updates by Steven Davis. French text provided by Katryne Chauvigné-Bourlaud. French text provided by Ingrid Schuster.

Requirements

• A working TNG installation.
• A backup of all affected files (see the list in the summary in the upper right corner of the page)
• An installed current version of the Mod Manager.
• This mod requires that your admin folder be writeable.

Revision History

Mod Version	TNG Version	Date	Contents
14.0.0.3	14.0	15 Nov 2023	update mod for PHP 8.2, add an option for host/IP list to ignore fast hits from.
14.0.0.2c	14.0	29 Dec 2022	update mod for TNG 14.
13.0.0.2b	13.0	02 Jul 2021	update mod to fix a parse error.
13.0.0.2a	13.0	29 Jun 2021	update mod to fix a parse error, a few hidden characters in text strings, and fix some HTML validation issues.
13.0.0.2	13.0	27 Jun 2021	update mod to allow paging of the Show Access page. Added additional bots to the consolidation list. German text thanks to Ingrid Schuster.
13.0.0.1	13.0	08 Nov 2020	update mod for TNG 13. Added the ability to delete the table, fix issues with the messaging system, updated the good indexer list, updated to HTML5 validation, and make the text customizable language strings. Thanks to Steven Davis. French text thanks to Katryne Chauvigné-Bourlaud.
12.0.0.0e	12.0	09 Dec 2019	update mod to fix some PHP 7.4 notices. Also updated the ban and warning screens to HTML5 stylizing thanks to Randal Suire.
12.0.0.0d	12.0	22 Nov 2018	update mod to fix an issue with IPv6.
12.0.0.0b	12.0	14 Sep 2018	update mod to fix an issue with the Show Access being unreadable in Templates 9, 13, and 14. Also fixed a possible issue with the Click Counter II Email Notify mod.
11.0.2.0b	11.0.2	14 Sep 2018	update mod to fix an issue with the Show Access being unreadable in Templates 9, 13, and 14. Also fixed a possible issue with the Click Counter II Email Notify mod.
10.1.0.0b	10.1	14 Sep 2018	update mod to fix an issue with the Show Access being unreadable in Templates 9, 13, and 14. Also fixed a possible issue with the Click Counter II Email Notify mod.
12.0.0.0a	12.0	04 Sep 2018	update mod to add option for Rip Challenge Mod to only show once per session. Also added notes to options about hits being counted multiple times in instances of redirection.
11.0.2	11.0.2	08 Jun 2017	update mod to be MySQLi compatible. Also fixed some other deprecated functions that were used. Added user to the table. Added the functionality for a renamed extensions folder.
10.1	10.1	08 Jun 2017	update mod to be MySQLi compatible. Also fixed some other deprecated functions that were used. Added user to the table.
8.1.2a	8.1	01 Apr 2011	update mod to be XHTML compliant provided by Alan Craxford who made rip_ban.html and rip_warning.html XHTML compliant
8.1.2	8.1	30 May 2010	rip_prevention_v8.1.2 contains More corrections. Looks ok now
8.1.1	8.1	30 May 2011	Updates to Rip Package, fixed for V8.0 and new file structure
8.1.0	8.1	28 May 2010	updates for TNG V8
1.4	7.0	Jun 2009	misc updates
1.2	7.0	01 Jun 2009	updated with missing genlib modification to support Messaging to visitors
1.1	7.0	31 May 2009	initial release

Conflicts and Issues

No known conflicts.

Installation

1. Uninstall and delete previous version of this mod (if installed)
2. Download the appropriate zip file as shown in the mod summary in the upper right corner of the page.
3. Extract the file from the downloaded zip file into the mods folder or FTP the extracted file to your mods folder.
4. Follow the normal automated installation for Mod Manager, as shown in the example Mod Manager - Installing Config Files to install the mod.

In the event of a problem

• Try using the Mod Manager Remove capability
• Copy the backup of the affected files back to your TNG directory
• Contact us through the TNG Community Forums.

Uninstalling the mod

If you want to completely Remove (uninstall) this mod and all its tables, you should

1. click the Uninstall button to uninstall the mod
2. click the Delete button to delete the config file from the mods folder.

Upgrade

• Uninstall and eventually Delete the current Mod.
• Proceed as for an installation with the new Mod.

Customizations

Although the default values in the check_access.php file generally work well, the parameters may be customized

• visitor access speed detection
• number of fast accesses before a warning is displayed
• number of fast accesses before a ban is displayed
• length of time for a visitor ban
• number of visits within the specified time before a captcha challenge is presented
• number of seconds (specified time) over which the number of visits is monitored
• whether to only present a captcha once per session
• the schedule on which to show user messages
• the list of hosts/IPs to ignore as being fast hits

The above parameters may be changed by using the EDIT button in the Mod Manager Status Table for this mod. Additionally, names of the valid search engine indexers may be added by editing the 'check_access.php' script.

Using the Messaging Feature

When viewing the site statistics page, locate the particular IP/Hostname of interest. The numbered button in the Host Name column indicates how many views of the message are left. If the number is 0, then clicking on the button will bring up a text edit box with a default message. Edit this, or leave it as is and click ADD. The page will refresh, highlight the Host Name in red, and indicate the number of message views remaining on the button.

If you click a button with a non-zero on it, it will remove the message request.

BAN a specific IP address

If you have one of those pesky browsers that keep returning, and refuses to contact you or contribute, you might choose to BAN them from your site. (This is not my choice of action, but it may suit some) Clicking the 'B' button will result in that address being banned permanently. To "undo" a ban, simply click the 'B' button again. The page will refresh and highlight the IP address in red if it is Banned. Keep in mind that this is simply an IP ban. Your annoying browser can simply go to another address and continue again.

Remove old or low count entries

Table maintenance is provided while viewing the access table in the "Show Access" under the admin area. Selecting either of the Date or Page Hit "Sort" buttons will display the "Del" option button to enable record deletions. Clicking the "Del" button will display the access page with an individual button in each of the date or hit cells. These cell buttons will immediately remove all table entries before the date selected, or all table entries with fewer page hits, depending on the "Del" operations that has been activated.

Optional CAPTCHA Challenge page

An additional feature may be added to the Rip Prevention to present a CAPTCHA challenge page after a specific number of page views by non registered users. This is one more attempt to reduce the level of automated ripping. Check out the Rip Challenge Mod if you would like to add this feature.

Sites using this mod

If you download and install this mod, please add your TNG site to the table below:

URL	User	Note	Mod-Version	TNG-Version	User-language
Van Peer Project	Drew McClenaghan	Private	14​.0​.0​.2c	14.0	EN
Schuster-Pippersteiner	Ingrid Schuster	Public	14.0.0.2c	14.0	DE,EN,CS
R G Strong Family Genealogy	Russ Strong	Public	14.0.0.3	14.0.4	EN,DE,FR,NL
Solem Genealogy	Jan-Thore Solem	Private	14​.0​.0​.2c	14.0.2	EN, NO
GénéaKat	Katryne	Public & Private	14​.0​.0​.2c	14.0.3	FR,EN
Dabbling in Genealogy	Jeff Rueger	Public & Private	14.0.0.2c	14.0.3	EN
Family HIstories	Steven Davis	Public & Private	14.0.0.2c	14.0.3	EN
Stammbaum der Familie Datschetzky	Christian Datschetzky	Public	14.0.0.3	14.0.3	DE, EN
The Severijns / Timmer Familytree	Rob Severijns	Public / Private	14.0.0.3	14.0.4	NL, EN