UBB.threads PHP Forum Software Community Forums UBB.classic UBB.classic 6 Support Can i fix this??

So i now have admin status and i'd like to revive an old forum run with UBB 6.2 (which i understand to be a dinosaur).

The forum was largely unattended and unmonitored for some time. Now there are over 6,000 in the registration que!!! As you'd imagine mostly all spammers.

I don't think that the owner wants to upgrade. So other than starting a whole new forum i'm wondering if there's anything that can be done. Seems like i have a good bit of work ahead of me.

Is there a way of deleting the que and starting over???

Again, thanks for the help.

I looked in the 'Classic Documentation' section. But it doesn't seem to cover 6.2.0. Does anyone know of some resource that could help me?

again, thanks for the past help

EDIT: Oooops. I see in the above post that i'm asking the same question i did in April. A question which you guys already advised me on. Sorry about that.

I never used the registration queue in classic but there is a tool to delete them it would take a while deleting one page at a time though.
It is just a flat file system but sometimes you need to edit more than one file.

JAISP is still running a classic board maybe he will chime in with a shortcut.

Or Allen may remember how.

From a security perspective, you really should upgrade...

Giz, I challenge you to break into my classic board and mess it up.

Control Panel » Member Management » Registration Queue

Select "Decline All"

No thanks, just don't come running to me when it has been ...

BTW, not every security issue is a "server wide" problem, some simple things like the captcha and random crap...

LOL, Gizmo. I didn't think you could do it anyways.

JAISP,
Just for my own info. Classic has a delete all for the registration Queue? Or is it one page at a time to delete like I was thinking.

It is funny how you use something for 6 to 7 years, Then a year or two later can't seem to remember much about the differences after upgrading.

not saying it isn't possible, simply I don't have the time to go look up what was fixed, what caused issues, how it was done, etc... I'm going through a divorce and looking for a real job, last thing I need to do is exploit some ancient script for kicks...

Not to mention, honestly, i don't care, it's your server.

As I remember correctly it declines all users in the registration que

Thanks for posting, JAISP.

But i can not find the 'Decline All' icon. I'm guessing that this a feature not on UBB 6.2.0 rather it became available on 6.5 or some other version.

(hence another reason to update )

I'm running 6.7.2 Classic version. I'm not quite sure without installing your version under a test run to see what exactly you have in your control panel at this point.

If I get a chance this week I will do just that to see what I can do to help you.

Wow! That would be very generous of you!

I'm considering the fact that the forum's owner (it's attached to a business) paid a good chunk of change to a computer tech who, in the end, didn't really accomplish anything. (the tech did do other stuff for the business but didn't do beans for the forum) Heck if you're willing to have a look for free that'd be great!

If you're willing to help i'll let u know that, at this point, i might consider asking the owner to upgrade if

1 the cost is reasonable

2 the upgrade could be completed by a volunteer like myself without hiring a tech

3 there would not be any risk in having the entire forum crash if someone like myself attempted the upgrage in a DIY style

Again, i thank you for taking an interest in our situation!

(it appears as though the previous 'upgrade' to our forum was more of a 'bridge' to another expensive software that was a costly flop (i was not involved, i don't really know). if there are less costly alternatives i might suggest them (while also suggesting that forum members like myself chip in))

At $99, the upgrade price would be pretty painless, especially in the face of the other option being deleting page by page

As an aside, if you are basically deleting all registrations since a particular date, just open the 3 files that contain that info (memberlist.cgi, emailsomething, etc.) and delete from there down. The delete all user files that match that info. I'd tell you specifically which files to edit but those scripts are at home on my backup drives. If you're still fishing around I'll know more late tonight (have a trash the dress session with 2 brides between now and sundown ).

Of course, make a backup before beginning

Ok, I found 6.1 and 6.3 but not 6.2 in this mess.

Allen I think the cost of $99 may be more then they have at this point. I know your a moderator here and all that and all you mods always just blurt out upgrade upgrade blah blah blah and so on but hey, not everyone has the money or are able to do that on a whim all the time. Like most government and rich folks it appears that you guys think everyone has lots of money laying around and its like nothing to just "upgrade".

Anyway, I will try to help this person even if I have to get in there and do it my self manually to help them for FREE.

I'd just like to say for the record, us "mods" are just beta testers, we do not work for Groupee. We are standard users of this script solution, we don't get paid for this and we still buy our licenses just like everyone else.

We simply say to upgrade as they bring features and bug fixes to older releases that others often request...

I understand that but some users are strapped or on a strict budget. It is to often the first thing is "upgrade" when the user may not be able to. If the user wanted to just upgrade in most cases they wouldn't ask some of the things they ask or state certain things.

Thanks very much to Gizmo, JAISP & Allen for taking interest in my situation. You're all being a great help.


Actually we've had a decent number of members over the years. And i believe that 99 dollars would be doable. I'd simply make a post asking that we all chip in. It's merely a matter of how long it would take to raise the $$$. (probably not long)

I mentioned before that the previous attempt at an 'upgrade' was a flop (and probably a flop that cost much more than $99). It might be that the owner simply isn't aware of the inexpensive options available. And originally wasn't aware that 6.2.0 would be difficult to work with.

So in summary, let me say that i'm willing to consider either of the two options:

1) raising 99 dollars for an upgrade

OR

2) working with UBB 6.2.0

Question:

How many upgrades are available for 6.2.0 and what would they all cost?

Meaning would 99 dollars upgrade me to 6.7? Or would it take 99 dollars to get up to 6.3 and then another 99 for 6.4?

Assuming your license is valid. $99.00 gives you access to the members area for one year.
In the members area you have access to the current Threads version.
Importers for threads. And the last version of classic 6.7.3

Thanks Ruben!!!! That certainly seems cost efficient!!!

Yep I think so. For 99 bucks you can either upgrade to the last classic version or go all the way to threads.
So you could take baby steps and try one option at a time If you decide to go to threads you won't be sorry.

Or spend some time clicking on the delete button.

Just remember since your version is not available anymore.
What ever option you choose:
Backup!!! Backup!!! Backup!!!

Thanks again, Ruben.

I've been helping people "for free" here, at infopop, at scriptkeeper and ubbdev for >10 years now. They've never paid me a penney, despite thousands of hours of support in those forums. That's besides the point, my advice is definitely valid. $99 is a pittance to anyone running a busy site to fix bugs, fix security holes (and there's been more than a few as tacks is discovering), not even counting the new features. If that is too much money, then at least stick to the free scripts, there's at least one out there, tho I'd never use it myself

Anyone who puts up an online forum, attracts members, and wants to make it an ongoing concern has to understand that keeping the server updated and keeping their scripts updated is the minimal level of competence required to run a site. If the site-owner is unwilling to update software that is several years old (a millenia in internet years), then our advice is not going to fix the underlying issue.

Hey NP, I will bow out and not try to help those whom wish to receive help with their current versions only the newest ones, knock your self out.

As far as FREE scripts. I recently tried a free script for a customer and ran it as a test run to not only see it my self but to have my hosting customer see it as well before placing it on his site for him.

It was not on my server more then 6 hours before some script kiddie SQL injected the script totally screwing up my server through the FREE script. I was able to contain the intrusion and repair my server without any loss to its database and content.

This is the first time in 14 years I even attempted to try a free script against my better judgment. It was a very good quality script and done very well. Unfortunately FREE scripts are a script kiddie paradise as the code is so readily available to anyone who wishes to destroy your sites and stuff it is not even worth the consideration or effort to even begin to use them.

By the way I was just getting ready to ask this user if he/she would like me to preform the task manually.

Oh, I have never charged anyone in 15 years of helping people over the internet.

You know, I'd rather pay $99 to keep a script up to date vs having someone trash my site from not updating from something potentially insecure... Think of all the consequences, there's deleting files, stealing user passwords (older versions, and potentially other scripts), and them running malicious software that could get your hosting account terminated...

I don't even know why they have the classic thread here anymore. If your not running the latest or very close to it your pretty much told to upgrade and so on. Why not just have the section locked and a message that no real support other then pay to upgrade posted. <--- was not a question.

and them running malicious software that could get your hosting account terminated...

I'm betting if you don't have your server tuned properly that could happen even with the latest of the UBB.Threads too.

Here is my 2 cents.
I think sooner or later no matter what flavor of classic or ubb it is, there will come a day someone will find a way to exploit the software.
Now in defense of classic we used to have a lot of hacks at ubbdev.
I recall one was a captcha hack where it was a question answer method.
But you can't seem to find help for many of those old hacks now.
Also there are things that are recommended in the classic manual to mitigate security issues. Like moving the member files above the root. Email validation and moderated registrations.
But it seems very few people with a problem follow those recommendations.
I do know ubb threads 6.x has a security risk in one of the scripts.
I believe it is "addpost_newpoll.php".

As Ruben said, previous versions of .t6 have security issues; I believe the latest build of v6 (v6.5.5) is fine.

AS for classic, you'll get the captcha broken easily by spammers.

Yes you are correct. I also think there was or still is a security risk on the Threads where it points from the old classic to the threads on the import script. This is not an issue with my threads boards as I have a direct forward to the new board from the old one without integration between them.

The "addpost_newpoll.php" security risk allowed people to gain several types of access to your boards including spamming without an account on the system. I see several attempts on this security hole daily even though the problem has been fixed a long time ago.

No matter what your running or how good it is your always open to some sort of exploit if someone really wanted to take the time to find one.