CHAPTER 10 SECURING AND MAINTAINING PHPBB 313 (Yahoo web space)
CHAPTER 10 SECURING AND MAINTAINING PHPBB 313 To delete, move, lock, or unlock multiple topics at once, check the check box on the far right corresponding to the topics on which you wish to perform the action, and then click the appropriate button for the action. Clicking a topic s title takes you to the Split Topic Control Panel (see Figure 10-13), the same location you arrive at when you click the Split Topic icon at the bottom of a View Topic page. The Mod CP s mass moderation functions operate almost identically to performing the operations one by one. Be sure to heed the confirmations accordingly, as mass actions (particularly mass deletions) can take some time to recover from if you make a mistake. Using the IP Manager For security purposes, phpBB records an IP address with each post made, corresponding to the user who made the post. To access the IP address associated with a particular post, click the tiny IP icon in the extreme top-right corner of the post. This brings you to a screen similar to Figure 10-15. Tip Stunningly, phpBB lacks the ability to track the IP address of users when they register, which can be important if users are registering accounts for malicious purposes, but not necessarily posting. This is a glaring omission, which luckily can be rectified by installing a modification known as Log Registration IP. I consider it vital, and I highly recommend this feature, even if you do not install any additional ones. You can obtain the Log Registration IP modification from http://www.phpbbhacks.com/download/2975. Figure 10-15. The IP manager displaying the IP address associated with a particular post, with a cross-reference to other users who have posted from the same IP address phpBB s IP manager helps you, with reasonable accuracy, see if a user is masquerading with multiple identities on your site, which is useful in terms of bans. Clicking the Look up IP address link next to the IP address associated with the post permits you to see the host name of the user (in most cases), which typically identifies the Internet service provider he is using to access your site. From there, you can take that information to a site such as samspade.org or network-tools.com, run a WHOIS query, and determine an abuse address, for example. You can search on the posting history of users who have posted from that IP address. Finally, phpBB gives the other IP addresses the user has posted from, for further cross-referencing work.
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