ZX Antispam and Email Verification
ZX Antispam and Email Verification
FREE
Prevent spam account registration and require email verification.
We DO offer professional installation service for the module, although you're most welcome to install it yourself. Installation is simple, but some basic code understanding is required.
FREE DOWNLOAD PRO install service - $20This plugin will attempt to capture spam account registration based on a set of rules. If it detects a possible spam account, it will create a temporary account for that customer and will send out an email with a unique token for the customer to confirm their account. If they confirm the account, a real account is created for them and they can continue shopping. If they don't confirm it (which is usually the case with spam accounts because they use fake email addresses), their temporary account will be deleted - you can control how long to keep the confirmation active.
At the moment, the only rules available are to detect the number of capital letters in first and last name, street address and city. These were the only common factors I've noticed so far. New rules can be added - just submit your ideas.
NEW in 1.1.0 - added options to detect possible spam accounts based on company name (admin defined list of companies) and country used to create account.
NEW in 1.2.0 - added option to check the user's IP address and match country, state and city based on IP address. It also allows to check if user is behind a proxy, and if the IP is listed as a threat.
This feature requires an API key from IPstack. You can obtain a FREE API key which allows for up to 10.000 lookups per month. A lookup is only initiated when attempting to create an account so 10.000 per month should be more than enough even for a very busy site. If you need more than 10.000 lookups per month, simply consider their pricing plans or turn off the IP lookup option.
After obtaining your API key, enter it in the admin, enable IP lookups and enable the required checks. You can check if the user's IP address matches the country, state and/or city used to signup. Keep in mind checking the city might cause a lot of accounts to be flagged as possible spam and require email verification.
You can set the plugin's Mode to "always" so ALL accounts require email confirmation before they can access your store. Keep in mind this is an unwelcome feature in ecommerce and you might lose sales because of it, but it's up to you to decide if you really need/want it.
You can also manually approve a customer from the admin->Customers->Customers Spam, as well as edit any details or delete the request.
IMPORTANT: this module has a support thread in the official Forum. If you have ANY problems installing or using the module, please check the Forum. If the question hasn't already been answered, feel free to post your question there. Please understand that it might take some time before you get a reply. Private support via email is available only as commercial (paid) support.
| Current Version: | 1.2 |
|---|---|
| jQuery version: | not used |
| Additional jQuery libraries | not used |
| Database Affected: | YES - backup your database |
| Core Files Affected: | none |
| Template Files Affected: | 1 |
Installing
Requirements
This plugin was built for Zen Cart version 1.5.7b or higher. If you're using an earlier version of Zen Cart, this plugin might work down to 1.5.3, but no support will be provided for version older than 1.5.7b.
Before you proceed, make a full backup of your site's files AND database. Installation is done at your own risk.
Unzip the files from "files" directory to your computer. Connect to your server via FTP. Check your admin directory name and rename the one in this package accordingly. Find includes/modules/YOUR_TEMPLATE and rename it to the actual directory name of the template you're using. Now, upload your files using your FTP client (I recommend using Filezilla) to the store root. Be careful, the store root directory on the server is where your store is installed, not necessarily domain root.
There is one file that MIGHT get overwritten if it was modified previously:
- includes/modules/YOUR_TEMPLATE/create_account.php
In case you have made any changes to this file, make sure you merge it carefully (you can use a tool like WinMerge). There is a single change and it has been commented. Otherwise, you can simply overwrite.
After all files are in place, log in to your admin section and the plugin will install automatically.
Configuration
To configure the module, go to Admin->Configuration->ZX Antispam and make changes as required.
The module is disabled by default, you should enable it if you want to use it.
All options are self-explanatory. For more information about each option, you can simply click on it.
Additional information
This plugin will attempt to capture spam account registration based on a set of rules. If it detects a possible spam account, it will create a temporary account for that customer and will send out an email with a unique token for the customer to confirm their account. If they confirm the account, a real account is created for them and they can continue shopping. If they don't confirm it (which is usually the case with spam accounts because they use fake email addresses), their temporary account will be deleted - you can control how long to keep the confirmation active.
At the moment, the only rules available are to detect the number of capital letters in first and last name, street address and city. These were the only common factors I've noticed so far. New rules can be added - just submit your ideas.
NEW in 1.1.0 - added options to detect possible spam accounts based on company name (admin defined list of companies) and country used to create account.
You can set the plugin's Mode to "always" so ALL accounts require email confirmation before they can access your store. Keep in mind this is an unwelcome feature in ecommerce and you might lose sales because of it, but it's up to you to decide if you really need/want it.
You can also manually approve a customer from the admin->Customers->Customers Spam, as well as edit any details or delete the request.
Common Issues
If customer takes too long to approve their account (longer than their current session in Zen Cart, normally 24 minutes), their temporary shopping cart contents will be lost. In most cases this is not a problem because actual customers will confirm their account immediately, but it's something to keep in mind.
Sources and Credits
External libraries used in this plugin:- none