Proxy Voting (Cheating Method)

[WebMasterJorge]

Apparently people are starting to use a cheat method known as Proxy Voting. Basically what they do is run a program that constantly changes the IP Address, and thus let them vote multiple times for the same site. I've seen the program in action with my own eyes! A few members of my top sites list have been using this method to cheat, and other members that know about it but decided not to cheat, are the ones who showed me this cheating program and proved to me that they are able to vote multiple times for the same site, with it.

Can you come up with an updated version of Aardvark Topsites PHP that could address this problem and fix it!?

[WebMasterJorge]

This is the Proxy Voting program that I was talking about, it's called Hide IP and here is the web site that carries it...

http://www.soft32.com/download_80942.html

Hide IP is just one of the many cheating programs out their, that are currently being used to be able to vote multiple times for the same site.

Please create a patch for this!

Thanks!

~Jorge~

[Matt]

It is almost imposible to do anything that can stop proxies because there is usually no way to detect proxy servers

[Jeremy]

does it change the ips to random values or set values? would stopping it be as easy as blocking certain ip's? i don't have windows so i can't try the software out.

[WebMasterJorge]

Well! I don't have the software installed in my machine either, but theirs different kinds of Proxy Voting programs out their and I'm sure their are some for none windows users.

What I've been told from the members who have actually used it on my top sites list is that some how it's hooked up to different servers across the world and it would send you a different IP address every time.

Everyone I've talked to about this method of cheating have told me that's it's impossible to stop Proxy Voting, but I'm hoping that you could find a program like this, that would be compatible for your operating system. You would need to find a way to download this program, use it, learn it, and find a way to stop it from being used on the top sites list.


Please Help Us!!!!!!!!

~Jorge~

[Matt]

It is not posible to stop proxy voting, all you can do is ban sites that you know are using them.

[WebMasterJorge]

Yo! I downloaded a free trial of that Hide IP program that I was talking about, and started to use it. I noticed that the IP addresses that it was giving me where very similar.

Here are the IP addresses that it was letting me use...

200.118.2.218
200.118.2.220
200.118.2.219
168.143.113.12
68.87.77.185
68.87.64.117
68.87.66.101
124.1.66.131

[Matt]

We can add IP blocking in 5.1

[WebMasterJorge]

That sounds like a good idea. Here is another site that carryes the Proxy program. You could buy the software or download a free trial.


http://www.anonymizer.com


He Jeremy! If your reading this, please try to find a way to stop this, because people are using this method to cheat their ass off on my top sites list.

~Jorge~

[Jeremy]

i'll add ip blocking to 5.1.0

[WebMasterJorge]

Is their anything else that you could do besides IP blocking, because I know for a fact that this Proxy voting thing generates tons of IP's and it would be a pain in the ass, having to track all of these IP's and have them blocked one by one. Since the IP's that it generates are similar, can't you create it in a way so that it blocks all IP's that are similar or something like that?

[Jeremy]

i'll add ip range blocking to 5.1.0 then

[WebMasterJorge]

It has also come to my attention that the Proxy program changes its IP addresses daily or I think even more often than that, it completely gives out a new set of IP addresses to use. You won’t see this on a free trial download of the program, but members on my top sites list whom have actually bought advance versions of the program, have told me about this. If that's the case, then it sure would be a pain in the ass to be adding every hour or daily, new IP addresses to the blocking list.

Their as to be another way to go about this, maybe if we track voters by cookies, instead of IP's, but then you do have those people who might cheat by clearing out their cookies.

I'm out of ideas guys!

I'm just hoping that we could put a stop to this new method of cheating.

~Jorge~

[Jeremy]

cookie tracking is much easier to circumvent than ip tracking.

[WebMasterJorge]

I think I got a great solution to solve this problem! Actually this idea came from a member from my top sites list. In order for someone to vote or rate and review a site, they first must be Login with a username & password. Think about! This way we could track down votes easier, but then again people could start creating multiple accounts and used them to Proxy vote multiple times for the same site.

Unless we get very picky on the personal info that we ask them for, like home address, phone number, and use that to compare it with other already created account.

What you guys think!?

P.S.

Please don't forget to fix these other 2 bugs that I reported about 7 months ago...

http://www.aardvarkind.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2987

http://www.aardvarkind.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3015


~Jorge~