User:Mick

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Heywo! I'm Mick.

I'm just a lurker around here, perhaps helping out in some places sometimes.. randomly.

Images

I like Images! I thought I may go around the wiki a bit giving a few images some much needed crushing down, without losing quality of course! I'll probably do that later. :) Sometimes I can trim an image down 50% of its original filesize using pngout.

Capcatcha?

However you spell that..

A idea for MediaWiki is to put a special image whenever a anonymous user tries to edit a page. This can help prevent vandal attacks by bots [or zombie bots] and the like. You can also use it on the login/register page to prevent bots from registering accounts to bypass it. It's likely the image wouldn't be needed for users who are already logged in. [This is, so far, a concept]

The idea is simple, text is read easily by a vandal bot program, but a image is quite tricky. And if a bot learns how to read the image we simply use a new method of image generation. Generally for every edit/login a image is generated with a special code. The image probally has some method to help prevent robots from easily reading it. After the code is used, it's thrown out and a new one is generated.

My method includes a simple number put into the image generator. The generator take that number, and then matches it to a list of known codes. [Number, the id of the code. The code is the letters displayed on the image] It takes the code that matches the number [the number and the code are different from each other, and are both randomly generated], then uses a image generation method to put that code into a image designed to prevent bots from reading it. The user would then enter that code into a web form, and the program it's in [like MediaWiki] finds it to match, then it allows the edit/login/register/whatever it's put on.

The image is easy to read for humans, but the idea is that it isn't easily read by vandal bots.

And to me that's a very effective means to help prevent abuse of a wiki. :)

The code I've written can be sampled here:

http://micksam7.com/antibot.php

The above link only generates random text, but when a correct number is put in it always sends the same code, just changes the colors, positioning, and various other things every time it's generated.

http://micksam7.com/antibot.php?securecode&42563873

When actually in use, it will delete the number and code and generate a new one. [Note that only certin numbers work, otherwise it'll generate a random code as a added measure]

For added security, the list of codes and numbers can be deleted and regenerated in each night. The list ussually makes up of a few thousand codes, but regenerates rather quickly. [As I really like optimization of scripts more then anything else.] The above examples are coded in PHP and will work on PHP 4 and above with the GD library installed [most hosts have it installed already]. Coded with optimization in mind, so it shouldn't affect server speed at all. :)

Right now I'm balenceing homework with my own personal projects [I'm in the 11th grade, and I program for a hobby, programming for the past 2 or so years]. I'll be attempting to create a easy-to-install "Modification" of this idea for MediaWiki.. if I get the time.

Thanks! And sorry for any grammical errors or any massive confusing I may have caused. :)

Contacting

Why would anyone contact me? I donno.

• Email: micksam7@micksam7.com
• Website: http://micksam7.com/
• AIM: micksam7
• Yahoo!: micksam_7
• MSN: micksam7@hotmail.com
• Jabber: micksam7@jabber.org
• SILC: micksam7
• IRC: micksam7 -> irc.chat-addict.net -> #stats