UBB.Developers Forums UBB.threads 6 Bug Reports Ad Blocking Software (5.3)

I received the following information from one of our staff today:

In reply to:

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I can't post here when I have the NaviScope "Ad Blocker" software installed -- I get an error message.

The error seems to be caused by two options in Naviscope that are called: "Hide Last Page Visited (Referrer)" and "Hide System Information (UserAgent)".

The error message that I get is:

In reply to:
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We encountered a problem. The reason reported was:

The host you are trying to send the input from is not a valid host.

This is not necessarily an error. If you feel this is an error then it could be something as simple as your browser not being set to accept cookies. If you feel this error is a problem with the server then please contact [email protected] and let us know what exactly went wrong so it can be fixed as soon as possible. Otherwise, please use your back button to return to the previous page.

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If I uncheck those two boxes, it allows me to post. Again, I don't get that error on the public boards.

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This is describing a problem with the PHP 5.3 version of the script vs the Perl 5.16 version which we currently have running on our public boards. So something has changed between 5.16 and 5.3. Scream, can you explain what the "The host you are trying to send the input from is not a valid host." error is referring to? Why does the script require it for a user to post?

Jhariden (aka Strategist)
Stratics Forums

Not sure if it's related to that, but one of my users can't access our site from his workplace, and he reported he couldn't reach other interest sites, and I think all of them are either running W3T or maybe some other php type board....so I just assumed his company's firewall had something against php extensions....but, now I'm wondering if it's in fact thinking there's an ad dealy going on here.

The same check_refer function has been used since version 3.0 so I haven't changed anything in this area. Basically, the check_referer function checks grabs the REFERER variable from the browser to see where the post is being submitted from. If it doesn't match the domain that the software is running on then it gives that error. Without that check a user could save the form to their local hard drive and submit a post to your forums from anywhere. So, when the user checks (Hide Last Page Visited) there is no way for the software to validate that the post is being submitted from where it is supposed to be.

Ah yes, that makes perfect sense. Thanks Scream! I am just wondering why the Perl 5.16 allows them to post and PHP 5.3 does not. Interesting.

Jhariden (aka Strategist)
Stratics Forums