Here's a way off-topic thread...

[kpierce]

This one's for anyone with vbulletin experience:

I have my "guest" usergroup permissions set up to not allow any viewing permissions. They have to register before they can view any part of the site. However, when I go to the "who's online" section I consistently see a guest that is viewing threads and pms. When I hover over the box next to the thread listed it says "viewing no-permission message" but the actions that this guest is taking really looks like they are viewing the site. They'll be on one thread for a few minutes then go to another and this happens daily. I can't imagine they are sitting reading the "no-permission message" daily. Any suggestions?

I'm thinking a display glitch or a search engine indexing the site. Possibly a hacker. Not sure.

[Dominic J. Maricic]

More than likely someone clicking a link in an email of a response to a thread. They get to the page but are a guest until they log in.

[kpierce]

How would they get a response email without being a registered member? I've watched the activity of the guest bounce around the site.

[Peter Doane]

Its a poltergiust ,....... or polterguest?

[kpierce]

Originally Posted by pdoane

Its a poltergiust ,....... or polterguest?

................

[kpierce]

Any other suggestions Dominic? Could this behavior be caused by a SE indexing? Can a search engine even index the site if I have a forced registration?

[Dominic J. Maricic]

No, an SE can only see what a guest could see. It has to be your permissions are messed up or it's a person clicking a link from their email. I'd have to see the actual site to tell for sure. You can have people linking to your site from other places as well.

[kpierce]

The problem with permissions being messed up is that when I try logging out and clearing cookies, I can't see anything. You can try at www.thegapspot.com. You should be forced to register and not be able to see any part of the site.

[Dominic J. Maricic]

Looks locked to me.

[kpierce]

and for the email or other links, it's just weird that the guest with the same IP is on multiple times per day trying to view threads. If they realized they needed to register, why would they continue to view the "no-permission message" over and over.

[kpierce]

Anyway, it's weird, just curious on your take. Thanks.

[Dominic J. Maricic]

PM me some of the IP's.

[Dominic J. Maricic]

That IP tracks back to Japan. More than likely it's a spam bot probing your server unless you have users from other countries.

[kpierce]

Yeah, I knew it was from Japan. My initial thought was a bot. You're probably right.