Hiding out of date forum versions [vB Tutorial inside]

[adb22791]

Hello FU-ers,

I have been browsing many forums I have found here lately, and have noticed that many people run out of date forum versions, specifically vBulletin users. Running an out of date forum version is generally not a good idea, as security exploits are bound to be present, as well as many bugs and other little problems. With the evolution of forum systems as time passes, upgrading is easier and easier.

Now, I'm not going to try and tell you I'm a perfect webmaster and always keep my forums up-to-date, cause that would be a complete lie. However, I do my best to keep forums patched and secure, which includes hiding the forum version number. Hiding the forum version number keeps hackers (and script kiddies) away, as they don't know whether your forums are 100% up to date or lagging a few (a few could be anywhere from 1 to 2 versions to 12 to 13 versions behind) versions behind.

I know phpBB does this nativly now, however vBulletin still by default displays the version number. However, this is easily corrected.

First, go into your vBulletin Admin CP, and bring the Language and Phrases menu down. Click on Search in Phrases. In the "Search for Text Box", type powered_by. Change the Search in ... option to be Phrase Text and Phrase Variable Name. Now click Find.

Your search results should contain an entry that reads...

powered_by_vbulletin Standard Phrase Powered by vBulletin Version {1}<br />Copyright &copy;2000 - {2}, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

Click the edit button next to that entry. You are now editing the copyright phrase which controls what is displayed in your forum footer for the vBulletin copyright.

Now, under the English (US) Translation text next to the text book, click Copy Default Text.

The text book should now have something similiar to:

Powered by vBulletin Version {1}<br />Copyright &copy;2000 - {2}, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

This will display (in your forum footer):

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.5.4 (or whatever your version is)
Copyright ©2000 - 2006, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

Now, the minimum copyright text required by Jelsoft is...
Powered by vBulletin - Copyright &copy;2000 - {2}, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. This will display as
Powered by vBulletin - Copyright ©2002 - 2006, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
You can customize this phrase all you want, as long as you keep the above in it. You could change the version number to read just vBulletin 3.0, or vBulletin 3.5 (by changing the {1} to a 3.0 or 3.5).

This is just a short tutorial for another way to add security to your forum. It's also nice if you want to integrate the copyright text into a custom template (you can make it shorter to all fit on one line). Just remember to keep the minimum required copyright text.

DO NOT REMOVE THE JELSOFT COPYRIGHT ON VBULLETIN UNLESS YOU HAVE PURCHASED A COPYRIGHT FREE LICENSE.

The same should go for other forums, even the free ones like phpBB. People deserve credit for their work, and giving them a little one line in your footer is easy and a nice gesture to those working hard to power your forum.

Good luck, and feel free to badger me with any questions or any comments via a reply or PM.

[SoftWareRevue]

Good advice, Alex. :)

[Scott]

Good idea, this is a great way to add an extra bit of security.

The instructions for IPB are slightly different as you need to edit the php files:

Open sources/ipsclass.php in either Notepad or a file manager (such as the one in cPanel).
Find (near the top):
var $version = "v2.1.x"; Simply change the value between the "" to change what is displayed in the footer. Thus, to show as version 2.1.5 (the latest):
var $version = "v2.1.5";
Make sure nothing else changes as it could cause the whole forum to error out. If you're not used to PHP then I'd suggest backing up this file before you edit it.
Once done, save and upload ipsclass.php.

For those who are curious, you'll notice that a few lines below this code is another version code. This one changes the update image in the Admin Control panel depending on whether it is out of date or not. Probably best to leave this one alone as it'll remind you to update eventually ;)