How do I stop automatic bots to join my live board?

[jpninside]

I just started a new MyBB 1.8.0 board and I'd like to know how not to have automatic bots to register my live board!
I always hated them, and I would really like if they do not ever visit my live board or when they do, they can't register a new account at all! 

Do you know what can I do? I wanna install plugins, htaccess modifies and lots of things just for the purpose to stop them all!
P.S. I know I shouldn't ask about that in here but... are MyProtection and MyPermissions 2 good plugins to stop them?

[StefanT]

Setting up good security questions will stop a lof of bots.

[jpninside]

Setting up good security questions will stop a lof of bots.

Yeah, I already know this! I only wanted to know if MyProtection and MyPermissions were 2 good plugins to stop them all definitively

I do not want to have lots of them to join my live board! So it was a good question to ask, I guess!
Even so, the answer might serve in the future to other users of MyBB 1.8!

[jpninside]

I just started a new MyBB 1.8.0 board and I'd like to know how not to have automatic bots to register my live board!

______________
Mohsin

I can suggest you the following steps from personal experience: 

• Using at least 5 security questions
  
• Allowing Stop Forum Spam
  
• Setting up Minimum Registration Time to 20 secs. at least
  
• Allowing Hidden Captcha Field
  

And allowing CloudFlare to your own forums website will protect from spammers to join and deface your site! 

[HolyPhoenix]

I have no additional plugins in Mybb 1.8. I turned on stopforumspam using the default settings and setup a single question on registration. I use to have bots join daily in Mybb 1.6. I have had not one single bot join since I upgraded and used the default security in MyBB 1.8.

[Destroy666]

I turned on stopforumspam using the default settings and setup a single question on registration.

Keep in mind that Stop Forum Spam is completely broken in 1.8.0
https://github.com/mybb/mybb/issues/1441
https://github.com/mybb/mybb/pull/1442

[HolyPhoenix]

I turned on stopforumspam using the default settings and setup a single question on registration.

Keep in mind that Stop Forum Spam is completely broken in 1.8.0
https://github.com/mybb/mybb/issues/1441
https://github.com/mybb/mybb/pull/1442

Then I must be lucky.  Or people can't register.  :p  

[jpninside]

Keep in mind that Stop Forum Spam is completely broken in 1.8.0
https://github.com/mybb/mybb/issues/1441
https://github.com/mybb/mybb/pull/1442

That definitely means that I should avoid using Stop Forum Spam in MyBB 1.8.0?
Then I'd better wait 1.8.1 release to use it again on my forums community?

[chriki]

That's good to hear about SFS (or not, depending on which side you are on :p). I've received several emails about people suddenly not being able to visit my forums because SFS blocked them.

As for the security questions, they do help in most cases. After a time, though, they seem to wear out (I guess they keep some sort of database which answer corresponds to which question). Hence, I replace questions from time to time (or deactivate some and activate others). This has greatly reduced the amount of bots, going from 3-5 bot-registrations per day down to less than 1 per week.

I myself am not sure as to how exactly they set up the registration-process for those bots, but sometimes, I get the feeling that those registrations are made by humans. In that case, even the best bot-protection will not help, unfortunately.

[Destroy666]

Well, currently everyone is blocked by SFS, so it's recommended to wait till 1.8.1.