Email validation before accepting ticket using email piping.

PHPism

Hello Everybody; ^_^I'm using osTickets to support my current and new customers. We are using it for supporting current customers and answer the questions of new customers for a software programming company. For months I have been struggling against spammers because they can simply start new ticket by sending it to our official email address which leads into filling the database with spammers emails (Usually fake) and tickets. I delete the spammed tickets manually and recently I found my way to cleanup my database from the spam users. However, I'm still receiving tickets from spam emails and the only way to get rid of them is to open each ticket, then manage user, then delete the user + tickets. That's the only available way and it's kinda exhausting because I usually receive many emails per hour and our tickets system is pretty busy.The request here: Email validation before accepting ticket using email piping. It will be very helpful if you make an option to save tickets generated by new email users as draft, then send activation link to the customer email first. If they activated the email, the ticket is submitting, if not with 72 hours, the ticket and the user are deleted from the database automatically.It will also be nicer if there's a tool for staff to view current not approved tickets and can manually approve the ticket for submission if they are noticed before deletion OR delete the ticket from drafts, and then the ticket and the user data are removed from the database.I hope I cleared my suggestion very well and hope you'll be able to add it to your next versions.Thanks in advance.Best Regards

Chefkeks

Sounds like a good idea for a plugin to me, even though the plugin system is still in development.

PHPism

Sounds like a good idea for a plugin to me, even though the plugin system is still in development.

If you ever done it, please let us know. I'm in a bad need of it. :)

Chefkeks

No, have not yet done a plugin and unfortunately my skills are not so good to do it either.

erichstrelow

Sorry to bring yo down, but such mechanism should be implemented at MTA level. Do you pipe the email from a postfix server? If that's the case, there are plenty of add-ins on the postfix level for antispam filtering.Also, the mechanism you describe is generaly called challenge-response. It has two main issues: your support system will answer every spam and for some spammers this will be an indication of an active e-mail address and indeed would increase your spam levels. Second, spam messages usually forge their sender address.

PHPism

@Chefkeks I have been thinking about it. I believe there's an easy solution for that issue right now.In "Home Page" and "Ticket View Page", you can add another button "Delete As Spam" next "Change Status" button. That button will delete the ticket and the use account for the owner and his/her other tickets as well. All physical deleting from the database.I believe that will be extremely easy but I don't know where to start with it.@erichstrelow I actually believe that entire mechanism can be done using php and at script level not MTA level at all. The MTA level is left right after the ticket is accepted but as "Draft" and the rest of the functions can be done using php and cron jobs.Thanks for the discussion. :)

Chefkeks

Don't know why I did not thought of that before, but did you take a look at the following option:Admin panel > Settings > Emails > Accept All EmailsBeside, you could ban the spammers as well:Admin Panel > Emails > Ban listor via a ticket filter:Admin Panel > Manage > ticket filters > email contains @[deleted]You can also ban the email from the Agent panel. Just click the "More" button (next to "Change Status") and use the "ban email@spam.com" option there. There you'll need to give you / the agents the right to ban (Admin panel > agents > groups > your group name > ability to ban emails)

PHPism

1- Admin panel > Settings > Emails > Accept All EmailsThat option is nice. However, I used to receive many tickets regarding new orders from new potential customers. I can't afford to lose them in case their tickets got rejected and they didn't want to manually register in the support portal. But thanks. :)2- Beside, you could ban the spammers as well:Admin Panel > Emails > Ban listor via a ticket filter:Admin Panel > Manage > ticket filters > email contains @[deleted].comUnfortunately, these options doesn't suit me for 2 reasons.A. The spammers always use new emails, and mostly from random domain names.B. This will fill my database with fake emails. I need to keep my database clean because I extract these emails later to use them while sending promotions to my customers and whoever registered in support portal or the blog.I understand that my requests are specific and tight, but that's how I truly need.Thanks for the suggestions.Best Regards

DanRhodes

Would this be any use to you?http://www.forum.osticket.com/d/discussion//email-domain-validation/p1

eyalkattan

@[deleted] Just out of curiosity.... why not using Admin panel > Settings > Emails > Private for the initial registration?-Eyal