Extension:AntiSpoof

MediaWiki extensions manual

AntiSpoof Release status: stable
Implementation	User activity
Description	Prevents the creation of confusable usernames.
Author(s)	Brion Vibber (Brion VIBBERtalk)
MediaWiki	1.13+
Database changes	Yes
Tables	spoofuser
License	GNU General Public License 2.0 or later
Download	Download snapshot (Git master) Git [?]: repo summary browse file tree commit history code review
Parameters $wgAntiSpoofAccounts
Added rights override-antispoof
Hooks used LoadExtensionSchemaUpdates AbortNewAccount AddNewAccount UserCreateForm RenameUserComplete
Translate the AntiSpoof extension if it is available at translatewiki.net
Check usage and version matrix; code metrics
Issues:	Open tasks · Report a bug

The AntiSpoof extension is an extension for preventing confusable usernames from being created. It blocks the creation of accounts with mixed-script, confusing and similar usernames.

For example, if user John Doe is already registered, the extension will block attempts to register:

• Jοhn Doe ("ο" in Jοhn is Greek small letter omicron),
• John Dоe ("о" in Dоe is Cyrillic small letter O),
• Јohn Doe ("Ј" in Јohn is Cyrillic capital letter Je),
• John Đoe ("Đ" in Đoe is Latin capital letter D with stroke),
• Jóhn Doe ("ó" in Jóhn is Latin small letter O with acute),
• John ​Doe (there is a Zero-width space before Doe),
• Jøhn Doe ("ø" in Jøhn is Scandinavian oe),

etc.

Download

The extension can be retrieved directly from Git ^[?]:

• Browse code
• Some extensions have tags for stable releases.
  • Browse tags
  • Select the tag
  • Click "snapshot"
• Each branch is associated with a past MediaWiki release. There is also a "master" branch containing the latest alpha version (might require an alpha version of MediaWiki).
  • Browse branches
  • Select a branch name
  • Click "Continue"

Extract the snapshot and place it in the extensions/AntiSpoof/ directory of your MediaWiki installation.

If you are familiar with git and have shell access to your server, you can also obtain the extension as follows:

cd extensions/
git clone https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/p/mediawiki/extensions/AntiSpoof.git

Installation

• Download and place the file(s) in a directory called AntiSpoof in your extensions/ folder.
• Add the following code at the bottom of your LocalSettings.php:

require_once "$IP/extensions/AntiSpoof/AntiSpoof.php";

• Run the update script which will automatically create the necessary database tables that this extension needs.
• In case user accounts are stored in a shared database, add:

$wgSharedTables[] = 'spoofuser';

• Run the batchAntiSpoof.php script from the command line to pre-populate the antispoof table with your wiki's existing usernames.

php extensions/AntiSpoof/maintenance/batchAntiSpoof.php

• Done! Navigate to "Special:Version" on your wiki to verify that the extension is successfully installed.
• To verify that it's working, try creating an account for username "Adm1n"; most wikis have an "Admin" account and so AntiSpoof should reject this lookalike username with a message like "The name Adm1n is too similar to the existing account: Admin".

See also

• Equivalence sets (large page)