Help File
Advanced Flood Protection 3b

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Author: BrainWav
Website: mircoder.cjb.net
Released:
July 20th, 2001


Introduction | Requirements | What's New? | Loading AFP
Unloading AFP | AFP Control Panel | FAQ's | Restoring AFP defaults
Trading Protection | Conflicts | Technical | Hints | Contact


Introduction

Thank you for your interest in AFP 3b. Since so many people requested a newer version, I decided to continue with AFP. First off, I tried implementing as many features as I could to make this add-on as user-friendly as possible. Extensive error checking and many tests have been done to insure reliable protection for its users. Thanks for everyone's support and I hope you enjoy AFP 3b for mIRC!

Red text in this file refers to warning messages
Blue refers to commands used in edit boxes
Purple refers to AFP buttons, tabs, files, etc.

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Requirements

- mIRC 5.91 (32bit)
- Basic knowledge of mIRC

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What's New? (Lots!)

- Completely redesigned dialog. More options & better looking! :)
- Customize protection settings for as many individual channels as you want or simply select all active channels.
- Hash table implemented for fast variable referencing. Quicker than using an ini file.
- Send other users your protection settings or use someone else's.
- Support for #, &, and + channel prefixes.
- Option to deop, deop/kick, deop/ban/kick.
- New Freeze button added. Freezes/unfreezes protection for selected channel.
- You can give up to 3 warnings before penalties are used.
- Option to log all users who flood. (channel & personal)
- Users currently being ignored are displayed in a list, where you can remove them from it manually if you choose.
- You can now exclude Ops, Half Ops, and Voiced users from the flood protection penalties.
- You can add your own custom kick message for each channel.
- Send a custom reply message to users which flood you.
- Choose how long user is banned, or select permanent.
- Individually set mask type for Ban & Ignore.
- Set ignore type to whatever you want. e.g. PCNTIKD.
- Warnings can be sent as /msg or /notice.
- Includes "Unload" button to uninstall AFP.
- Option to let users in channel(s) know that AFP is monitoring for possible flood attacks.

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Loading AFP

1) Open mIRC if it's not already open.
2) In any mIRC edit box, type: /load -rs <drive:\dir\>afp3b.mrc
Example 1: /load -rs afp3b.mrc
Example 2: /load -rs c:\mirc32\afp3\afp3b.mrc
3) AFP will start-up automatically. If for some reason it doesn't, type /afp3b and it will start.

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Unloading AFP

1) Open the AFP Control Panel, click on "Options" then press the "Unload" button.
2) Follow the last set of instructions.

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AFP Control Panel

Note: In order to add/remove custom channels, you must disable "Active Channels" check box, then modify your custom channels. After that, you may re-enable "Active Channels" protection if you want.

File (menu)
- Enable - Enables AFP flood protection
- Disable - Disables AFP flood protection
- Exit - Exits AFP control panel

Tools (menu)
- Channel - Displays "Channel" tab
- Personal - Displays "Personal" tab
- Options - Displays "Options" tab

Help (menu)
- Contents - Displays the help file (help.htm)
- Read Me - Displays the readme file (readme.txt)
- About - Brings up the "About" window

Channel (tab)
- Active Channels - When enabled, it provides flood protection to all active channels you are currently in and you may modify its settings. When disabled, only custom channels which are listed and unfrozen will be protected.
- Channel List - If you have added any channels, this displays their name. Click on a channel in the list to view or modify settings. If "Active Channels" is enabled, you will need to disable it so you can modify custom channels.
- Add - Adds a new channel name to protect list. New channels are given default protection settings. These settings can be modified right away if desired.
- Rem - If a channel is selected in the list and you press this button, it will be removed without confirmation. So be careful which channel you delete.
- Freeze - This will freeze the selected channel from the list. If it's currently frozen, pressing this button will disable the freeze. Frozen means that protection is disabled for the selected channel. This feature is not available for "Active Channels".
- Rem * - This deletes all custom channels from the list. A confirmation dialog will be displayed.
- Ops (@) - If checked, operators will be exempt from the flood protection in the selected channel (or active channels if enabled).
- Half Ops (%) - If checked, half-operators will be exempt from the flood protection in the selected channel (or active channels if enabled).
- Voiced (+) - If checked, voiced users will be exempt from the flood protection in the selected channel (or active channels if enabled).
- Chars Per Line - Allows you to set the maximum amount of characters per line. Users exceeding the amount will prone to the flood protection penalty. If "None" is selected, then the Chars Per Line flood protection will be disabled.
- Flood Protection Controls - Checking a control will enable it. Unchecking will disable the control. e.g. If the CTCP check box is unchecked, flood protection for CTCP's is disabled. The first list box shows the number of strings allowed to be received in the specified amount of time (second list box). Users exceeding this will be penalized if this protection control is enabled.
- Flood Penalty - Choose type of punishment here. You can select Deop (D), Deop/Kick (D/K), or Deop/Ban/Kick (D/B/K). If D/B/K is selected, you will be able to set the length of ban. You can also choose "Perm" which means ban will be permanent.
- Msg - Here you can add your own custom kick message. Kick messages will only be used if you set the Flood Penalty to D/K or D/B/K.

Personal (tab)
- Flood Protection Controls - Checking a control will enable it. Unchecking will disable the control. e.g. If the CTCP check box is unchecked, flood protection for CTCP's is disabled. The first list box shows the number of strings allowed to be received in the specified amount of time (second list box). Users exceeding this will be penalized if this protection control is enabled.
- Ignore - Allows you to set the length of time in which a user will be ignored. You can also select "Perm" to ignore the users permanently.
- Msg - Here you can add your own custom ignore message.
- Ignore List - This displays users currently on ignore. If you click on an address, the box below will show you the ignore type for that individual. Selecting an address here will enable the "Rem" button.
- Rem - This will remove selected user from the "Ignore List" without confirmation.
- Chars Per Line - Allows you to set the maximum amount of characters per line. Users exceeding the amount will prone to the flood protection penalty. If "None" is selected, then the Chars Per Line flood protection will be disabled.
- Ignore Type - This lets you modify the default ignore type. The list below describes each.
   Private (P) - Ignores private messages
   Channel (C) - Ignores channel messages
   Notice (N) - Ignores private notices
   CTCP (T) - Ignores CTCP requests
   DCC (D) - Ignores private DCC send/chat requests
   Invite (I) - Ignores private invites
   Codes (K) - Ignores control codes
- Reference - Just a reference for Ignore Type section.

Options (tab)
- Open on mIRC startup - If checked, AFP Control Panel will open whenever mIRC is started.
- Enable on mIRC startup - If checked, AFP flood protection will be enabled when mIRC is started.
- Exit Confirmation - If checked, AFP will ask for your confirmation before exiting. If unchecked, mIRC will exit immediately without your confirmation.
- Notify Channels - If checked, all channels being protected will be notified when AFP is enabled/disabled.
- Unload - This will unload AFP. Follow the instructions.
- Ban Mask Type - Choose the default mask type which will be used on all bans.
- Ignore Mask Type - Choose the default mask type which will be used on all ignores.
- Channel Warnings - Select the amount of warnings to give users which flood a channel. Choose from 1, 2, 3, or None.
- Personal Warnings - Select the amount of warnings to give users which flood you. Choose from 1, 2, 3, or None.
- Message/Notice - Choose the method to use when users are sent ban/ignore/warning notifications. You can choose from /msg or /notice.
- Logging - Enables or disables logging for selected control.
- View - If log exists, you can view it using this button.
- Delete - If log exists, you can delete it using this button.

- Help - Displays help file (help.htm)
- Exit - Exits AFP control panel

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FAQ's

Q: When the protection is enabled, why doesn't trigger off when someone floods?
A: Either your settings aren't adjusted appropriately, you have one or more conflicts, or you're experiencing some lag. Set the time higher for flood control(s) if lag seems to be the cause.

Q: When "Exit Confirmation" is enabled, why does it not ask for permission to close when I click on the "x" in the titlebar?
A: That's something I can't help you with. The titlebar buttons can't be modified through mIRC scripting.

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Restoring AFP defaults

1) If mIRC isn't open, proceed to step 3.
2) If the AFP Control Panel window is open, close it.
3) Remove "afpsys.GID" from your mIRC directory.
4) Open mIRC if it's closed. Open the AFP Control Panel to restore defaults.

Note: Opening the Control Panel is required so that the new GID file is loaded into memory. Close AFP afterwards if you want.

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Trading Protection (afpsys.GID)

Never manually modify "afpsys.GID" as doing so may corrupt the AFP config file! If you mess it up, follow instructions for "Restore AFP defaults".

1) If mIRC isn't open, proceed to step 3.
2) If the AFP Control Panel window is open, close it.
3) Place the new "afpsys.GID" file you received into mIRC's main directory where "mirc32.exe" is located and overwrite the old "afpsys.GID" if prompted. If you want to save your old GID file, place it in some other directory or rename it temporarily.
4) Open mIRC if it's closed. Next open the AFP Control Panel to load new settings.

Note: Opening the Control Panel is required so that the new GID file is loaded into memory. Close AFP afterwards if you want.

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Conflicts

Please note that AFP uses many events in its protection. Conflicts may arise if you have other events in use by other scripts. It's recommended that you use a clean copy of mIRC if you have any problems. The events used are listed below in order...

on *:start:
on !*:text:*:#:
on !*:action:*:#:
on !*:notice:*:#:
ctcp !*:*:#:
on !*:nick:
on *:join:#:
on !*:text:*:?:
on !*:invite:#:
ctcp !*:dcc send:?:
ctcp !*:dcc chat:?:
ctcp !*:*:?:

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Technical

IAL - When a user is being scanned for channel flooding, AFP will check the users address (*!*user@host) through the channel IAL. If the address doesn't exist, it relies upon the users nickname. Usage of nicknames isn't as reliable because if they change their nickname and flood again, the flood would be considered a new flood to a so-called new user. The IAL is updated when a user joins a channel, sends a messages to a channel, or makes a mode change. But if you have just joined a room, the IAL isn't automatically updated and therefore no addresses are in the IAL (accept yours). The only way to update the IAL when you join a room is to do a /who right away. The problem with this is that in large room (say 150+ users), the /who command looks up every single users address and that takes time to process. You'll notice quite abit of lag on large channels. If you don't mind the lag or you plan on using AFP with small channels, you can have AFP automatically do a /who on the channel you join by adding %afp_who ! to the variable list in mIRC. Remove it to disable the /who option.

Operators & Half Operators - If you are a Half Op, AFP can't Deop/Kick Ops that flood. Half Ops can Kick/Ban other Half Ops but can't Deop them. And lastly, Half Ops can kick/ban Voiced and Regular users.

Hast Table - The "afpsys.GID" file is always loaded into the hash table whenever the AFP Control Panel is opened. The biggest reason is using another persons "afpsys.GID" file. You would want to load the new "afpsys.GID" file and not use the current hash table settings.

Ignore List - The Ignore List in AFP is only updated when it adds a user automatically, or when AFP is reopened. When AFP is opened, even addresses in mIRC's internal ignore list which were added from another source will be displayed. If an address is put on Ignore while AFP is open and if AFP isn't what put the address on ignore, it won't be displayed untill AFP is reopened.

Dialog Tab Speed - You will probably notice that switching from Tab to Tab is a little slow. I found that the reason is the keyboard control-key shortcuts (&). I left them in as I'm sure some people use them. The shortcuts are pretty much standard with most applications these days anyways.

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Hints

- The file "afp3b.mrc.bkp", is a backup file in case you mess up "afp3b.mrc". Delete the old "afp3b.mrc" (if it's not already deleted) and rename "afp3b.mrc.bkp" to "afp3b.mrc". Then your good to go!
- Deleting a custom kick message will reset message to it's default. Restart AFP to see the change. This reset feature also applies to the "Ignore Type" editbox.

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Contact

Questions, comments, suggestions & found bugs can be emailed to:
texnwar@hotmail.com

IRC: irc.beyondirc.net
Channel: #TexCyn
Nickname: BrainWav (aka W\RRIOR)

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