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I am using latest version of ChronoForms updated in September.My forms were working fine until about Jan 11 when I stared getting multiple emails from the same user. I thought that the user was filling out the form 5 different times, but the database shows the entries around 20 seconds apart, the information is exactly the same in the emailed results, and it would be difficult to refill out the form in such a short amount of time. The problem is not just with one form but is happening with different forms (Though they are relatively the same.)
I have checked out the form code, and I have tried to recreate the problem but haven't been able to by submitting from any of my computers. I tried impatiently clicking on the submit button while the form is processing. I have tried purposely entering the recaptcha wrong a few times.
I have gotten a few normal submissions in between the multiple submission ones, so the problem is sporatic, or possibly browser related???
The other thing is the email recipient has just joined something called WebReach by YellowBook.com to try and drive traffic to the site. Not that I know what I am talking about, but is it possible that something like that could be mirroring the site and the user entries are being submitted from mirrored pages seconds apart? The website is <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.webuycarsandbikes.com">www.webuycarsandbikes.com</a><!-- w -->

Hi,
Do the multiple emails contain valid or "proper" data?

Since you've enabled the Image Verification, it'd be very hard for someone to submit the same data multiple times (since the image verification token gets destroyed upon successful submission). Hitting the back-button could possibly restore the form with all data entered (depending on browser settings and sent headers) and the user would simply have to reload the image and enter the new code.

/Fredrik

Thank you for your reply. The emails do contain "proper" data, and it is identical in all the emails including the long text description of what is wrong with the car. Furthermore the data is area specific so if the zip code and phone number were not local, I would be more suspicious.
I have tried using my back button with Firefox and Safari, but the form is always blank (will have to try other browsers tomorrow). Also there is no consistency in the number of extra forms submitted. Sometimes it is three times, sometimes four or five.
You have given me an idea to set the submissions limit to 100 to see if that puts a band-aid on the problem.
Any other thoughts on what could be the cause of this?

Hi apryl,

It's possible to use a browser macro (like iMacros for FireFox, or possibly the Googel toolbar) to reload forms very quickly.

I'd suggest that you add a code snippet to detect this user and dump his form responses. You could block his IP address or detect one of the standard replies and use that as a test.

Bob

Hi Bob,
I can't believe I didn't look at the IP addresses. The quote requests we are having a problem with all come from the same IP address. Details from the IP address (12.111.223.57) show the organization as "YellowBook"

I did not think the problem was confined to one user as we have received 16 quote requests, using 4 different forms, since Jan. 11, and while 7 of the requests have been from the YellowBook IP address, they are from different names, for different vehicles, different email addresses. They seem legitimate, and the person who responds to the quotes has replied by email without having any bounce back. He is checking to see if he has heard back from any of the quotes and will get back to me.

Is it possible that the "pay per click" advertising he is buying from YellowBook's WebReach company is somehow passing legitimate users through their own IP?

Hi apryl,

It all sounds a bit odd :-(

There's a ChronoForms feature that I'd forgotten about - on the General tab is "Submissions limit (in seconds)" you could try setting this to 40-60 seconds to stop anyone re-sending faster than that??

Bob

Hi Bob,
It is very odd, especially since I have been using ChronoForms for over a year on this site and am just now encountering this problem.
I set the submission limit to 100 seconds, and this morning I received an email from the same IP (different user) and it only submitted one form.
I think the problem is more "handled" than "solved", but I also think it has very little if nothing to do with Chronoforms and more to do with the WebReach YellowBook service that the owner signed up for. Somehow different users are accessing our site through the same IP and it started when he signed up for the pay-per-click advertising with them. Why it was submitting the form multiple times is a mystery.
Anyway,
Thank you for this forum, I think I have read the whole thing now, and it has been my saving grace more than once.

apryl

An update to the problem: The Yellowbook WebReach pay per click service that the owner of the website has signed up for is apparently passing customers through their proxy server. The forms submitted from that IP address often come through duplicated or sometimes even as many as 6 copies of the same form and the information in them is identical. Also sometimes the same user will submit another quote request (Chrono form) a few minutes later with the same info but some things a little different. This indicated to me that the user thought his first form didn't go through.
Today the owner of the website told me he had a user that apologized for sending the form request 3 times, but that he kept getting errors saying "Gateway Blocked" or "Gateway Error" or something.
I had initially tried setting the "Submissions Limit (in seconds)" and that stopped the multiple submission of the same form, but it also blocked others users passed from the proxy server from submitting forms so I was asked to turn it off.
The WebReach contact said that it was the forms software and the CMS that were the problem.
If anyone has any experience with this or advice, I would love to hear from you.
Thanks,
Apryl

Hi Apryl,

Looks as though this may be a site problem - perhaps a conversation with your ISP to see if they can track it. Googel found nothing much for "Gateway blocked" but "Gateway Error" is a standard HTTP error see, for example this article.

A screen shot and URL for the error might also help you as it could equally be an HTTP error showing from the proxy site.

I don't think this is a ChronoForms error (and probably not a Joomla one either).

Bob