Help & Support
Our help database contains answers to most of the common questions regarding our products.
If you are unable to locate a satisfactory answer for your query by searching here, please contact us.
I lost my Cbox embed code. Where can I get it?
Your Cbox embed code is available at your control panel. You need this code to install your Cbox on your website.
Also on that page is your Quick Link — a URL which you can use to access your Cbox directly in your browser or on your mobile device.
How do I put my Cbox on my website?
Once you have created your Cbox account, go to the Publish page of your control panel. The code and steps for embedding your Cbox are provided there for a number of common platforms.
If you install your Cbox and all you see is code, or nothing at all, your web host may be removing or otherwise interfering with the HTML iframe tags that Cbox uses. Your Cbox code needs to be pasted into an area of your site that accepts HTML without modification. This may mean switching your editor from "rich text" or "WYSIWYG" mode into HTML-editing or "raw" mode, or you may need to open your template files in a plain-text editor like Notepad.
Remember that you always have the option of posting or sharing your Cbox Quick Link — this gives visitors direct access to your Cbox in a full-screen layout, so it's perfect as a mobile option or for stand-alone use.
How do change my Cbox's style to go with my site's design?
Go to the Theme editor in your control panel. There you can specify the fonts and colours of your Cbox, using a point-and-click editor. You can always reset your theme to one of the preset defaults there, if you would like to start again.
If you have a Premium or Pro Cbox you can edit CSS, which gives you complete control over presentation.
How do I delete messages?
If you have a Premium or Pro Cbox, you can create a moderator name for yourself at your Users page, and then log in on your Cbox using the "profile" link. You will see a delete icon [x] next to each message in your Cbox, and you will not have to log in at your control panel at all to delete messages.
Alternatively, visit your Messages page to delete messages individually or in bulk. Deleted messages are removed from your public Cbox history, but are preserved in your Archives.
Can I make my Cbox transparent?
Yes. In the Theme editor, simply delete the colour codes for the main and form background ("BG") elements. This will make the Cbox transparent, allowing whatever is behind the Cbox to show through.
Note that any pop-ups generated by a transparent Cbox will have the default background colour — usually white. If your font colour is light, it may be invisible in popups. You can fix this by editing the CSS to introduce a background-color rule for popups.
I banned someone and they are still able to post. What can I do?
The user's IP address is probably changing. Cbox has a feature that allows you to strengthen bans so that certain kinds of changing (dynamic) IPs are blocked by a single ban. Cbox Pro has additional features that can pre-emptively ban users of proxies.
Go to your bans page, and select the ban(s) that are not effective. Then click the "Strengthen" button in the top-right. This will "widen the net" on the selected bans. You can click Strengthen again to widen the net even further.
Note that strengthened bans are more likely to affect other people, especially other customers of the same ISP, because they constitute a range of IP addresses. A doubly-strengthened ban covers about 65 000 IP addresses.
If you have a paid Cbox, you have access control features you should enable, including the option to require users to register their names before posting. You can also control whether your users are able to register their own names. You can disable this second option to take control over registration; simply deleting a registered user will then prevent that person from posting, regardless of IP, because they cannot register a new name.
With a Pro Cbox, you can enable "Auto-ban proxies" at your Settings page. Your Cbox will detect proxies, VPNs and Tor exit nodes and will automatically and temporarily ban users who attempt to post from behind such services.
How do I choose a secure password?
Your security online is important to us. Please consider these guidelines for choosing a secure password:
- Avoid words which appear in the dictionary.
- A longer password is generally better.
- Mix uppercase letters, numbers, and other special characters into your password.
- Your password should not easily be associated with you – don't use your name or birthdate in your password.
Cbox will send you a password reset email if you ever forget your password here. This means that your email account must be at least as secure as your Cbox account. Do not use the same password for Cbox that you use for your email account. This is good practice generally: it is common for Internet services to send password reset emails to your email address. If any one of them is compromised, the risk is limited to that account only if your passwords are different.
A good tip for choosing a strong password: start with a memorable sentence. Then take the first letter from each word in the sentence to make your password. Use a mix of upper- and lower-case letters and use a number or other non-alphabetic character as a substitute for at least one letter.
Cbox not displaying in Firefox 72
Firefox from version 72 includes an Enhanced Tracking Protection feature that is now enabled by default. This feature misidentifies Cbox as a "fingerprinter" or "tracker" service and blocks it on third party sites, including your own site if you have embedded your Cbox there.
You can disable ETP or add an exception to allow Cbox to load on your site. You should also still be able to use your Quick Link to access your Cbox.
Cbox has notified the list provider and has requested removal, and we are awaiting resolution. We are unfortunately not able to provide a timeline for when this will happen.
I deleted some messages by accident. Can I get them back?
Unfortunately deleted messages cannot be restored to your Cbox conversation history without re-posting them.
However, if you have a Premium or Pro Cbox, all your messages are archived, including messages that were deleted. You can generate a transcript from your archive at this page.
How do I disable the ActiveX prompt?
The ActiveX prompt appears in very old versions of Internet Explorer if the security level setting is high. Cbox uses ActiveX in some versions of IE for refreshing and posting. However your Cbox will function fine without ActiveX if you choose to disable it. To disable the dialog, follow these steps:
- Select Tools -> Internet Options from the menu.
- Choose the Security tab.
- If the Default Level button is not disabled, click it.
- Set the Security level slider to Medium.
If that does not work, or you have set up a Custom Level, click the Custom Level button and ensure that "Run ActiveX controls and plugins" and "Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting" are both set to Enabled.