There are 4 DotNetNuke user registration options available: None; Private; Public and Verified.
The registration options are configured on the page Admin > Site Settings.
On this page expand the User Account Settings section to see the 4 radio buttons listed under User Registration.
None
The registration link is hidden on the website. Users are added to the website by the website’s administrators only.
If you can’t see the register link on your website it is possible that user registration has been disabled.
Private
Users are able to register on your website. But their account must be approved. Approval is made by the websites administrators acting on the user accounts.
To approve a user account navigate to the User Accounts page, under the Admin pages. Click on the edit pencil for the user of interest.
On the first tab Manage Account click on the button Authorise User. Similarly for an authorised account there is an UnAuthorise User button.
To edit another user account there is no return link. On the Admin bar and select the User Accounts page once more.
Public
Anyone can register on your website. There are no restrictions.
Verified
This is similar to the public registration except an email is sent to the address given and the code must be entered to gain access. This enables the email addresses given to be confirmed as valid.
I prefer to run DotNetNuke websites in the verified mode, if I am to make it open for registration. This can reduce the number of junk/spam user registrations. Particularly if a login page is used with details of the login process and its inclusion of a verification email.
Other Thoughts
The latest version of DotNetNuke now includes a configuration option to hide the login link. You may find that this suffices regards blocking unwanted registration attempts. Although the old method of adding ?ctl=login to the site URL to access the login form is still valid.
