Comments on: Advice to curb wordpress spam?

By: Wesley Fryer

Wesley Fryer — Sat, 06 May 2006 18:57:01 +0000

Excellent Doug, thanks! A recommendation like this is just what I was looking for. I didn’t want to install a WP plugin that would conflict with Spam Karma, and I would prefer something that doesn’t make commenting more of a pain for actual human visitors! I’ve installed Bad Behavior and activated it, now I’ll wait to see if Spam Karma gets a break. THANKS!

By: Doug Noon

Doug Noon — Sat, 06 May 2006 17:08:38 +0000

Wesley, if you want a “hands-free” low-profile spam blocker, I enthusiastically recommend Bad Behavior. Before I upgraded to Wordpress 2, I had it installed alongside Spam Karma, and Spam Karma essentially took a very long break. Since my Wordpress upgrade I haven’t had any need to add any new protection. The way it seemed to me then was that Bad Behavior+Spam Karma was like putting an electric fence around a yard with a guard dog in it.

By: Wesley Fryer

Wesley Fryer — Sat, 06 May 2006 15:38:47 +0000

Thanks Kevin, I knew there was a word for those that I had heard but I forgot it.

Thanks Steve, I did see that page of tools also, I am using Spam Karma 2 but am just wondering if anyone is using any tools that include “captcha” functionality that they recommend. That page from Wordpress does look pretty comprehensive, but I wish it had a feature where users could rate which ones they like best.

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 06 May 2006 11:18:47 +0000

These are straight from the Wordpress site and a Google search for “Wordpress spam tools.”

By: Kevin Farnham

Kevin Farnham — Sat, 06 May 2006 06:40:25 +0000

The random word displayed in graphics is called a “captcha”. It’s actually an acronym.

Are you running WordPress 2.0? It has some spam fighting support right out of the box. But, my sites haven’t put it through much of a test yet. But I don’t know if 2.0 has anything that would automatically delete spam comments.

I’ve seen a couple sites with alternatives to captcha’s. One site asks you to add two random numbers and enter the sum. Some others ask you to enter a specific word. Captcha’s are what’s used at all the large volume sites, though.