I have a WordPress blog and the only user input is the commenting system. I want to totally avoid spam comments. WordPress comes with Akismet but I can also use Captcha. Which plugin/method should I use?
My client doesn’t mind users entering verification strings to post comments. If I adopt either Akisment or Captcha will I be able to completely control the spam?
Is it possible to use either Akismet or Captcha for a simple 4-digit verification? If not then please also recommend a plugin/method capable of just a 4-digit verification.
The captchas seem to be fooled by adept people. The Akismet is better option in my view. Having said that you should still use captch along with Akismet 🙂
No, captchas are not foolproof, so I would definitely recommend you ALWAYS use akismet when allowing comments in WordPress. Akismet will not catch everything either, so the only REAL solution is to moderate your comments. I’ve found Akismet + moderation to be a nice combo, however. Akismet catches almost everything, and when it doesn’t, I usually only have to click the “check for spam” button again when I reach my comments page, and it’s been marked as spam in the time between getting my moderation email and getting to the WP comments page.
Captchas aren’t perfect. I’ve heard of people (e.g., from India) solving captchas for cash. The best way to stop spam is a combination of:
You’ll never be able to completely avoid spam, but most fully automated spambots can be stopped by something like ReCaptcha.
I saw this video for MintEye the other day and thought that it was a really great alternative to captcha.
They boast a much higher solve rate and better spam protection.
A better solution is to add an hidden input style text in the form, so is invisible at people, but not for bot, so when these spambot complete the form, write also in the hidden input and with a check ‘if than else’ you cannot receive comments or mail that are written by bot.
Exemple:
Best captcha solution i know so far is Recaptcha (same used in stackoverflow).
if you want more security, you can build your own verification system.
Never cracked and definitely the cutest captcha out there:
http://thepcspy.com/kittenauth/
I do not believe that there is 100% spamproof captcha and it is wrong to count on this.
But I believe in captcha being capable to change its principles of spamstoppingn more fast and easy than spamming techniques development.
PS
The most popular captchas (reCAPTCHA, SI Captcha, etc.) do not and cannot be changed, are passable by bots .
Using Wordfence plugin also is a good option to avoid spams.
Using Recaptcha is better than using any other captcha plugins. But Recaptcha sometimes shows nasty characters which in unreadable so sometimes your visitors will get irritated.
Many articles says that using Akismet is a good option. I think that is also a good one. But however there are some spams you cannot avoid it seems. Using the above plugins you can minimize the spams.
Akismet is ok. Nothing else.
Akismet not stop spam. also STOP FORUM SPAM plugins too. All spammer able to post comments.
If ya have set comment moderation thats great spam block to display on ur site.
I daily get lots of spam comments. Those plugins failed to stop them.
Only little bit help.