WordPress Spam Prevention
Originally posted on https://www.mobilizecloud.com/2019/09/wordpress-spam-prevention/
When it comes to running a WordPress site, there is nothing worse than getting hit by spambots or fake users posting comments on blog posts or sending you a fraudulent contact request. We take a very proactive approach with all our WordPress sites by installing two primary countermeasures to spam.
Google reCAPTCHA
Google’s reCAPTCHA comes in two varieties. V3 which is based on a spam score and V2 which is based on a user challenge.
V3 is Google’s newest defense against spam. A hidden piece of codes sits on your contact page and evaluates each user that comes to the page to determine if they are fake user or bot. They have an algorithm that can determine based on a users interactions and patterns if they are a bot or not.
reCAPTCHA v3 allows you to verify if an interaction is legitimate without any user interaction. It is a pure JavaScript API returning a score, giving you the ability to take action in the context of your site: for instance requiring additional factors of authentication, sending a post to moderation, or throttling bots that may be scraping content.
https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/docs/versions
V2 first prompts the user to check “I’m not a robot” checkbox.
Google can then validate if any irregularity appears, a secondary challenge prompt may appear if Google still can’t make a determination.
Both of these methods will help prevent spam from getting through your system and ending up in your inbox in the form of fake contact requests.
Akismet
Akismet is another popular option that we like to use that utilizes the power of size. With millions of websites using its system it can filter user’s names and email addresses out for spam to validate a comment being posted on a blog post or a contact request being submitted.
Akismet lives behind the scenes on your WordPress install and requires zero input from the end-user.
With both of these tools combined we can help prevent a lot of spam from ever hitting your WordPress install or ending up in your inbox.
Do you need with your WordPress Spam protection and other WordPress Maintenance items? Check out our WordPress Maintenance service.