WP-SpamFree: A Powerful Anti-Spam Plugin for WordPress!
Download Plugin
Latest Version — 1.8.2: Download Now
Quick Navigation - Contents
- Description
- New Features
- Key Features
- Background
- Download Plugin / Documentation
- See What Others Have Said About WP-SpamFree
- How It Works
- Installation Instructions
- Upgrading from Version 1.0
- For Best Results
- Displaying Spam Stats on Your Blog
- Adding a Comment Form to Your Blog
- Version History
- Troubleshooting
- WordPress Security Note
Description
Comment spam has been a problem for bloggers since the inception of blogs, and it just doesn’t seem to go away. The worst kind, and most prolific, is automated spam that comes from bots. Well, finally there is a solution, without CAPTCHA’s, challenge questions, or other inconvenience to site visitors. The WP-SpamFree plugin virtually eliminates automated comment spam from bots, including trackback and pingback spam.
- Now with a drop-in spam-free contact form! Simple and effective. Just add a tag
<!--spamfree-contact-->to pages where you want a contact form, and you’re done. Easy to use - no configuration necessary. - Now can display your blocked spam stats on your blog. Simply insert the code into your theme and you can show off how much spam you’re not getting anymore.
- Virtually eliminates automated comment spam from bots. It works like a firewall to ensure that your commenters are in fact, human.
- A counter on your dashboard to keep track of all the spam it’s blocking. The numbers will show how effective this plugin is.
- No CAPTCHA’s, challenge questions or other inconvenience to site visitors - it works silently in the background.
- Includes drop-in spam-free contact form. Easy to use - no configuration necessary.
- No false positives, which leads to fewer frustrated readers, and less work for you.
- You won’t have to waste valuable time sifting through a spam queue anymore, because there won’t be much there, if anything.
- Powerful trackback and pingback spam protection.
- Easy to install - truly plug and play. Just upload and activate. (Installation Status on the plugin admin page to let you know if plugin is installed correctly.)
- The beauty of this plugin is the methods of blocking spam. It takes a different approach than most and stops spam at the door.
- The code is has an extremely low bandwidth overhead and won’t slow down your blog (very light database access), unlike some other anti-spam plugins.
- Completely compatible with all cache plugins, including WP Cache and WP Super Cache. Not all anti-spam plugins can say that.
- Display your blocked spam stats on your blog.
Background
Before I developed this plugin, our team and clients experienced the same frustration you do with comment spam on your blog. Every blog we manage had comment moderation enabled, Akismet and various other anti-spam plugins installed, but we still had a ton of comments tagged as spam by Akismet that we had to sort through. This wasted a lot of valuable time, and we all know, time is money. We needed a solution.
Comment spam stems from an older problem - automated spamming of email contact forms on web sites. I developed a successful fix for this a while ago, and later applied it to our WordPress blogs. It was so effective, that I decided to add a few modifications and turn it into a WordPress plugin to be freely distributed. Blogs we manage used to get an excessive number of spam comments show up on the Akismet Spam page each day - now the daily average is zero spam comments.
To further the development of this plugin, I now study thousands and thousands of potential spam comments from many test blogs and contributors. I use a special diagnostic version of the plugin, which provides much more information on each of these spam comments than what is shown in WordPress. By analyzing patterns and behaviors consistent with spam, I can continually improve the plugin and ensure future accuracy.
Download Plugin / Documentation
Latest Version — 1.8.2: Download Now
Plugin Homepage / Documentation: WP-SpamFree
WordPress.org Page: WP-SpamFree
Leave Comments: WP-SpamFree Release Announcement Blog Post
Tech Support/Questions: WP-SpamFree Support Page
End Blog Spam: Let Others Know About WP-SpamFree!
See What Others Have Said About WP-SpamFree
“The WP-SpamFree plugin for WordPress seems to be much better than Akismet at blocking spam bots.”
- Michael
“Scott, this plugin is excellent. Works perfectly and no one has reported a comments missing or comment posting problems.
I used to have hundreds of spam comments in the same format and was wondering why Akismet kept letting it through. Your plugin has reduced it to 0. Incredible. Your techniques work really well.”
- Marc
“I’ve tried it out, and it works great. Try it, and even if you’re using Akismet, you’ll notice you don’t have the tons of Akismet spam to go through… if you go through it at all. Eliminate comment spam with wp-spamfree!”
- Alan
“I’ve installed your plugin last weekend and i must say, works better than Askimet. Thanks for your great work!”
- Frank
“I have this plugin installed for about 2 months and since then plugin blocks about 99.5% of spam, i had more than 200 comments per day (before installing the plugin), now i have about 100 comments per day and maybe a 1 spam message in a few days, so you see how many bots are stopped!
Fantastic plugin! A+++++”
- Admino
“I’m extremely satisfied with WP-SpamFree. Haven’t had a single spam comment since the install. Way to go :)”
- Boris H
“I was pleased to see the amount of spam caught with this after installing it — my Akismet spam queue has been reduced considerably, and I don’t have to use the reCaptcha plugin anymore. Keep up the good work!”
- Owen S
“Ok. I’m bored with my blog now thank you very much.
I used to log in daily and delete as much as 20-30 spam comments, 2 or three times a day.
Using a cocktail of Akismet, Bad Behavior and WP-Spamfree, I have not had one single instance of spam since I installed it.
Not even one for Akismet to block. NOTHING. ZERO. ZIP. ZILCH. NADA.
Thanks for a OUTSTANDING product!!!”
- Scott
“:) Thanks for a brilliant tool for blocking spam! After installing WP-SpamFree on January 13th, I’ve not seen any spam on my two WP-sites! Thanks!”
“I use your WP-SpamFree plugin on the six blogs I manage/help out with, and it has drastically reduced the amount of comment spam I have to deal with. I’ve got from several thousand a week being caught by Akismet to a total of 3.
Thank you so much for releasing this plugin to the general public!”
“Thank you so much for making my wwworld a better one with this awesome plugin.”
- Nanna
If you like WP-SpamFree, please let others know by rating it on WordPress.org!
How It Works
Most of the spam hitting your blog originates from bots. Few bots can process JavaScript (JS). Few bots can process cookies. Fewer still, can handle both. In a nutshell, this plugin uses a dynamic combo of JavaScript and cookies to weed out the humans from spambots, preventing 99%+ of automated spam from ever getting to your site. Almost 100% of web site visitors will have these turned on by default, so this type of solution works silently in the background, with no inconveniences. There may be a few users (less than 2%) that have JavaScript and/or cookies turned off by default, but they will be prompted to simply turn those back on to post their comment. Overall, the few might be inconvenienced because they have JS and cookies turned off will be far fewer than the 100% who would be annoyed by CAPTCHA’s, challenge questions, and other validation methods.
Some would argue that using JS and cookies is too simplistic an approach. Traditionally, programmers prefer using some type of basic AI to fight bots by trying to figure out if a comment is spam. While that isn’t a bad idea, when used alone this method falls short because no machine AI can ever accurately judge whether a comment is spam - many spam comments get through that could easily have been stopped, and there are many false positives where non-spam comments get flagged as spam. Others may argue that some spammers have programmed their bots to read JavaScript, etc. In reality, the percentage of bots with these capabilities is still extremely low - less than 1%. It’s simply a numbers game. Statistics tell us that an effective solution would involve using a technology that few bots can handle, therefore eliminating their ability to spam your site. The important thing in fighting spam is that we create a solution that can reduce spam noticeably and improve the user experience, and a 99%+ reduction in spam would definitely make a difference for most bloggers and site visitors.
Even so, it’s important to know that the particular JS and cookies solution used in WP-SpamFree has evolved quite a bit, and is no longer simple at all. It utilizes randomly generated keys, and is algorithmically enhanced to ensure that spambots won’t beat it. Now it even includes a powerful algorithm to eliminate trackback/pingback spam as well. And, it does all that without hindering legitimate comments and trackbacks. The bottom line, is that this plugin just plain works, and is a powerful weapon against spam.
- After downloading, unzip file and upload the enclosed “wp-spamfree/” directory to your WordPress plugins folder (”wp-content/plugins/”).
- As always, activate the plugin on your WordPress plugins page.
- Check to make sure the plugin is installed properly. 99.9% of all support requests for this plugin originate from improper installation and can be easily prevented. To check proper installation status, go to the WP-SpamFree page in your Admin. It’s a submenu link on the Plugins page. Go the the ‘Installation Status’ area near the top and it will tell you if the plugin is installed correctly. If it tells you that the plugin is not installed correctly, please double-check what directory you have installed WP-SpamFree in, delete any WP-SpamFree files you have uploaded to your server, re-read the Installation Instructions, and start the Installation process over from step 1. If it is installed correctly, then move on to the next step.
- Select desired configuration options. Due to popular request, I’ve added the option to block trackbacks and pingbacks if the user feels they are excessive. I’d recommend not doing this, but the choice is yours.
You’re done! Sit back and see what it feels like to live without comment spam!
If you’re not familiar with WordPress plugin installation, you may want to read these two great articles:
- WordPress: Managing Plugins - Plugin Installation - WordPress.org
- How to Install, Configure, and Use WordPress Plugins - Lorelle on WordPress
Upgrading from Version 1.0
Simply undo any edits you made to your header.php and wp-comments-post.php files when installing Version 1.0. Then install the latest version!
For Best Results
WP-SpamFree was created specifically to stop automated comment spam (which accounts for over 99% of comment spam), and recently we have added some features that help combat human comment spam, as well as trackback/pingback spam. Unfortunately, no plugin can perfectly detect human comment spam. As other experts will tell you, the most effective strategy for blocking spam involves applying a variety of techniques. For best results, enable comment moderation, and if you desire a backup, feel free to use Akismet, as the two plugins are compatible.
Displaying Spam Stats on Your Blog
Want to show off your spam stats on your blog and tell others about WP-SpamFree? Simply add the following code to your WordPress theme where you’d like the stats displayed:
<?php if ( function_exists(spamfree_counter) ) { spamfree_counter(1); } ?>
where ‘1′ is the style. Replace the ‘1′ with a number from 1-6 that corresponds to one of the background styles you’d like to use. (See plugin admin page for more info.)
To add stats to individual posts, you’ll need to install the Exec-PHP plugin.
Adding a Comment Form to Your Blog
First create a page (not post) where you want to have your comment form. Then, insert the following tag (through the HTML editor) and you’re done: <!–spamfree-contact–>
There is no need to configure the form, it allows you to simply drop it into the page you want to install it on.
What the Contact Form feature IS: A simple drop-in contact form that won’t get spammed.
What the Contact Form feature is NOT: A configurable and full-featured plugin like some other contact form plugins out there.
Note: Please do not request new features for the contact form, as the main focus of the plugin is spam protection. Thank you.
Version History
For a complete list of changes to the plugin, view the Version History.
Troubleshooting
If you’re having trouble getting things to work after installing the plugin, here are a few things to check:
- If you haven’t yet, please upgrade to the latest version.
- Check to make sure the plugin is installed properly. 99.9% of all support requests for this plugin originate from improper installation and can be easily prevented. To check proper installation status, go to the WP-SpamFree page in your Admin. It’s a submenu link on the Plugins page. Go the the ‘Installation Status’ area near the top and it will tell you if the plugin is installed correctly. If it tells you that the plugin is not installed correctly, please double-check what directory you have installed WP-SpamFree in, delete any WP-SpamFree files you have uploaded to your server, re-read the Installation Instructions, and start the Installation process over from step 1.
- Clear your browser’s cache and clear your cookies. Then reload the page.
- Make sure JavaScript and cookies are enabled. (JavaScript is different from Java. Java is not required.)
- Check the options you have selected to make sure they are not disabling a feature you want to use.
- If have checked these, and still can’t quite get it working, please submit a support request at the WP-SpamFree Support Page.
WordPress Security Note
As with any WordPress plugin, for security reasons, you should only download plugins from the author’s site and from official WordPress repositories. When other sites host a plugin that is developed by someone else, they may inject code into that could compromise the security of your blog. We cannot endorse a version of this that you may have downloaded from another site. If you have downloaded the “WP-SpamFree” plugin from another site, please download the current release from the official site (http://www.hybrid6.com/webgeek/plugins/wp-spamfree).
