Stop spam with reCAPTCHA

Message boards, contact forms, and guestbook’s all have something in common: they accept user input. Where a visitor is allowed to enter data, so is a spam bot (a program that automatically posts unwanted messages, usually advertising in bulk amounts). But how do you tell the difference between a real visitor and a bot?

Previously it was very difficult for a webmaster to control the amount of spam and garbage that was passed into these systems. Using Tokens and CAPTCHA methods, webmasters were able to keep a much better handle on who could post what. One of the more popular methods lately has been to use the very effective plugin from reCAPTCHA.

Like other CAPTCHA methods, reCAPTCHA asks the user to punch in a series of characters to submit the form. If the user fails, the information isn’t processed. Since it’s very difficult for spam bots to read a CAPTCHA element, they will generally fail this test. Some have been programmed with the ability to read CAPTCHA based on the font type and placement of the letters they use. That’s where reCAPTCHA is different.

reCAPTCHA uses words scanned from books that cannot be read correctly by computers. By using one word computers can read and one they cannot, reCAPTCHA can test the user entering the form. If the user answers one of the words correctly, it assumes the second is correct. It will use the same word for others to make sure the word is correct.

We recommend using reCAPTCHA on your site if you suffer from spam problems, blank forms being processed, or simply want to be proactive with your form security. We include it on our site as well as in our applications as an option for webmasters.

Share This

           

About Dave

I am the founder of Asheboro Creative. I'm a PHP and MySQL developer that thinks CSS is the greatest thing since the knife that sliced bread. I am a stickler for validating our websites and love to check out design galleries.

• Deciding on Your Website Features
  

  When you decide what you want your website to do, you should look at how you want it to do it. Making out a list of features and how each element will interact with your visitors will make sure they are exactly what you want.
• Stop spam with reCAPTCHA
  

  We recommend using reCAPTCHA to prevent spam and post flooding from your website's forum, guestbook, and message board.
• What is the Purpose of Your Website?
  

  When you start a website, you need to decide what the purpose of it is. Do you plan to sell items or just present information to potential visitors? The first step to starting a website is defining the purpose of it.
• Choosing Web Hosting for Your Website
  

  How can you determine what a good host is? When you're starting a website, you need to find a great web hosting company to host your website for you. In this article we discuss how to determine what kind of hosting you need, and how to decide which host to go with.
• Marketing Your Website
  

  How do you plan on letting people know about your website? In this article we discuss ways you can bring in traffic.