SPAM FIGHTING TECHNIQUES TO PROTECT YOUR BLOG

Anti-Comment Spam Tactics What can you do to stop blog spamming? Below I have posted some methods that I have collected in the www. The layout is the following: first the description and second the links to the installation and documentation (always at the author´s website ? no copyright problems right?). I have tried to organize them starting from the easiest, GOOD LUCK! 1.Comment Spam Quick Fix from Burningbird’s. Easy method to start stoping spam in your blog. You add a hidden field to all of your comment forms and then MT look for that information when it processes the comment form. This simple process will eliminate most of bots spam comments (the most dangerous). You only need to modify the following MT templates: Individual data entry Comment Listing Template Comment

Preview Template Comment Error Page 2.Comment Queue Script/MT Hack from ScriptyGoddess. This script put all comments into a pending status until you approve or disapprove them. This solution may cause your blog a lost of interaction but you can target comments suspicious of spam. Some people will find this difficult because you must modify your MT installation and also you must watch your comments. You can login into the script, see all the “pending” comments. Review/Edit/Delete the ones you don’t want on your blog. This method is indicated for blog owners who want to have their blogs open for anyone/everyone to join in on, but don’t like the idea of forcing registration before allowing comments from visitors. 3.Jacob’s “Edit/Delete Comment” notification. This solution requires some knowledge in MT perl files but is not very difficult. Jacob has modified the mt-comments.pm file adding a code to the bottom of the comments notification email that includes the link to the “Edit/Delete Comment” screen. This way you can delete easily all spam comments, is not the final solution but is recommended for moderate spam blogs (less than 10 spam comments/day). 4.Captcha Turing test to eliminate spam from bots. James Seng has developed a MT version of a Captcha Turing Test. This solution add a graphical validation code to your comment post form. The author must type the exact code (numbers) shown in a graphic in order for the comment to be valid. This eliminate all of the comment spam from bots. This method is used for big companies like Overture or Yahoo and nowadays is well implemented in internet online forms. Recomemended for blogs receiving spamming from bots. 5.James Seng Bayesian Filter for MT. Another great solution from James Seng. This plugin will allow you to train your MT to identify spam comments and trackback pings using Bayesian filtering technique which is hugely successful in fighting Email spams. The bayesian algorithm has been modified here to carter for the special characteristic of comments and pings. The system started off dumb but as you train the system, it will become better in identify spam. Once it is sufficient trained, it will require no or little maintenance. 6.Jay Allen’s comment Spam Blacklist. This plugin check urls in your comment form and trackbacks, then search it in a blacklist of known spammers, if found it doesn´t allow the comment to be processed. The main advantage of this method is that targets the core content of comment spam (url) and not the IP address or other easily changeable information. It is just as easy for someone to change their IP address using a proxy, or simply use a dialup account and reconnect to get a new one. The comments blacklisted never show up in the site and you can use also retroactive blacklistings to remove existing comment spam. The main drawback is that it doesn´t prevent from submission, just the display. Other quick tips for a spam-free blog are: a) Rename your comment script. b) Don’t link to the comment script on your front page. c) Separate “Preview” and “Post” into two separate scripts Finally, the most effcient way to stop comment spam is to stop comments itself at your blog, but in my opinion then it wouldn´t be a blog. I know some webmasters that have made this, I invite them to allow comments again and use one of the methods of this page, don´t let spammers close your blog!