In an effort to control the volume of comment spam that gets through our filters (which weed out vast amounts already, sometimes as much as 1 every 7 seconds), we have added a Captcha setup, consisting of a security code that must be entered before a comment is posted. You need only enter the numbers from the image in the box labeled “Security Code”. This is to ensure that it is really a human posting the comment, and not a spamming program.
An example of the security code:
.
I hope it is not a pain in the neck but rather that you will appreciate not bumbing into ads for magic pills and the like.
{ 16 comments }
Gentlemen.
Excelent idea.
Couldn’t a more sophisticated program use OCR to decipher the text therein?
It was only a matter of time. This will also help people who use blog aggregators to read the comments. My “delete” key will survive now.
Regarding OCR, it’s possible that the spammers have caught up. I’ve seen much more complex graphics in other blogs so the battle continues…
There are ways around captchas, but another good technique is just to change the default filenames, tag IDs, and so on from your blogging software’s defaults so automated systems have a tougher time of it.
The renaming technique works brilliantly–for a few days. We actually run 6 plugins to stop spam.
If you were to go ahead with this, i would also urge you to have an alternative way to verify, as sight-impaired people that rely on screen readers will not be able to enter the code. Perhaps you could also have a link to an audio recording of the characters?
Also, give an update in a week or two on how well this system is doing.
I just hope you stick to numbers.
There are some sites where they use bizarre backgrounds, colours, and different size and bent fonts. The problem with that is they have both uppercase and lowercase at different sizes so it’s not clear if that’s a Z or a z. Then you hit preview and you have to go and enter a new version of 2zUiu39pTZ or whatever again. I guess it also helps to eliminate flippant comments as well as spam but some sites make it too hard to bother.
You guys should use KittenAuth.
How can we be protected against Mises blog’s own fallacies?
This discussion reminds me of the scene from Monty Python’s Life of Brian where the rebels complain how the Roman’s have bled the people white.
REG:
And what have they [the Romans] ever given us in return?!
XERXES:
The aqueduct?
REG:
What?
XERXES:
The aqueduct.
REG:
Oh. Yeah, yeah. They did give us that. Uh, that’s true. Yeah.
COMMANDO #3:
And the sanitation.
LORETTA:
Oh, yeah, the sanitation, Reg. Remember what the city used to be like?
REG:
Yeah. All right. I’ll grant you the aqueduct and the sanitation are two things that the Romans have done.
MATTHIAS:
And the roads.
REG:
Well, yeah. Obviously the roads. I mean, the roads go without saying, don’t they? But apart from the sanitation, the aqueduct, and the roads–
COMMANDO:
Irrigation.
XERXES:
Medicine.
COMMANDOS:
Huh? Heh? Huh…
COMMANDO #2:
Education.
COMMANDOS:
Ohh…
REG:
Yeah, yeah. All right. Fair enough.
COMMANDO #1:
And the wine.
COMMANDOS:
Oh, yes. Yeah…
FRANCIS:
Yeah. Yeah, that’s something we’d really miss, Reg, if the Romans left. Huh.
COMMANDO:
Public baths.
LORETTA:
And it’s safe to walk in the streets at night now, Reg.
FRANCIS:
Yeah, they certainly know how to keep order. Let’s face it. They’re the only ones who could in a place like this.
COMMANDOS:
Hehh, heh. Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.
REG:
All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?
XERXES:
Brought peace.
REG:
Oh. Peace? Shut up!
Can you please add an audio captcha for blind people? If spam scripts can’t make sense of the image screen readers certainly can’t.
hello, where can i download captcha tool?
regards
Tomash’s music blog
The audio CAPTCHA is a good idea. You may want to consider it…
Also, just to let you know, the CAPTCHA is a pretty good way to block spam… but it’s not the best anymore. Some college kid, apparently, cracked the algorithm and there are some bots that can now get through. How the college kid did it, I don’t know. I would have thought it was practically impossible to crack that code… turns out there are obviously some more clever people out there.
You may want to look at Akismet and the like too…
Do not worry. I think we are all aware of the importance and the purpose of CAPTCHAs. Although it cannot guarantee 100% security, at least it can minimize the amount of spam comments.
i think that is a good idea?
Success means finding the courage, the perseverance, as well as will to turn into the individual you believe you were supposed to be
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