If i use captcha will i be able to stop the spam completely in my blog?

Question

I have a Wordpress blog and the only user input is the commenting system. I want to totally avoid spam comments. Wordpress comes with Akismet but I can also use Captcha. Whi

Answer 1

Captchas aren't perfect. I've heard of people (e.g., from India) solving captchas for cash. The best way to stop spam is a combination of:

• Captcha: proof that the user is human (although some bots can crack them). Harder captchas are harder to crack!
• Akismet: test text for spam. Also not foolproof because some messages still may come through.
• Authentication: when you authenticate users as legitimate, I think you can stop spam completely. E.g., a user becomes a trusted poster after 5 spam-free posts.

Answer 2

Best captcha solution i know so far is Recaptcha (same used in stackoverflow).

if you want more security, you can build your own verification system.

Answer 3

The captchas seem to be fooled by adept people. The Akismet is better option in my view. Having said that you should still use captch along with Akismet :)

Answer 4

No, captchas are not foolproof, so I would definitely recommend you ALWAYS use akismet when allowing comments in WordPress. Akismet will not catch everything either, so the only REAL solution is to moderate your comments. I've found Akismet + moderation to be a nice combo, however. Akismet catches almost everything, and when it doesn't, I usually only have to click the "check for spam" button again when I reach my comments page, and it's been marked as spam in the time between getting my moderation email and getting to the WP comments page.

Answer 5

A better solution is to add an hidden input style text in the form, so is invisible at people, but not for bot, so when these spambot complete the form, write also in the hidden input and with a check 'if than else' you cannot receive comments or mail that are written by bot. Exemple:

if($_POST['hidden_input'] != ""){
    echo('<p>You are a spambot!</p>');    
}

Answer 6

Never cracked and definitely the cutest captcha out there: http://thepcspy.com/kittenauth/