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Essential Features of a WordPress Antispam Plugin

There is lots you could look for in an antispam plugin, but there are a handful of key features that you really must consider. Let’s take a look!

If both the numbers are on the lower end (for example, when you’re starting off a blog), you can go for technique (b), i.e. tweaking WordPress settings to manually prevent spam. It’s quite interesting to see just how much WordPress has to offer.

1. Akismet

The number one WordPress antispam plugin in the repository, developed by the Automattic team – Akismet brings enterprise level spam protection to your WordPress site. With Akismet, the user installs and activates plugin using an API key (signup required). Plugin works by uploading all incoming comments to the Akismet server. Comments then undergo hundreds* of antispam algorithms (* we really don’t know the exact number). Correct comments are published, while the rest are thrashed to the spam queue.

Notes:

  • Akismet is free for non-profit and personal use (up to 50,000 monthly spam checks)
  • Commercial licenses start at $5/month
  • Compatible with top WordPress plugins such as Jetpack and Contact Form 7
  • View every comment’s status history to see which were spammed by a moderator, or put in the spam folder automatically

2. Anti-Spam Bee

The next best choice after Akismet would be Anti-Spam Bee. This free plugin is full of great features, and doesn’t require registration like Akismet does. Anti-Spam Bee is free for personal and commercial use, so no matter your website you can be spam free.

Notes:

  • Block comments from specific IP addresses, countries or with different language
  • Logs spammers using Fail2Ban
  • Clear WordPress database of spam after a specified number of days (spam purging)
  • Displays monthly statistics on the dashboard with spam numbers

Advanced anti-spam configuration measures of Anti-Spam Bee

3. WP-SpamShield Anti-Spam

WP-SpamShield Anti-Spam handles comment spam, registration spam, trackback spam and contact form spam. That’s a lot of spam! The plugin does not allow spam to enter the WordPress database using a multitude of methods, one being an advanced comment logging and blacklisting features which helps block persistent spammers. And with WP-SpamShield Anti-Spam you can also block comments for visitors using a proxy server

2 Layers Of Protection:

  • The JavaScript/Cookies Anti-spam Layer which blocks all automated spam bots
  • The Algorithmic Anti-spam Layer contains 100+ algorithmic filters to block human and trackback spam

Plugin Compatibility:

  • Comment form plugins like Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, and JetPack
  • Social plugins like BuddyPress and bbPress
  • E-commerce plugins like WooCommerce
  • Membership plugins like s2Member and WP-Members

4. WordPress Zero Spam

Based on a concept by Mozilla developer David Walsh, the WordPress Zero Spam Plugin uses server and client side JavaScript key validation to prevent bots from spamming. Essentially, users cannot comment without JavaScript enabled.

Notes:

  • No external services/servers required for anti-spam checking
  • Does not guard against human spammers
  • Free for both personal and commercial use

5. CleanTalk

CleanTalk is a premium cloud-based antispam plugin for WordPress which blocks spam comments, spam bot signups and trackbacks. With CleanTalk, comments are uploaded to CleanTalks’ cloud servers wherein it undergoes multiple validation checks. These checks include – comment submitted too quickly, JavaScript disabled, blacklisted HTTP links and many more. Valid comments are then allowed, while the rest are sent to the spam queue.

Anti-spam settings for CleanTalk

Notes:

  • CleanTalk offers a 14 day free trial, after which a commercial license costs $8/year for a single website
  • Advanced statistics displaying spam block/moderation
  • Spam comment log which shows the reason for blocking comments

Spam blocking statistics

Plugin Compatibility:

  • Comment form plugins like Formidable Forms, Contact Form 7, Fast Secure Contact, and JetPack
  • Social plugins like BuddyPress and bbPress
  • E-commerce plugins like WooCommerce
  • Membership plugins like s2Member and WP-Members
  • Cache plugins like W3 Total Cache and WP Super cache

6. Growmap Anti Spambot Plugin

Growmap Anit Spambot (GASP) is another free plugin option, which adds a client-side generated checkbox to the comment box asking users to confirm that they are not a spammer. You can set the maximum amount of comments a user can have to help limit spammers trying to post to your site. So GASP essentially stops spam bots by adding dynamically generated named fields to comment form.

7. GoodBye Captcha

GoodBy Captcha eliminates spam-bot signups, spam comments and brute force attacks by preventing the spam comments from entering the WordPress database. The plugin applies antispam measures in signup pages as well as login and password reset pages to stop spam before it starts.

Plugin Compatibility:

  • Comment form plugins like PlanSo Forms, JetPack, Postmatic, Epoch and MailChimp for WordPress
  • Membership plugins like Ultimate Member
  • Login plugins like WP User Control and Login With Ajax

8. WangGuard

WangGuard is a WordPress MU, BuddyPress and bbPress compatible anitspam plugin. It follows Akismet and CleanTalk procedure by checking comments for spam on external servers. The API connection is even encrypted with SSL for added security.

9. Spam Destroyer

Spam Destroyer was designed to be as unobtrusive to your readers as possible. This lightweight plugin stop automated spam without putting off your commentors, and is something you might consider for a small blog or low traffic website.

10. Stop Spam Comments

Stop Spam Comments is a simple JavaScript-based spam comment blocker for WordPress. Just activate this nearly invisible plugin to start stopping spam dead in its tracks. The nice part about this plugin is that it doesn’t add captchas, questions or other interactions for users to stumble over.