Spamming Issue

ledtear

I have a blog that allows for comments to be made - with an image code (I thought this would stop spam) - but it does not - the blogs still get tons of spam... You can see it at http://www.denisedorminy.com/blog_comments.php?id=13 - the spam does not show up as the comments require approval but it is a pain on the back-end... any ideas why the image code is not stopping it?

bradgrafelman

ledtear wrote:
any ideas why the image code is not stopping it?

Because the image isn't distorted in any way. There's plenty of spam applications out there that can decipher the feebly or even moderately distorted/warped CAPTCHAs. Yours, obviously, is like a walk in the park.

Either try using a more obfuscated CAPTCHA image, or try a different approach; ask some questions. "What year was it five years ago?" "What color is this word?"

JPnyc

Brads last idea is the best. No matter how good a CAPTCHA system is, some of today's robots will be able to get by. They're not prepared to deal with things like what he mentioned.

bradgrafelman

JPnyc wrote:
They're not prepared to deal with things like what he mentioned.

... yet. :p

JPnyc

It won't matter, you just change the question. Obviously a scripter can't possibly code in every possible eventuality. There are just too many options, too many questions you can ask. You can even change them weekly if you want.

bradgrafelman

I'm a bit lazy at the moment, but I wouldn't be surprised if a quick search found some PHP CAPTCHA systems based on this rotating question concept; a library of questions/answers to be accessed at random.

Image CAPTCHAs are starting to go by the wayside, though, that's for sure. Especially high-trafficked places such as message boards, blogs, etc.

NogDog

And the more you distort the captcha image, the more difficult it becomes for your legitimate users to read, and therefore you lose more potential legitimate users who leave your site in frustration.

phpform08

google.com

"animated captcha"

animated gif images

"THREE 3"

...

"TIMES X"

...

"TWO 2"

EQUALS WHAT?

coders will have a difficult time getting by animated captchas lol.