Anti-spam Reloaded vs SpamJam – Anti-Spam Protection for Comments & Forms

This is fork of successful Anti-spam plugin v5.5 written by webvitalii, for more info visit GitHub Fork. From version 5.6 maintained by kudlav. GitHub Anti-spam Reloaded plugin blocks 100% of automatic spam messages in comments section and also blocks all trackbacks.No captcha required. Plugin is simple and easy to use: just install it and it just works. Blocked comments can be stored in the Spam area and converted to regular comments if needed. Anti-spam Reloaded plugin is GDPR compliant and does not store any other user data except of the behaviour mentioned above. Plugin blocks spam only in comments section.. Plugin does not block manual spam (submitted by spammers manually via browser). Compatibility All modern browsers and IE11+ are supported. Anti-spam Reloaded plugin works with disabled JavaScript. Users with disabled JavaScript should manually fill current year before submitting the comment. Server compatibility: WordPress 3.3 – 7.0 PHP 5.6 – 8.4 Doesn’t use jQuery Plugin is incompatible with: Disqus Jetpack Comments AJAX Comment Form bbPress If site has caching plugin enabled and cache is not cleared or if theme does not use ‘comment_form’ action and there is no plugin inputs in comments form – plugin tries to add hidden fields automatically using JavaScript. How does it work? The blocking algorithm is based on 2 methods: ‘invisible js-captcha’ and ‘invisible input trap’ (aka honeypot technique). ‘invisible js-captcha’ The ‘invisible js-captcha’ method is based on fact that bots does not have JavaScript on their user-agents. Extra hidden field is added to comments form. It is the question about the current year. If the user visits site, than this field is answered automatically with JavaScript, is hidden by JavaScript and CSS and invisible for the user. If the spammer will fill year-field incorrectly – the comment will be blocked because it is spam. ‘invisible input trap’ The ‘invisible input trap’ method is based on fact that almost all the bots will fill inputs with name ’email’ or ‘url’. Extra hidden field is added to comments form. This field is hidden for the user and user will not fill it. But this field is visible for the spammer. If the spammer will fill this trap-field with anything – the comment will be blocked because it is spam.

Spam should not create more work for you—or more friction for your visitors. SpamJam quietly stops automated comment spam with layered, on-site checks. There are no CAPTCHAs to solve, no puzzles to frustrate readers, and no complicated setup before protection begins. Install it, activate it, and get back to running your site. Why Site Owners Choose SpamJam 🚫 Less Spam to Moderate – Catch automated submissions before they clutter your comment queue. 👤 No Friction for Real People – Visitors can comment without image grids, challenges, or extra verification steps. ⚡ Protected from Activation – Core comment protection is enabled by default, with sensible settings already in place. 🧠 Fewer False Positives – Multiple signals work together; suspicious edge cases can be held for review instead of being discarded. 🩶 Lightweight by Design – Focused checks run where they are needed, without loading a heavy front-end framework. 🔒 Privacy-Conscious Detection – Core comment analysis runs on your WordPress site rather than sending comment content to a remote spam-scoring service. Free Comment Protection The free version gives blogs, publishers, and WooCommerce stores a strong first line of defense: Per-site salted honeypot – An invisible, site-specific trap makes generic bot scripts easier to identify. Submission timing check – Detects forms submitted faster than a person could reasonably complete them. Weighted spam scoring – Combines form, timing, token, and referrer signals instead of relying on one fragile test. Safer moderation path – Suspicious submissions below the blocking threshold can be held for review. Secure form validation – Nonces and time-boxed HMAC tokens help verify legitimate comment submissions. Built-in keyword blocklist – Stops common comment-spam patterns. WooCommerce product reviews – Protects review forms and declares compatibility with WooCommerce HPOS. No-JavaScript fallback – Visitors with JavaScript disabled are not automatically hard-blocked. Dashboard statistics – See the protection working from your WordPress admin. No account or API key is required to start protecting comments. Go Beyond Comments with SpamJam Pro When spam reaches registrations, contact forms, or a high-traffic site, SpamJam Pro adds the control and visibility you need: Protection for popular form plugins – Cover Contact Form 7, WPForms, Gravity Forms, Elementor Forms, Fluent Forms, Formidable Forms, Ninja Forms, and WooCommerce registration. Actionable spam inbox – Search and filter events, review false positives, restore recoverable comments, allow trusted senders, and use bulk actions. Source-aware rules – Allow, moderate, block, or discard submissions using conditions tailored to each protected source. Registration protection – Add honeypot checks and email confirmation to WordPress registrations. Flood and content controls – Set rate limits, minimum comment length, maximum links, and your own blocked terms. Targeted blocking – Block configured IP addresses, email addresses, domains, or countries while allowlisting trusted senders. Reports and analytics – Understand trends, sources, repeat signals, and false positives; receive weekly summaries or export PDF reports. Professional site tools – Add an automatically updated extended blocklist, multisite synchronization, and white-label controls. Every Pro feature is included. Choose a license based only on the number of sites you manage from SpamJam’s Account screen in your WordPress dashboard. Built for the Sites Spam Targets SpamJam is a practical fit for: Blogs and publications with open comments WooCommerce stores collecting product reviews Membership and community sites accepting registrations Lead-generation sites using popular form plugins Agencies managing protection across multiple WordPress sites How SpamJam Stops Bots SpamJam looks for the patterns automated submissions leave behind: A site-specific hidden field catches bots that fill every input. A signed timestamp identifies implausibly fast submissions. Secure tokens and referrer checks test whether the request came through the expected form flow. A built-in blocklist catches common spam content. A weighted scoring engine combines those signals and decides whether to allow, hold, or block the submission. Real visitors keep the familiar WordPress comment experience. The protection stays in the background. Privacy & Data Handling Core comment detection is performed on your site and does not require a remote content-scoring service. Optional logging is off by default. If you enable it, you control retention, and recovery data can be disabled for metadata-only logging. SpamJam excludes passwords, nonces, security tokens, CAPTCHA values, and CSRF fields from recoverable form data. Some optional licensing, update, geographic blocking, and premium blocklist features connect to external services when used. Review your site’s privacy obligations and enabled settings as you would with any WordPress plugin.