Cardea – Proof-of-Work Comment Spam Protection vs Crovly – Proof of Work Captcha & Spam Protection

Are you tired of anti-spam plugins that bloat your site, inject third-party tracking, or constantly upsell you on premium SaaS subscriptions? Are you looking for a straightforward, lightweight solution that just protects your comments without the extra baggage? Then Cardea is the right tool for you. Cardea is a radically simple, zero-dependency Proof-of-Work (PoW) comment spam protector. Developed transparently on GitHub as a purely open-source project, it does one thing and does it perfectly: it stops automated bot spam on native WordPress comments. Why Choose Cardea? Cardea offers distinct advantages for site owners who value simplicity, privacy, and performance: Hyper-Focused & Zero Bloat – Cardea is strictly dedicated to the native WordPress comment system. Unlike multi-purpose anti-spam plugins that inject heavy compatibility layers for various form builders and e-commerce platforms, Cardea remains extremely lightweight and performant—protecting only what you need protected. 100% Standalone & Sovereign – No external API keys. No commercial SaaS tiers. No phone-home telemetry. Cardea is entirely self-hosted and self-contained. Your comment protection never depends on a third-party service staying alive. Strict Privacy (GDPR Compliant) – Because the Proof-of-Work computation happens locally in each visitor’s browser, there are no tracking cookies, no user profiles, and no third-party data transfers. Unlike cloud-based CAPTCHA solutions, Cardea transmits nothing to external servers—making it inherently GDPR-friendly. Reduced Attack Surface – By doing one thing perfectly (protecting native comments), Cardea avoids the security vulnerabilities inherent in massive, multi-ecosystem integrations. A focused codebase means fewer CVEs and tighter security. Plug-and-Play Simplicity – No complex routing rules. No integration toggles. No configuration mazes. Users simply activate Cardea and their discussion threads are protected immediately. To view the source code, contribute, or report issues, visit the Cardea GitHub Repository. How It Works Challenge Generation: When a page with a comment form loads, the server generates a cryptographically signed challenge using HMAC-SHA256. No database write occurs at this stage. Client-Side Mining: When a user focuses on the comment textarea, a JavaScript Web Worker begins mining in the background. Solution Discovery: The worker repeatedly hashes the challenge string (nonce + timestamp + salt) with incrementing counter values until it finds a hash with the required number of leading zeros. Server Verification: On submission, the server first verifies the HMAC signature (ensuring the challenge wasn’t tampered with), then validates the PoW solution, and finally stores a transient to prevent replay attacks. Features Zero Database Bloat on Load – Challenges are generated using stateless HMAC signatures, meaning the plugin requires exactly zero database writes when a visitor loads a page. Zero Dependencies – No external APIs or services required. Client-Side Mining – Heavy computation happens in the user’s browser using Web Workers. Deferred Execution – The cryptographic mining engine only spins up when a user interacts with the comment field, ensuring casual readers incur zero performance penalty. Self-Cleaning Replay Protection – Server-side state is only stored upon a successful comment submission to prevent bot replay attacks, and expired tokens are automatically swept by WordPress cron. Server-Side Verification – Server verifies HMAC signature first, then performs SHA-256 PoW validation. Configurable Difficulty – Adjust the number of leading zeros required (1-8). Configurable Time Window – Set how long challenges remain valid (5-120 minutes). Non-Intrusive – Works transparently for legitimate users; spammers must complete the PoW challenge. WordPress Standards – Follows WordPress coding standards and best practices. Privacy First (GDPR Friendly) – No cookies, no user tracking, no CAPTCHA popups, and absolutely zero data sent to third-party cloud APIs. Smart Pathway Protection – Flawlessly protects frontend forms and blocks XML-RPC botnets, while seamlessly allowing native Trackbacks and authenticated REST API requests. Page Caching Compatible – Uses dynamic REST API endpoint to fetch fresh challenges, ensuring compatibility with edge caching (Cloudflare, Varnish) and full-page caching plugins. Logged-In User Bypass – Skips PoW challenge for authenticated users, eliminating unnecessary CPU usage on the frontend. Architecture & Testing Cardea is built with an enterprise-grade engineering stack focused on reliability and performance: Frontend Architecture: * Zero-dependency JavaScript using native Web Crypto APIs (crypto.subtle) * Web Workers for background cryptographic mining (non-blocking UI) * Dynamic challenge fetching via REST API (compatible with page caching) * Skip PoW for logged-in users (zero CPU overhead for authenticated commenters) Backend Architecture: * Localized replay protection using WordPress transients * Auto-cleaning expired tokens via WordPress cron * Single verification pass: signature check + PoW validation Testing Stack: * PHPUnit – Backend logic verification (HMAC generation, challenge validation, replay prevention) * Jest – Cryptographic worker validation (difficulty checking, solution finding, message interface) * Playwright – End-to-End browser testing integrated with WordPress Playground (full WordPress environment) This comprehensive testing approach ensures the plugin handles legitimate users seamlessly while actively blocking sophisticated bot attacks. Developer Rigor Cardea is built with an enterprise-grade engineering stack focused on reliability and performance: Architecture: * Zero Database Bloat on Load – Stateless HMAC signatures ensure zero database writes on page load * Self-Cleaning Replay Protection – Uses WordPress transients that auto-expire via cron * Deferred Execution – Mining only starts when user interacts with comment field Testing Stack: * PHPUnit – Backend logic verification (HMAC generation, challenge validation, replay prevention) * Jest – Cryptographic worker validation (difficulty checking, solution finding, message interface) * Playwright – End-to-End browser testing integrated with WordPress Playground (full WordPress environment) Cross-Theme Compatibility: * Uses HTMLFormElement.prototype.submit.call() to bypass DOM clobbering issues * Graceful fallback for browsers without Web Worker support

Crovly is a privacy-first captcha service powered by Proof of Work. Unlike traditional captchas that rely on image puzzles (easily solved by AI) or invasive tracking, Crovly makes the visitor’s browser do computational work to prove it’s not a bot. How it works: Your visitor’s browser solves a small cryptographic puzzle (Proof of Work) Browser fingerprint and environment signals are collected (as a hash — no personal data stored) Behavioral analysis detects automated patterns (mouse, keyboard, scroll) A composite score determines if the visitor is human Key features: Privacy-friendly — No cookies, no cross-site tracking No image puzzles — Invisible to legitimate users Resistant to AI vision attacks — Proof of Work cannot be solved by image recognition IP binding — Tokens are bound to the solver’s IP address Adaptive difficulty — Suspicious visitors receive harder challenges 22+ integrations — Works with major WordPress form plugins Lightweight — Widget is under 25KB gzipped, zero dependencies, 42 languages Supported integrations: WordPress login, registration, lost password, comments WooCommerce (checkout, login, register, lost password, pay for order) Contact Form 7 WPForms Gravity Forms Elementor Pro Forms Ninja Forms Fluent Forms Formidable Forms Forminator Jetpack Contact Form Divi (contact form, login) BuddyPress (registration, activity) bbPress (topics, replies) Ultimate Member (login, register, password reset) MemberPress (checkout, login) Paid Memberships Pro Easy Digital Downloads Mailchimp for WordPress GiveWP wpDiscuz wpForo WordPress Multisite signup Shortcode & PHP support: Use [crovly] shortcode in any page or post, or call crovly_render() and crovly_verify() in your theme templates. External services This plugin relies on the Crovly captcha service to function. It connects to two external endpoints: 1. Crovly Widget CDN (get.crovly.com) The plugin loads the JavaScript widget from https://get.crovly.com/widget.js on any page that contains a protected form. The widget runs Proof of Work in the visitor’s browser and collects a hashed browser fingerprint. When: Loaded on frontend pages that display a protected form (login, register, comment, checkout, etc.) What is sent: Standard HTTP request headers (IP address, user agent). No personal data. Terms of Service: https://crovly.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://crovly.com/privacy 2. Crovly Verification API (api.crovly.com) When a visitor submits a protected form, the plugin sends the generated captcha token to https://api.crovly.com/verify-token for server-side verification. When: On form submission of any form protected by Crovly. What is sent: The captcha token (opaque string), the visitor’s IP address (for IP binding), and your Secret Key (for authentication). What is received: A success/failure response indicating whether the token is valid. Terms of Service: https://crovly.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://crovly.com/privacy Both services are operated by Crovly. No data is shared with third parties. The plugin does not set cookies or track visitors across sites.