Maspik – Multi-Layer Spam Protection vs OpenPorte Spam Protection

Maspik is a complete spam protection platform for WordPress. Instead of relying on a single detection method, Maspik combines multiple independent protection layers that work together to stop spam before it reaches your inbox. Protect contact forms, registration forms, comments, WooCommerce, and custom forms using lightweight local validation together with optional cloud intelligence. Install. Activate. You’re protected. No CAPTCHA. No puzzles. No interruption for real visitors. Why Maspik? Most anti-spam plugins rely on one detection technique. Some only use CAPTCHAs. Some only check external APIs. Some only filter keywords. Maspik combines many protection layers into one unified spam detection engine. Every submission can be analysed using local validation, behavioural analysis, reputation services, and optional cloud intelligence. The result is stronger protection with fewer false positives and a better experience for legitimate visitors. Protection Layers Maspik lets you combine multiple independent protection methods: Forbidden keywords Email patterns URL validation Phone format validation Character limits Link limits Emoji filtering Honeypot protection Verification Key Direct POST protection IP blocklists IP reputation Proxy and VPN detection Country and continent restrictions (Pro) Language rules (Pro) Maspik Matrix cloud protection with AI analysis Enable only the protection layers you need. Everything is configurable. Built for Performance Most protection happens locally inside WordPress without contacting external services. Only optional features such as Matrix or IP reputation require cloud requests. Only enabled protection layers are executed. No unnecessary JavaScript. No front-end slowdown. Optimized for high-traffic websites. Privacy First Most spam detection happens locally. Cloud-based protection is optional, and only the required data is transmitted when it is enabled. No visitor tracking. GDPR friendly. Works Immediately Maspik is designed to work immediately after activation. No complicated configuration, no API keys required, no CAPTCHA setup. Advanced users can fine-tune every protection layer individually. Supported Forms Maspik protects WordPress core forms together with many popular form builders: Elementor Forms Elementor Atomic Forms Contact Form 7 Fluent Forms Formidable Forms Forminator Ninja Forms JetFormBuilder Everest Forms Breakdance Forms Bricks Builder Divi Contact Form Hello Plus MetForm Bit Form BuddyPress Registration WordPress Comments WordPress Registration Custom PHP forms (simple developer API) Pro also supports: WPForms Gravity Forms WooCommerce Registration WooCommerce Checkout Maspik Matrix Maspik Matrix is an optional cloud protection layer built into Maspik. It complements the local protection engine by analysing submissions using additional cloud intelligence. Matrix may include: IP reputation Pattern analysis Heuristic detection Structural analysis AI scoring Threat intelligence Local rules always continue working independently. Every installation includes free Matrix usage (100 checks per month). Pro includes unlimited usage. Submission Log Understand exactly why spam was blocked. The log shows: Block reason Triggered protection layer Submitted values Full detection trace of every layer that ran IP address and country Date and time Page URL Mark entries as “Not Spam” to continuously improve your configuration, or turn a blocked value into a rule with one click. Optionally log passed submissions too, to see exactly why something was not caught. Statistics Monitor your protection over time: Total blocked submissions Detection trends Protection layer activity Matrix usage Spam history API Integrations Optional integrations include: AbuseIPDB ProxyCheck Enable only the services you want. Designed For Business websites WooCommerce stores Agencies Membership websites High-traffic websites Enterprise WordPress Why Site Owners Choose Maspik No CAPTCHA Better user experience Works immediately Lightweight Multiple protection layers Detailed spam logs Powerful statistics Extensive customization Local-first architecture Optional cloud intelligence Import and export your configuration Pro Features Upgrade to Maspik Pro and unlock: Unlimited Matrix protection Country and continent restrictions Language rules Premium integrations (WPForms, Gravity Forms, WooCommerce) Central Dashboard to manage rules across multiple websites Premium support Learn more: https://wpmaspik.com/ Spam Block Guarantee Spam is constantly evolving. If unwanted submissions are still getting through, we’ll help you configure Maspik until they’re blocked. Join the community, share a sample, and we’ll help you improve your protection. Custom Forms Built your own form in PHP? List the fields you want analysed and Maspik tells you whether to accept the submission: $fields = [ [ 'type' => 'text', 'field_name' => 'name', 'value' => $_POST['name'] ?? '' ], [ 'type' => 'email', 'field_name' => 'email', 'value' => $_POST['email'] ?? '' ], [ 'type' => 'textarea', 'field_name' => 'message', 'value' => $_POST['message'] ?? '' ] ]; if ( function_exists( 'maspik_is_spam' ) && maspik_is_spam( $fields, 'Contact form' ) ) { wp_die( 'Spam detected' ); } Listing the fields explicitly means Maspik analyses exactly the values you care about — never nonces, redirects, tokens, checkboxes or other technical inputs — which keeps detection predictable and avoids false positives. The honeypot and verification key are read from the request automatically, so there is nothing else to wire up. Need the reason? maspik_check_spam() returns the message to show the visitor, the offending field, and the layer that blocked it. The original version 2 filter (maspik_validate_custom_form_fields) continues to work unchanged, so existing integrations keep running after the upgrade. Full example: https://wpmaspik.com/documentation/custom-php-form/ Documentation Getting Started: https://wpmaspik.com/documentation/ Developer Documentation: https://wpmaspik.com/documentation/developers/ Support: https://wpmaspik.com/ Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maspik Maspik is developed with a strong focus on performance, security, privacy and long-term WordPress compatibility.

OpenPorte is a free and open-source plugin that protects WordPress forms from spam using a lightweight Proof-of-Work challenge instead of CAPTCHAs. The goal is to make spam expensive for bots while keeping the experience almost invisible for legitimate visitors and respecting their privacy. For site owners, OpenPorte offers an easy to configure and deploy modern spam protection under their control. For the site users, it offers an accessible, transparent and privacy-friendly alternative to CAPTCHAs. OpenPorte is built around the open-source ALTCHA widget. Some highlights: CAPTCHA-free spam protection Fully open source (GPL) Self-hosted – no mandatory external service Designed to be accessible and privacy-friendly Compatible with existing ALTCHA integrations Easy migration for users of ALTCHA Spam Protection v1 (≤ 1.26.3) For the list of contributors, refer to our GitHub project: Contributors. AI-assisted development AI-assisted project. Architecture, security decisions, and final review are mine; AI tools (Claude, Mistral, and others) help with drafting code, tests, translations, and documentation — without them, one person couldn’t keep this fork alive. Background The original ALTCHA Spam Protection WordPress plugin (v1) was open source (GPLv2). Its authors have since released a version 2/3 which is no longer open source. They no longer maintain the open source project and recommend that users migrate to v2/v3. See the official project at https://altcha.org for their offering. OpenPorte started as a fork and continues the v1 line as free software (GPLv2 or later) for users who want to stay on a fully open-source, self-hosted solution. It is a faithful fork: existing v1 installations can switch to OpenPorte and keep their settings (see Upgrading). Compatibility OpenPorte is backward-compatible with ALTCHA Spam Protection v1 plugin: Your existing settings are migrated automatically on activation. The [altcha] shortcode keeps working (alongside the new [openporte]). The altcha_* filters and actions keep firing as deprecated aliases. Custom API Mode has been verified against GateCHA, an open source server implementing the creation and verification of ALTCHA challenges. See the Deprecations section for the full list of compatibility aliases and what they map to. Upgrading From the original ALTCHA v1 plugin Deactivate the old ALTCHA plugin, then install and activate OpenPorte. Your existing configuration is detected and copied into the OpenPorte settings on first activation; the original ALTCHA settings are left untouched, so you can roll back to ALTCHA v1 without losing anything. Do not run both plugins at the same time. From ALTCHA v2/v3 If your site was already moved to ALTCHA v2/v3 (for example by the automatic 3.0.0 update), your original v1 settings are normally still in the database: the v2/v3 upgrade neither migrates nor removes them. Deactivate ALTCHA, then install and activate OpenPorte — it finds and imports the v1 settings, even when the v1 plugin itself has long been deleted. Settings made in v2/v3 are not read. Deprecations The following ALTCHA-era identifiers are kept as aliases for backward compatibility and are scheduled for removal in a future release: The [altcha] shortcode — use [openporte]. The altcha/v1 REST namespace — use openporte/v1. The altcha_* filters and actions — now firing through WordPress’ deprecated hook mechanism; use the openporte_* equivalents. The AltchaPlugin class and the ALTCHA_VERSION / ALTCHA_WIDGET_VERSION constants — use OpenPortePlugin and the OPENPORTE_* constants. Integrations targeting paid-only third-party plugins; affected users should migrate to the official ALTCHA v2/v3 plugin. The “Custom HTML” integration (auto-configuration of hand-written tags) — place the [openporte] shortcode instead. You can re-enable it for now under Settings → OpenPorte → Integrations. Privacy No cookies, no tracking OpenPorte prioritizes user privacy by avoiding the use of cookies and fingerprinting techniques. No external service This plugin remains fully contained within your WordPress installation, eliminating any reliance on external services. Modes of Operation OpenPorte verifies submissions in one of two modes, selected in the settings (API Mode): Self-hosted (default) — a proof-of-work challenge is issued and verified by your own WordPress site through the REST API. Fully self-contained, with no external service and no additional setup beyond enabling the integrations you need. Custom — point the Challenge URL at your own ALTCHA-compatible backend (for example a self-hosted ALTCHA Sentinel, or GateCHA). Submissions are verified with your site’s shared secret. The paid altcha.org regional SaaS classifier offered by earlier versions has been removed; both remaining modes are free and self-hostable. REST API This plugin requires the WordPress REST API. If you are using any “Disable REST API” plugins, ensure that the endpoint /altcha/v1/challenge (marked for deprecation) and /openporte/v1/challenge are allowed. Supported Integrations CoBlocks Contact Form 7 Elementor Pro Forms (deprecated — paid plugin, see Deprecations) Formidable Forms Forminator GravityForms HTML Forms wpDiscuz WPForms WordPress Login, Register, Password reset WordPress Comments WooCommerce Many other plugins and your own content (via the [openporte] shortcode, or the deprecated [altcha] alias) Source Code All source code for the plugin, and the ALTCHA widget is available on GitHub. In the repository, you’ll also find versions of non-minified JavaScript and CSS assets: Plugin: https://github.com/openporte/openporte ALTCHA Widget: https://github.com/altcha-org/altcha