Fighting Spambots

I have been aggressively working to reduce spam on my own and client websites. Here is a list of steps that I have implemented that have managed to reduce, and in some cases eliminate spam:

1. Do not post any email addresses on your site. This may seem obvious, but many site owners still provide direct email links. This is an open invitation to spam bots, as well as virus attacks.
2. As impersonal as it may seem, all emails through your site should go through a contact form. This removes your email address from the spam bots. This practice is becoming more common on the internet, so legitimate site visitors are less likely to be put-off from corresponding.
3. Do not allow users to get a copy of forms or contacts sent through your site. This provides a return address to the sender, and therefore your email address to spam bots.
4. Use a Captcha or similar anti-spam image on all forms on your site. This requires that the submitter, enter a code from an image. This usually includes numbers and text as well as background noise in the image. Spam bots have trouble converting this image to text, and therefore may be stopped from submitting the form.
5. If you have to send automated emails from your site, use This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it as the return address (replace "yoursite.com" with your url). Have these emails automatically deleted by your host. You can use your real email address on replies you make, to people that you identify as real.

These steps are not guaranteed to eliminate spam or other forms of cyber-terrorism, but they can help reduce it.

Always keep in mind that you need to protect your real email addresses from direct access and automated responses through your site.

Good luck!