Spam is annoying, irritating and hated by all honest web users. Bloggers refer to spam as “evil” because their blog comments get infiltrated by scammers posting links. WordPress blogs by default place all submitted comments as pending, which have to be approved by the blog owner. Cleaning out spam can take time away from blogging or doing other web projects, especially if your blog receives hundreds of spam comments a day.
An exciting part about blogging is receiving feedback and comments from your blog readers. It is disappointing to find out that the comment is from a no-good spammer, who wants to use your blog for track back links. Luckily, WordPress bloggers have free plugins available to help combat spam and keep it far from their precious blogs.
Combating WordPress Blog Spam with Akismet Plugin
Akismet Plugin has been so popular and loved by the blogging community that WordPress now includes it with all installations. The plugin comes included with the WP installation files, and is free to personal blogs. Akismet does require an API key, which can be obtained from WordPress.com
You will need to setup a free WordPress.com account, and an API key will be e-mailed once account is created. The API key needs to be inserted in your Akismet setup page in order for the plugin to be active.
Akismet does allow for comments to be posted as pending, but it learns as it goes along. This is the most remarkable feature of this WP plugin, as it can recognize previous spammers or pick up on keywords such as “male enhancement” and promptly mark the comment as spam.
The flagged comments are moved to a moderation queue, which can be checked by the blog administrator. Rarely does Akismet mark a legitimate comment as spam, but the moderation queue can be checked at any time for comments that should be approved. Once you have corrected Akismet, the plugin will alter itself to not mark those comments or future comments from the comment poster as spam.
Combating WordPress Blog Spam with Math Comment Spam Protection
Math Comment Spam Protection is a must have for WordPress bloggers. Not only does it help prevent spam from being posted in the comments, but it also completely blocks it. A human input is required, an answer to a mathematical question such as 2+2=. This WP plugin helps to stop spam bots, which automatically post garbage and links into your comments.
When activated, Math Comment Spam Protection requires PHP code to be inserted into your comment template. This is a line of code that adds a field to the comment form before the Submit button. In order for a comment posted to proceed, they must enter a correct answer to your math question.
Spam is irritating, and cleaning up spam comments posted by zealous scammers can take time. You can easily combat spam, and help prevent it from your blog entirely. The best anti-spam WordPress plugins, Akismet and Math Comment Spam Protection, are free to install and use.
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/plugins
