Themergency

Free Akismet Alternatives

Since I started with WordPress I have only used 1 plugin for combatting spam. And it’s the built-in plugin that comes with WordPress : Akismet. But lately, it has become harder and harder to use the plugin without paying. They have made it very difficult to get the free version up and running and more on that is described in this WPTavern post : Is Akismet Still Free?

So I have decided to drop Akismet. Completely. From all my blogs and future client’s blogs.

So the search is on for some alternatives. And they must be free.

Bad Behavior

“Bad Behavior also transcends other link spam solutions by working in a completely different, unique way. Instead of merely looking at the content of potential spam, Bad Behavior analyzes the delivery method as well as the software the spammer is using. In this way, Bad Behavior can stop spam attacks even when nobody has ever seen the particular spam before.”

This is a very interesting one, as spammers get blocked from your site completely. They do recommend that you use this in conjunction with another spam prevention service, so that doesn’t give me much faith. Although it looks good, I want an Akismet alternative, not something to use alongside Akismet.

TypePad AntiSpam

UPDATE: The company behind TypePad Antispam (Six Apart) has been acquired by another company and no longer seems to update this plugin

Sblam!

A free and open source project to help fight the war against spam. This is a stand-alone PHP script but a WordPress plugin has also been created, although it doesn’t seem to be in the WordPress plugin repo?