Dealing with spam through your web forms can be both frustrating and disruptive. It’s important to understand why your forms might be targeted by spam to better protect your site without causing alarm. Generally, spammers use automated tools to submit junk data to forms in hopes of exploiting them for free advertising or to overload your systems. However, there are straightforward steps you can take to significantly reduce or eliminate this annoyance.
Enable Google reCAPTCHA
One effective method to prevent spam is by using Google reCAPTCHA. This tool helps differentiate between real users and automated bots by challenging users to complete a task that’s easy for humans but difficult for bots. You may have seen these as puzzles asking you to identify buses, traffic lights, or other objects in a series of images.
If you’re not sure how to set this up, don’t worry! Just get in touch with us, and we can enable Google reCAPTCHA on your forms.
Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF)
A Web Application Firewall (WAF) offers another layer of protection. We recommend using services like Cloudflare, which monitor and block malicious traffic before it reaches your site. Cloudflare’s WAF provides rules that automatically block common threats, such as spam or hacking attempts, and it can be a crucial defense mechanism for your website.
If you’re unfamiliar with how to integrate Cloudflare, let us know, and we’ll guide you through the process or manage it for you.
Activate OOPS Spam Protection
Our OOPS Spam Protection is specifically designed to analyse both the content of the messages received through your forms and the IP addresses they come from. This dual-check system helps to identify and filter out spam more effectively. If you haven’t already activated this feature, simply reach out to us and ask for OOPS Spam Protection to be turned on for your website.
- Limit Form Fields: Simplify your forms to collect only the essential information. Fewer fields can sometimes deter spammers who are looking for more complex forms to exploit.
- Use Form Validation: Implementing strict form validation can block improperly formatted entries. For example, ensuring that email fields require an "@" symbol can prevent basic spamming attempts.
- Block or Challenge Suspicious Traffic: If you notice repeated spam from certain regions or IP addresses, consider blocking them or setting up additional challenges for those areas.
Understanding these measures and implementing them can significantly reduce the impact of spam on your daily operations without overwhelming you with technical details. We’re here to help secure your forms, so don’t hesitate to contact us for setup, advice, or any questions you might have!