How to prevent spam in your blog's comments

There are several things you can do prevent to spam. By far the easiest tactic is to use a plugin. One of the best plugins is Akismet. This plugin works a little like anti virus software in that it has a database of spam sites and spam terms. This plugin sits in the background and waits until a comment is left. Once a comment is left it is scanned it to see if it fits withing the spam category. If it is identified as spam, the plugin flags the comment and saves into a moderation queue.

Once in the moderation queue it sits there for 15 days after which it is automatically deleted. During that time and you can go in and review the comments. If you determine that the comment is not spam you can mark it as not spam and it will be published along with all the other comments. Akismet will also make a note that this is not spam so that next time a similar comment is left it is not removed from the comments database. If on the other hand you decide that it is spam you can either leave it where it will be auto deleted after 15 days or you can manually delete it.

Prior to using Akisment I had to manually go through all the comments and review them one by one and then manually delete those that were spam. The Aksimet plugin automates this process which leaves me free for more important tasks.

There are similar plugins that you can use which all do the same job. Just find the right plugin that you are comfortable with. Since installing this plugin it has intercepted over 300 spam attempts, in all in a matter of three weeks. In the past I must have spent a lot of time reviewing and deleting spam comments either that or quite a few have got past me and are in the system.

The biggest curse on blogging world is the spammer and as it is almost impossible to stop at its source. Using a plugin like Akismet certainly makes life easier.