Is Akismet The Best Tool To Block WordPress Comment Spam?
I’ve just decided to switch back to using Akismet to protect this site from comment spam. In the past I wasn’t a big fan of Akismet, because it didn’t provide a lot of ways to deal with false positives, but I feel that I need to try something new as too much spam has been getting through.
Previously I was using Spam Karma 2 as it offered the most control that allowed me to ensure that regular commentators on this blog got through ok, but recently it has been letting too many spam comments through. I was getting so many each day that I’ve been logging on nearly every hour and spending around an hour a day just deleting spam.
I think that Spam Karma 2 has lost it’s position as the best WordPress anti-spam tool because the developer isn’t actively developing it because he said he couldn’t see the point of trying to compete with Akismet, which is bundled with WordPress. I can kind of see his point, but I still think it’s a real shame.
So, what do you think is currently the best WordPress anti-spam tool? Is it now Akismet? Or is there a new kid on the block that has stepped in where Spam Karma 2 has left off?
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Comment by Heather on 20 January 2008:
There actually is a new kid on the block…I’ve been using this new Anti-Spam plugin called WP-SpamFree - It’s awesome…you don’t even get 1% of the spam comments in the Akismet queue.
Comment by Ryan Perry on 13 January 2008:
I use askimet in all my wordpress installations and it is obviously the first plugin I activate. The only issue is to remember the activation key, which is provided on wordpress pages.
Comment by bert on 11 January 2008:
Hmmm… I’d rather let the legit messages get trashed than deal with 45K spam a week. Askimet saves me heartpain!
Comment by Micah on 10 January 2008:
Akismet worked OK for me, but I’ve since given up on it since I had to disapprove so many scam messages.
Comment by Martin on 10 January 2008:
Everton you won’t believe it but I switched to Akismet a week ago and switched back to Spam Karma yesterday.Akismet is blocking more spam but puts more false positives into the spam folder as well.
The real problem that I had with Akismet was that you had to look at ALL spam messages to pick the the real comments from the spam folder. This took ages. There are no filters in Akismet, no options and the only button that you can press is to delete all spam comments.
I prefer the Spam Karma way which reduces the time spent on moderating comments to several minutes a day.
Comment by Sherif Elsisi on 10 January 2008:
I switched like you a couple of weeks ago.
Originally I used the default settings of Spam Karma. A couple of times however users who commented, got a session start error message, even though their comment was stored on my site. I decided to switch instead of looking for support and Akismet is working well so far.
Comment by Chris at LG on 9 January 2008:
I’ve been using Akismet fine the past few weeks and it’s been a boon - not got any false positives at all. Akismet has the “power of default” behind it and a good userbase so I see no reason to switch.
Comment by D Web Design on 9 January 2008:
I have started to use Askimet too, since I am having some spam every day. But have not tried the other alternatives.
Comment by Everton on 9 January 2008:
@Mat
I’ve never heard of Defensio - do you have a link?
To be honest I’ve been very impressed with Akismet. It’s blocked 61K spam already this week, and only missed 4 which is very good going!
Comment by rutherford on 9 January 2008:
I wish there were an email antispam system just as effective as askimet.
My blog gets 10,000 spams a week, but askimet blocks em all.
My email gets 100 viagra spam a day. And the spam filters of doteasy.com and spam cop still let em thru