Spam is any unwanted or inappropriate message sent to a large number of people. Spam typically consists of unwelcome product adverts, irrelevant backlinks (in an attempt to boost the connected website’s ranking in search engine results), or more nefarious activities such as scams or malware downloads. Spam can also refer to any content that is irrelevant and sent in huge quantities.
Most internet spam is totally automated by spam bots, similar to the robocalls that have troubled many consumers in recent years. When users interact with a spam bot’s work, they are not communicating with a real person, even if the bot appears to “react” to user interactions. Instead, spam bots interact with consumers by sending preprogrammed messages or following preprogrammed conversational scripts.
Spam can be sent to individual users via email, social networks or messengers. But typically the most value owners of bots get from putting their backlinks on a popular, yet weak-protected website.
If you are using Ninja Forms there are ways for you to prevent any of it.
Form Vulnerabilities
The area where visitors can “put” something on your site is, by far, the most vulnerable. This may be done through contact forms, forums, checkout pages, and any other text message medium you have access to. Basically, something that can interact with the database on your website.
In the bad case, it can take the form of irritating but otherwise harmless spam. In the worst case, it could be a direct attempt to use SQL injection to corrupt your database, get access to it, or even kill it, or it could be an attempt to brute-force you into giving up your admin password.
reCaptcha
The purpose of reCaptcha is to determine whether a visitor to your site is a human or a robot. It comes in a number of shapes and sizes, each of which functions in a slightly different way. Some are entirely inconspicuous, which has the advantage of not annoying your visitors, but they do require some upkeep. Others use drills and quizzes to make sure the visitor is who they say they are.
We propose utilizing the reCaptcha by BestWebSoft plugin to secure your Ninja forms.
You must complete the following steps to enable the anti-bot defense after obtaining both the reCaptcha and Ninja Forms plugins.
- You must have both plugins: Ninja Forms and reCaptcha by BestWebSoft.
- Open the Ninja Form page and click the “Add New” button to create a new form/
- Make the contact form you like and don’t forget to add a BWS reCaptcha field.
- Now reCaptcha on your Ninja Form may look as follows
Captcha
The main difference between reCaptcha and the BestWebSoft Captcha plugin is that Captcha does not require you to link and manage your Google Account, and the verification process is more straightforward.
It, like reCaptcha, works with the most popular plugins, including Ninja Forms.
The following are the steps to get them set up:
1. First, you must have both Ninja Forms and Captcha plugins.
2. Add new or edit the existing one contact form.
3. Add a BWS Captcha section.
4. Basically done.
Conclusion
Both, Captcha and reCaptcha are viable tools of protection. It’s up to you to decide which one suits you best, but the main differences are the need for integration with Google services. And protection approach.
