However (thankfully) those scripts have not yet reached a point where they can read slanted images with little contrast … So, for now this is an excellent anti-spam solution.

Nor can visually impaired users. I can read the captcha you are currently using, but using reduced contrast hurts humans with less than perfect vision. I’m glad people who use these systems don’t want people with disabilities to comment on their pages.

Andy,
It’s becoming obvious that you have a “cause” here and all… but I can assure you that I have nothing against the visually impaired. I switched to the authimage hack out of necessity, and because it is an easy, effective solution.

It would be nice if the hack didn’t exclude visually impaired users… It would be nice if there were no blog spammers… hell it would be nice if money trees grew in my backyard and it rained gumdrops. But we live in an imperfect world, and sometimes imperfect solutions are necessary.

Authimage stops spam[PERIOD] That’s why I use it. My daily blog spam count went from 50 to 0. Until there’s a better Wordpress anti-spam hack, I’ll be going with this one.

Jeff Barr’s solution works well - in my estimation there are more people with visual impairments than who can’t read “Type Andy’s name in the box to post” and do it (you could also implement it in multiple languages, before someone says “What about those who can’t read English”)

For people who speak the same language as the test is written in, at least, if they can’t understand the box then they are probably unlikely to have been able to read and appreciate the post, or make a comment. Far more likely, at least, than people of even basic intelligence who just happen to have a physical impairment.

At least your captcha is one of the better ones - I’ve tried some that have really weird letter shapes and are crossed in many directions with the same or similarly coloured lines - it’s a complete nightmare. I gave up posting on some sites (probably wish your captcha was like theirs now, eh

Nothing personal, just hate the way things are going - unfortunately spammers seem to make it harder to comply to standards and maintain security.

Three rules of the spam game:

1) you can not win.
2) you can not draw.
3) you can not leave the play.

Greetings,

Antonio

For now, I think using low contrast and lines on the verification image are overkill. Thankfully, spam bots have not yet even advanced to the point that they can read my simple image verification codes. So why make things harder on the viewer with unnecessary image obfuscation?

Thanks for sharing this excellent solution. I’m in the planning stages for my first blog using wordpress and was looking for an anti-spam solution. I’ve decided now to go with this one based on your recommenedation.

hi, really nice the editor of you, but i have this little question. I have this error in the images selection page. “Library doesn’t physically exist” how can i fix this. maybe it is simple but i’m trying it now for over 3 hours and getting creazy! thanks willem.

I have installed plugin according to instructions and it works when user is not logged in. When user is logged, the picture with code is not shown and therefore it is impossible to post (the error still shown.

my wordpress blog got hit so hard with spam that i reset everything. i think i’ll install this validator hack thingy, sounds great. lemme know how accurate it is!

Hey tophorse,
Before you do that, you might want to try tweaking some of the new anti-spam features of Wordpress 1.5(I see that you just installed it). It’s got some cool stuff like a block-list, banning anonymous proxies, etc.

I’m gonna give the new features a go before I switch back to authimage.

Just FYI -> This plugin can be bypassed. I had it on WP 1.2 for some time, I then started to get a lot of spam about 2 months later. It turns out that the image this plugin generates is 100% passable. You can find out more here: http://sam.zoy.org/pwntcha/

But most spam-scripts in current use are not advanced enough to decode captchas. I never received a single spam while using authimage. Even that script you link to- the code is not publicly available.

Just seems that most blog spammers aren’t using very advanced scripts to do their spamming… These days, I’m using an anti-spam system on this site that is MUCH simpler than a captcha, and the site has been spam-free for months.

But what about the crip? When user is logged, the picture with code is not shown and therefore it is impossible to post (the error still shown.

‘course there are algortihms to generate an audio file in various formats (mp3, etc.) for visually impaired users. This is actually quite easy since there are some free text-to-speech servers on the web…

Try the highly effective combination of [Spam Karma 2] and [Bad Behavior]. I’m fairly certain Spam Karma 2 whips out captchas if needed, which is more flexible than an always-on captcha.

good day

does it still works?

Joe Schmoe, it would be nice if you were to experience what it's like to be visually impaired, because maybe you'd be less of an asshat.

As it happens, I can read the code you use. And I know there are valid reasons for requiring codes right now. Fair enough.

But a site like YouTube is impossible for me to use. I can comment  3 times before the code kicks in. I have two degrees in English, a law degree, and an MBA, and they are USELESS to me here. I cannot convey the frustration of trying to figure out the letters and type them in - and then to be told I was wrong.

Comment by JD — Jun. 6, 2008 @ 1:42 AM

I have a BS degree. It's in BullShit detection Mary. If you're such an angry blind lady, then how did you enter the code to make that last post? Huh?! Bah, YEAH, GOT YA. I'm fucking awesome!

I feel no need to defend my choice until I receive an angry comment from someone who CAN'T actually read the code. That’s right - until I get a comment from someone who can't post, I am convinced that at least 99.97% of the world thinks that this code thing is the best idea ever on the internets.

shes probably blind in her brown eye too.someone sort her out lol.