I have uploaded my lesser known email spam fighting plugin Transpose Email to WordPress Extend. So, now you can download and install and update the plugin from within WordPress Admin area itself.

Actually, the plugin has been lying neglected in the repository for several years now, before the directory even existed! However, it definitely wasn’t in usable form. I’ve rearranged the files and deleted the useless ones and the download is perfectly ready now.

Transpose Email plugin allows you to use JavaScript to create an encoded link. Clicking that link will trigger the user’s email client to open and create an email.

Download the plugin or read more about customizing the Javascript.

Came across this nice article on avoiding registration on free websites, thereby reducing SPAM.

You can do this using BugMeNot.

Read the full article.

Update: This tutorial is now superceded by A Comprehensive Guide to Protecting Your Blog from Spam.

Comment spam is something every blogger is really really afraid of. Over the past two years that I have been using WordPress this is one problem that I have faced on and off.
I realized that the amount of spam I was receiving was is direct relation to my popularity. (and I wasn’t that know then)

After a lot of experimenting, I have finalized settled down on the following. I’m pretty much spam free for now.

Firstly, get Bad Behavior installed. Bad Behavior blocks spam by checking Referer and a lot of other things the moment it touches your site. It runs silently in the background protecting you. Optionally, you can add my Bad Behavior Stats Plugin to display the number of blocked attempts on your blog.

Next, get hold of Spam Karma 2. Spam Karma is a comment spam protector. It provides many checks and drastically reduces the amount of comment, trackback and pingback spam. Optionally, add Spam Karma 2 Stats.

With just these two plugins installed I had almost zero spam on my site. However, I recommend a few additional things you can do.

Get hold of Moderate Plugin for SK2 and follow the instructions for installing it. This plugin will ensure that new posters will land into moderation for your approval. So even if a person gets through Bad Behavior and Spam Karma 2, you still choose whether you want to approve this comment or not. Believe, I’ve used it many times!

Also, to reduce email spam do not have any mailto: links on your site. Instead make use of contact forms or email plugins like my Transpose Email plugin to protect your email from harvesters.
Two popular contact forms for WordPress are PXS Mail and WP-Contact Form.

Yet another step to prevent bad bots and spam is to use your .htaccess file to block them. Read Blocking bad bots and site rippers (aka offline browsers). Here you will find a nice long list of what you will need to enter into your .htaccess to block the bots and spam.

Additional resources worth checking are:

• Combating Comment Spam
• Spam Tools
• Tackling Comment Spam

I’m pretty much spam free today. So how about you?

Overview:

Putting your email address in a blog post is an open invitation to spammers. There are several methods to prevent this, like using a contact form or obfuscating your email.

Transpose Email plugin allows you to use JavaScript to create an encoded link. Clicking that link will trigger the user’s email client to open and create an email.

You have the option to set the default subject line to whatever you want.

Features

• Easy to use and edit.
• Doesn’t require any external program to encrypt your email.
• Function can be called muliple times on the same page, just by passing different email addresses.
• Uses the user’s default email program like Outlook Express to send the email. So, will work even your host has disabled the mail() function of php as well as SMTP.
• Doesn’t require reencrypting of your email address in case it changes. All you need to do is update the arguments to the function.

Requirements:

• WordPress 2.5 or above

Installing

1. Download Transpose Email Plugin.
2. Extract the contents of ald-transpose-email.zip to wp-content/plugins/ folder.
3. Activate the Plugin.
4. Read the Customizing section.

The JavaScript Function:

Transpose_Email(userid,domain,subject)

• userid – The part that comes before the @ in your email address e.g. my email address is me@ajaydsouza.com, so I enter it as me
• domain – The part that comes after the @ in your email address e.g. my email address is me@ajaydsouza.com, so I enter it as ajaydsouza.com
• subject – The subject line of the email you will receive.

Usage:

Example: <a href="javascript:Transpose_Email('user','domain.com','About your site') ">Email Me</a>

Ofcourse, change domain.com and user to that of your email address. Change the subject line if you want to.

ChangeLog:

• 1.3.1 – Minor JS fixes
• 1.3
  • Better support for blogs which have the `wp-content` folder moved from the original folder
  • Added support for blank subject line
• 1.2.1 – Uploaded the plugin on WordPress.org
• 1.2 – Code remains same. Minor corrections to Readme file
• 1.1 – Moved the javascript function to an external .js file. Now the plugin works even when your blog is served as application/xhtml+xml on browsers that support it, e.g Firefox
• 1.0 – Release

To Do:

• Add button to Quicktags Toolbar

Support the Development

I’ve spent a good deal of time and money developing and maintaining the plugin. If you like the plugin and find it useful and would like to donate something for my work please do click the Paypal Donate button below. The payment is secure. I haven’t filled in any amount. Feel free to donate what you please. Any amount is welcome. Thank you

License

All files and their contents are licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

Questions or Bugs

If you have any questions or would like to report any bugs then please visit the support forum.

Downloads

Download Transpose Email v1.3.1
Number of downloads: 11,634
Rating: 4/5
Page on WP Extend