Dr Dave
It’s little doubt by now my belief this is the single most important plugin for WordPress, so it was nice to see the other day when moderating a site, looking past the 964 spam comments SK had eaten, and the mere 7 that were in moderation (all spam after all), that a new version was out.
And while you are updating, donate.
Quix0r
I had been meaning to mention this plugin for some time, and actually thought I had, until Quix0r stopped by, and mentioned it. I then realized I never actually got around to blogging it.
I personally have been blessed by the combination of Spam Karma2 and Bad Behavior (maybe it’s due to the fact that I have donated to the authors, hint, hint) but anyway, many people still run into issues with spam, and this one seems like a good addition to the arsenal. I’ll leave the technical explanation to the author, but my basic understanding is it “hides” the name of the file that most spammers attack, so basically they are missing the target. Sounds good, and appears to be successful for those that need it. Worth checking out if you are still having issues with spam.
Charles and company have released a new podcast covering problems with WordPress 2.0.5, a review of Akismet, Bad Behavior 2 and Spam Karma 2, and a brief tutorial on how to customize your login screen. Exceptionally helpful is Mark Jaquith’s review of the spam fighting tools, especially for those not familiar with the basic workings of the most commonly used tools.
Since noting that the stats plugin has been updated, it’s worth noting that Bad Behavior 2.0 was released as a final release while I was off line. Coupled with Spam Karma, this plugin has helped me avoid any of the troubles I’ve read others having with spam over the last few months.
Perhaps my karma was especially helped because I made a contribution to the development of both spam fighting plugins, and I suggest you do the same.
Bad Behavior is now at 2.0.3.
Ajay – On the Road called Life!
Update:Updated to 2.1
For those that want to either view the number of blocks by Bad Behavior in the admin panel, or show the stat on their site, this plugin is the one you want. Now updated to work with the newest version of BB, as well as older versions of Bad Behavior.
Another way of combating spam. This allows to ban a commentor by email, IP, and several other options. Similar to the blacklist feature, this however spells out for those not familiar with such.
It was announced yesterday that you can now register for an API key at wordpress.com without creating a blog. With the recent wave of spam I’ve read about, this might move a few to go ahead and use Akismet along with SK2 and Bad Behavior.
An updated AJAX based “shoutbox” that protects against spam by filtering through Spam Karma 2.
io error
A public release of the newly written from the ground up version of the indispensable WP plugin. If you’ve not explored this plugin with your other comment spam fighters, now is the time to investigate.
Has released a new update. I haven’t had a chance to read the release notes, but I’m sure this is something to tweak against the most recent rash of spam that came around. While you are there downloading, I highly suggest making a donation, be what you can. This piece of ware is well used in most WP installs, and a $$ love doesn’t hurt. Any plugin that you rely on for that matter. Be it $$ via paypal, or buy something off a wishlist, we as a community should try and give back to those who work hard and share their creations. Heck, even a personal email thanking them, or blogging about the plugin, something to let them know you appreciate the work.