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Earlier today I made the decision to turn off the plugin WP-SpamFree. WP-SpamFree is a powerful anti-spam plugin for WordPress that stops comment spam and trackback spam. This plugin stops the spam before it gets to the database, so there is no cluttering up of the database. The plugin also comes with a SpamFee Contact Form.
I recently I reviewed WP-SpamFree and wanted to test it for a month and see how will this plugin works. After a month of use I had 876 spam comments blocked. This plugin worked so well that it only a small number of spam got through. Not only did it blog spam but I found through the log that it was blocking trackbacks and pingbacks from bad sites and good sites. I lost a lot of trackbacks from Blog Engage , MMO Social Network and several other sites that give great link juice.
After checking all my settings, I still could not prevent WP-SpamFree from blocking good trackbacks and tried to reach support through their Twitter accounts and through email. I never heard back from them and that this point I can not afford to loose any any more good comments and trackbacks.
Conclusion
Overall I like the plugin, if I could reach support and see if there is a fix for blocking of good trackbacks, I think I would use this plugin. For newer blogs I would hold off until the site can afford to have trackbacks and comments accidently blocked. If the spam gets worse again, I will add the plugin again. But for now its deactivated to see if my traffic and comments go back up.
Are you using WP-Spam Free? What are your thoughts?
About James
I have found that since I switched to Intense Debate that I get no spam – literally! One factor could be that our blogs are in very different niches. Interesting, nonentheless. 🙂
Yeah, thats what I was thinking. Within one hour of removing SpamFree I got 10 new spams all for nasty stuff. Now I am averaging about 1 an hour of just junk spam. Starting the hunt for another plugin
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I intended to try wp spam free but the combination of Akismet and Conditional Captcha seems to be working fine for me. I hope you find a fix for this plug in.
The problem with WP-SpamFree is that it is no longer maintained. For last few weeks I am seeing a large number of spam comments getting through it. It was good while it lasted!
Thanks for the mention man! some very useful links in the WP section
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