Spam protection for Mantis anonymous postings

fp1257 · Post by **fp1257** » 03 Jul 2006, 16:44

hi there :)

I'm using Mantis as a bug tracking tool for my webchat system. I created a user "chatter" which is used by the anonymous access. Anonymous access can create tickets, add notes and upload files.

During the past weeks a bot filled in one entry which was titled "GÃ¤stebuch" (Guestbook in english) with tons of spam notes regarding casino stuff. Today a bot created about 30 tickets also with spam stuff.

Is there any way to prevent the spam? I'm thinking about an image with letters like what you have to type when you register in this forum.

Bye

mroeder · Post by **mroeder** » 06 Jul 2006, 23:25

I had a php-based web email sender thing so my web site guests could contact me. Then I started getting spam on it ... so I added a qiuck-and-dirty image based system.

I Googled Images for "color blindness" and downloaded all the color-blindness test charts I could find. (It's remarkable how many different shades of the same colors you'll find!) The system I wrote puts up one randomly selected image and the guest just has to type in the hidden number. That put an end to the spam, and there was no need to install any image manipulaiton libraries or use any of the common systems that people are hacking because they're so common.

I bet if you found pictures of some acrobat spelling out letters with his body, that could make a fun variation on the theme.

Maybe I should post the code...