2 Alternatives To Akismet For Spam Prevention:
Defensio Anti-Spam & TypePad Anti-Spam
While Akismet may be considered the defacto standard in spam prevention, it’s certainly not the only business in town. Recently a combination of factors including some problems with its algorithms (which we hope they will fix soon) and that Akismet (WordPress.com) keys are no longer free for small businesses has sent me looking for alternatives.
Below I present for your consideration Defensio Anti-Spam which I’ve found to have some really nice settings available to it, and TypePad Anti-Spam which like Akismet has minimalistic settings. It’s worth noting that both of these plugins are considered to be “beta” and while free for professional use during beta are unlikely to remain so in the future.
If you’ve set Akismet up before, both of these will be a piece of cake, but I’ve provided walk-throughs just in case!
Setting Up Defensio Anti-Spam for WordPress
Setting Up TypePad Anti-Spam for WordPress
Thoughts
I like both of these and they “feel” similar (and similar to Akismet as well). I think its fair to assume that both will remain free for hobby and personal journals style blogs while becoming paid resources when they exit beta status, just as Akismet has done.
However, for now they remain a pleasant alternative to paying $60/year. I’m certain that Akismet’s new business model will be good for their beta testing! (While they say both are technically beta, many have these in use and I would say they are probably good enough for the average site at this time. They might not be ready for extreme traffic, but they may very well be too.) Both appear stable on WordPress 3.0.
Existing Akismet keys are still working (currently) so if you have one you’re probably fine for now. Anyone just getting started though is going to have to make a decision however. Please remember you can not share keys with others or with your clients as each key is licensed explicitly to you and allows access to some sensitive data if used with WordPress.com stats.
Typepad has a strong reputation in the blogging industry and while the WordPress plugin may be beta they are certainly no small contender. Either of these plugins will likely be a good pick at the moment and I am currently installing Defensio on new client blogs. I suspect very shortly however I will start coming across unscrupulous business owners that have claimed their blog is a hobby not a business (and are probably wondering why that’s all they’re manifesting too!)
If you’ve been using Akismet for a while, what are your thoughts on this and your recommendation to beginners? Do you feel the $60/yr is justifiable for micro-businesses? If you were in their shoes would you consider looking at these currently free alternatives even if they could potentially be just not quite as good and possibly have to either switch again or pay later?
If you’re just getting started with blogging I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether these alternatives are helpful to you!
I look forward to replying to your comments below and please share, syndicate, tweet, bookmark, and stumble this post if you found it helpful!
Kimberly
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Related posts by Kim:
- WordPress Plugin Review: Akismet (Anti-Spam)
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Kim,
Well it seems to be at-least they are gonna be choices for who cannot afford Akismet. Honestly I can’t see use of these spam-blocking plugins as am not getting any comments on my blog. And hence am not using Akismet, but I do use wp-captcha free.
Just noticed this. In your site I am able to select the posts to be shown in the commentLuv plugin. But in other sites comLuv display one of my old post as the recent post. Any idea?
Jakes invites you to read…Digg Digg v42 adds Topsy button feature and more
Have you registered for a comluv.com member account and set up your feed there? It appears you have, as the commentluv icon next to your link shows the “+” that says your a member. That’s what it should be doing for you. Is it still doing it for you on other sites now? Wonder if there was a hiccup that just self-corrected? I cant think of any reason my site is special! LOL
Kimberly
Hi Kim,
At-least for me your site is special. Only on your site I am getting that feature. But I too don’t have no idea why is it behaving so.
Jakes invites you to read…Digg Digg v42 adds Topsy button feature and more
Very good intro to Defensio, thanks a lot! We welcome Akismet refugees with arms wide open
Thanks Kim been looking for an alternative to Akismet! What is the captcha plug-in you referred too? I would like to check that out as Bad Behavior has never allowed me to set it up, big hiccup, that has not worked itself out.
Thanks for the great info as always! YOU’RE THE BEST!!!
“Dream, Believe, Become…”
Tracey Keefer
Tracey Keefer invites you to read…5 Pillars to Success- a New Perspective- Pillar 2
Kim,
Very helpful for my new blog. Appreciate your work always being a step ahead,
Leelja
Leelja invites you to read…Hello world!
Kim, I can’t believe you published two videos about how to set those plugins up. That was totally unexpected by me to be honest. But it was nice of you to do such a thing! I mean, the meaning of life is to give after all.
And I cannot agree more: Akismet sucks. I recommend everyone to switch to something else. The algorithm Akismet uses is just way too advanced. It sometimes blocks out even genuine comments, for gods sake!
/Lennart.
Lennart invites you to read…10 saker att leta efter när du väljer webbhotell
Hi Kim!
Thanks so much for this information! Worked like a charm!
Your video was very helpful and well done. May I ask, what video recording software do you use? I was impressed that you could do so much on screen and have a video of you speaking at the same time.
Thanks!
Lisa
I use Akismet for spam prevention but thanks for review onf defensio anti spam and typad antispam and all post are very informative.
Regards,
Sophie
Sounds great, will absolutly check Defensio out instead of Akismet!
Sebastian invites you to read…Bygg hemsida i WordPress
Thanks for giving the tip of new ways, i dont like akismet. I often get normal comments blocked aswell, and it takes alot of time to go through the comments to make sure that doesnt happen..
Speldator, all spam plugins are going to create false positives these two are no different. I would suggest you start with the Growmaps AntiSpambot Plugin so you get less spam overall to deal with and then have less to have to sort through. I highly recommend this little gem: http://just-ask-kim.com/wordpress-plugin-review-growmap-anti-spambot-plugin/
Kim
Great review! I have only tried Akismet so far. I think defensio is worth a try.
It’s a great idea start with one of this two options, and more when you start a company blog thanks!
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