Important
As of January 1st, 2009, I am no longer developing, maintaining or supporting Spam Karma. If you want to contribute to its code or download the latest GPL release, you can check out the code repository, over at Google Code.
Thanks.
1. Overview
Spam Karma 2 (SK2) is an anti-spam plugin for the WordPress blogging platform. It is meant to stop all forms of automated Blog spam effortlessly, while remaining as unobtrusive as possible to regular commenters. Spam Karma 2 is the proud successor to Spam Karma, with whom it shares most of the development ideas, but absolutely none of the code
2. Requirements
- WordPress: SK2 requires at least WP 1.5.1 (or up). It is compatible with all versions of Wordpress up to the latest release (2.1).
- mySQL: 4.0 or up is strongly recommended (some important functionalities might not work otherwise).
3. Installation
Install is the easiest ever:
- download the archive
- unzip and drop the whole SK2 folder, as is, in your
pluginsdirectory. - Enable the plugin in the WP Admin >> Plugins section.
- Browse to WP Admin >> Manage >> Spam Karma 2.
(Note: if you are upgrading from a previous install, simply overwrite the older files with the new ones in the instructions above)
Please check SK2 GPL repository for any potential downloads.
4. The Aftermath
Everything worked? Good.
Not quite?
Just check out the FAQ & Troubleshooting Page, your answer might be there. Otherwise, you can try WP.org support forums.
For bug-reports exclusively, you can contact me using this online form (do not use the old support email account: it is no longer active).
5. Tip Jar
If Spam Karma saved your life/relationship/cat/mailbox and you feel overly generous, please feel free to make a donation.
If you don’t have cash, but plenty of time to spare, consider helping out with some WP community-related projects.
6. Other Languages
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Parlez-vous français? 日本語喋れる？¿Hablas Español? Parla Italiano? etc.
SK2 can probably speak your language !
Go here to find instructions on how to switch SK2 to a language other than English.
If your language is not in this list already (or even if it is, but you feel the translations can be improved), learn how you can contribute here.
7. Documentation and Extra Stuff
For more info about how SK2 works, what it does, how you can improve it etc, check SK2’s Documentation Blog on wp-plugins.net. Please feel free to contribute.
There are additional third-party plugins available to extend SK2’s functionalities. Check out the full list here.
SK2 will automatically inserts an “X spams eaten” message in your footer (you can disable or customize it in the admin options).
Using SK2? Eager to tell the world about it? Like having 300 little acronym buttons on the side of your page?
Say no more, we have what you need:
Feel free to download and do whatever you want with this kick-ass button, including using it on your own page, possibly with a link to this very page. However: hotlink it directly from this page, and I will unleash my legions of killer ferrets on you and your descendance, at the click of a mouse.
If you are a developer and would like to learn how you can very easily use SK2 as a support for your own anti-spam development effort, check out the SK2 API page.
If you have an idea on how to improve SK2 (and see no mention of it in the existing docs) feel free to contact me about it, but keep in mind that nearly any addition to SK2 can be done outside of the core, through an SK2 module. Feel free to contact me if you want to take on such a task and need a bit of help getting started.
Normally, SK2 should automatically check for updates on a reasonably regular basis, but consider checking that page back in a few weeks if you do not see any update.
8. What about Karma?
You mean, the sanskrit word that defines a concept in eastern religions?
I wrote an entry about it here.
9. Your comment was mistakenly eaten by Spam Karma?
10. Licensing and Legal Matters
Spam Karma 2 is not GPL. It is copyright and all rights reserved. However, it is absolutely free for download, use and non-commercial redistribution. Anything else is subject to prior written permission by myself. If you contact me, chances are I’ll say yes to any reasonable request.
External plugins (including those bundled with Spam Karma 2) are the property of their respective developers and, by default, subject to the same distribution rules.
What this mean in practice: Spam Karma is “free software”, in that it is absolutely free to download, free to use and even free to tinker with (although I typically would require any modifications made to it to be clearly indicated to potential users). What I do not want to see, though, is people grabbing a version of WP and SK2, packaging them together and selling them for $300 (as they could do, with GPL software). Bottom line is that I am not trying to make money with this, and I don’t see why somebody else should be able to without me having a say first.
Once again, this type of licensing doesn’t make any difference for 99% of users (it’s free for whatever you need it to do), and shouldn’t stand in the way of the remaining 1% with more specific needs. If you have doubt or questions, contact me: I am very open to any discussion or criticism regarding this format of licensing.
I am also very open to porting SK2 over to other platforms. Its architecture makes it extremely portable (for a WP plugin). Contact me if you think you may be interested in adapting it for another platform.
It goes without saying that this software is provided “as is”, without any guarantee of warranty of any kind, nor could I ever be held liable for any damages it could do to your system (see header of source code for details): if SK2 was to go berserk, screw up your database, delete your entire blog, kill your cat and rape your hamster (or the other way round), you’re pretty much on your own legally. It shouldn’t though.
11. Changelog
New in 2.3:
- Miscellaneous bug-fixes (UI, WP21 compatibility, compatibility with other plugins etc.)
- A few small changes in the modules (improving blacklisting module, disabling RBL for now).
- Important updates to Wordpress DB schema in order to try and improve its sluggish loading time (not directly an SK2 problem per se, but had to be done for SK2 to run fine).
2.2:
- Miscellaneous bug-fixes (UI, WP2 compatibility etc.)
- Fine-tuning of older modules to accomodate new spambot breed.
- Minor additions to SK2’s filtering modules to raise SK2 protections.
2.1:
- Full multilingual support (see available languages).
- WP 2.0 and SQL 5.0 compatibility
- Improved email integration (can flag/unflag spam directly from notification emails).
- Miscellaneous bug fixes and improvements
[...] For those of you using WordPress, Bad Behavior and Spam Karma 2 in combination will completely eliminate virtually any spam problem. [...]
[...] This is our first post in our IVF journal/blog/thoughts/feelings, etc website. I wanted to create this post to give a brief overview of what we have gon through so far on our journey as well as to give our first update. This is probably going to be seen mostly by friends and family, but anyone else that comes along that finds this information insteresting is more than welcome. I will be moderating the comments and I have the wonderful Spam Karma comment spam killer installed, so hopefully any comments will be valid.Stephanie and I have been trying to have a child for approximately six years with no success. It has been a frustrating time but we knew that God had a plan for us. That’s not to say it made it any easier, but our faith has been a big part of what kept us going. [...]
[...] Kaum läuft mein Blog einen Tag (genauer gesagt eineinhalb Tage) schon tauchen die ersten sogenannten Comment-Spams auf. Da kann ich mich doch fast glücklich schätzen Spam Karma für Wordpress installiert zu haben. Hier ein Auszug aus dem Report: [...]
[...] Estoy probando Spam Karma 2 según me comentó kraptor. A ver si de una vez por todas me quito toooda la cantidad de spam que me llegaba diariamente. [...]
[...] Dank dem Hinweis von Stefan bin ich auf eine Erweiterung für Spam Karma 2 gestoßen: Das Plugin “Spam Karma 2 Akismet Plugin” wird einfach in das SK2 Plugin Verzeichnis kopiert und übernimmt die kompletten Arbeiten vom üblichen Akismet Plugin für Wordpress. Das ist sehr praktisch und hilfreich und scheint auch ein wenig den Server zu schonen. Ich wußte gar nicht, dass soetwas für SK2 im Einsatz ist. Daher also wie immer – Fight the Spam! Keywords/Tags: Spam, SpamKarma2, Wordpress, WP Plugin [...]
[...] Spam Karma 2 (SK2) ist ein Anti Spam Plugin für WordPress. Spam Karma ist ein komplexes System von Filtern, die auf jeden Kommentar angewandt werden. Zur Aktivierung wird kein Code zum freizuschalten benötigt. Link zu: >> Spam Karma [...]
[...] Hey guys, I’ve just installed some comment spam protection plugins for WordPress (the blog system this blog uses) and I’ve also opened up user registration, so you guys can post comments. So anyway, I’ve installed Spam Karma and Bad Behavior. That should be enough to keep out spammers, and if it’s not, I can bump up the protection. The links to these sites/plugins are also located to the right of this post on the sidebar. [...]
[...] blog is protected by Spam Karma 2. Don’t even think about spamming it. [...]
[...] Da der Spamschutz mit dem Bot Check nur begrenzt funktionert, neben WM Anni gab es noch einige recht sinnlose Kommentare, habe ich nun auch Spam Karma 2 installiert und aktiviert. Seuche. Vor allem frage ich mich ja, was hat ein Kommentar, in dem weder Mailadresse, noch Homepage oder IP-Adresse stimmen und der Inhalt sich auf “Hi, nice” beschränkt, für einen Sinn? [...]
[...] Nachdem sich die Ritter der Schwafelrunde nun die letzten drei Wochen auch massiv bei mir breit gemacht haben und mein treues Spam-Karma täglich bis zu 300(!) Spam-Kommentare und Trackbacks wegfiltern darf, habe ich mich jetzt doch entschlossen bei den Kommentaren eine kleine Hürde einzubauen. Da mich allerdings all die schwer leserlichen Zufallsgrafik-Generatoren nur bedingt überzeugt haben, entschied ich mich für eine einfach zu beantwortende Frage, die jeder Kommentator beantworten muß. Die Frage wird einmal die Woche geändert. Das wird zwar nicht alle Spammer abschrecken, aber viel Spambots ausschalten und ist immer noch besser, als wenn ich euch zwinge euch zu registrieren um euren Senf dazugeben zu dürfen. Um es mit Douglas Adams zu sagen: Entschuldigen Sie die Unannehmlichkeiten. Rubrik: TagesBatz — Reaper-Batz um 2:28 am 29, 5, 2006 [...]
[...] At least I know what to use if it gets out of control. If you have a bad spam problem on your blog I suggest using Spam Karma, which is what I use on my Nell blog. I had Jen put it on my blog and now I have no problems — it does all the work for me. [...]
[...] Ich sah mich genötigt etwas gegen Spam-Kommentare in diesem wertvollen Blog zu unternehmen und habe es deshalb dem freundlichen Michael nachgemacht und ”Spam Karma” installiert. [...]
[...] SpamKarma2…対スパムコメント/トラックバック駆除スクリプトの切り札 [...]
[...] Spam Karma2 [...]
[...] Aside from the occasional massive spam run, there’s been a fairly regular trickle of spam targeted at the comments on this blog. Dr. Dave’s excellent Spam Karma plugin takes care of nearly all of these using a combination of content filters, blacklists, form checks, signs of proxy use, and more. [...]
[...] Enter Spam Karma – Thanks Spam Karma, you have saved me hours a week. It was a breeze to install, and while I dont understand the majority of functions, the default settings have meant that in 3 days I have not recieved a single piece of spam to my in box. I look forward to a long and happy relationship with you Spam Karma! [...]
[...] Ich habe eben wieder SpamKarma (Version 2) installiert. Bevor die Spamflut wieder losgeht. Alle bisherigen Kommentare von nackten Prominenten und Casinos habe ich von Hand gelöscht. [...]
Spammers kept out
This is a new blog and I find spammers coming my way. Here is a picture of what was caught.
NICE!
It auto approved comments from my friends and stopped and removed spammers comment and trackback. I am very statisfied with what it does. If…
[...] Ohne Spam Karma, eAccelerator und WP-Cache wären die 20 Blogs auf diesem Server definitv nicht mehr nutzbar. [...]
[...] 12. sk2_final 垃圾过滤插件 官方说明： http://unknowngenius.com/blog/wordpress/spam-karma/ [...]
[...] Optional you can take a look at this links: Spam Tools Bad Behavior Spam Karma 2.2 [...]
[...] Of course my system, using both Spam Karma 2 and the Akismet plugin for it, has blocked all of these things, but damn that’s using up an annoying amount of bandwidth pointlessly. [...]
[...] For more info, you can visit SK2 page here. If you want to download the plugin, you can download it directly from here. [...]
[...] Spam Karma 2 Ultimate Spam Killer for WordPress. Spam Karma dürfte wohl zur Zeit der “Mercedes” unter den Spam-Filtern sein. Wer zusätzlich auf den “zentralen” Filter von Akismet setzen möchte, kann dies entweder mit dem eigenständigen Plugin “Akismet” (akismet.com) tun oder – wie wir – auf das Spam Karma-Plugin “Akismet” setzen (www.sebbi.de). [...]
[...] In letzter Zeit hat der Spam massiv zugenommen. Teilweise bekam ich täglich bis zu 20 Werbekommentare. In der Zeit in der ich im Krankenhaus war, sammelten sich sogar über 500 an. Deshalb schob gestern ich einen Riegel mit Spam Karma 2 vor. Die Software funktioniert wirklich einwandfrei. Seit dem kein Spam mehr, aber schon 15 Kommentare im Jenseits gelandet… [...]
[...] Tällä hetkellä sivulla hyrrää Akismet, Bad-behavior ja Spam Karma 2. Päätin hieman innostua ja pistää kaikki kolme, sillä nämä myös toimivat toistensa kanssa, ainakin niin Wordpressin foorumeilla väitetään. En sitten tiedä, että tarvitsenko todella näitä kaikkia, mutta hauskaahan se on välillä leikkiä. [...]
[...] Spam Karma 2 – ganz klar um Spam von seinem Blog fernzuhalten, jedem zu empfehlen! [...]
[...] هناك أيضًا إضافات أخرى يمكن الحصول عليها من دليل إضافات الوردبريس، من أشهرها وأقواها Spam Karma، الذي يمكن إستخدامه مع akismet للحصول على حماية فعالة جدا ضد هذا النوع من التعليقات. لكن لو أن مدونتك صغيرة ولا تواجه رسائل سخام كثيرة يمكن الاكتفاء بواحد منهما فقط. [...]
[...] I just installed Spam Karma 2. It looks to have done a nice job of cleaning out the spam that was currently awaiting moderation and pending the end of my procrastination to manage them. So, in the least bit, it saved me a couple hours. I’m taking off the comment rule that requires anyone that comments to be a registered user. I haven’t checked, but I think it might use a Captcha. (I’m sorry if it uses a Captcha, Scott. Please don’t be emo about it in the WSJ). [...]
[...] Dato che da qualche settimana sono afflitto dallo splog, oggi – dopo diversi tentativi – ho deciso di installare un plugin Wordpress che si chiama Spam Karma 2. [...]
[...] Actualización: Instalé Spam Karma 2.2 y parece que se solucionó el problema. Comparte el artículo:Comparte este artículo (post).. [...]
[...] So. Der ganze Hass auf diesen Spamscheiß hat mich nun dazu veranlasst, das Spam-Karma-2.2-Plugin zu installieren. Für Interessierte: Ein Kommentar, der fast genau 48 Stunden alt ist, hatte in meinem Blog die ID 182502. Ein Spam-Kommentar von eben ist mittlerweile bei der ID 267191 angekommen. Mit anderen Worten: Zieht man die 21 tatsächlichen Kommentare ab, bleiben 84.668 Spam-Kommentare in gut 48 Stunden. Ich habe mich zuvor immer dagegen gesträubt, Spam Karma oder ähnliche Plug-Ins zu installieren, weil ich von früheren Versuchen weiß, dass dabei gern auch mal wirkliche Kommentare gefressen werden. Aber bei dieser Menge an Spam, die einer Denial-of-Service-Attacke gleichkommt, wusste ich nicht mehr weiter. Ich habe wirklich keine Zeit, täglich 40.000 Spams zu löschen. Zumal ein Ende dieses Angriffs nicht absehbar ist. Wenn also mal einer Eurer Kommentare nicht auftaucht, bitte ich das schonmal vorab zu entschuldigen. Sollte ich ihn in der Menge an von Spam-Karma gefressenem Spam herausfinden, werde ich ihn reaktivieren. Posted: 1/6/2006 – 21:35 in: [...]
Kommentarspam? Nein, danke.
There have been 70 comment spams caught since the last digest report 1 day, 21 hours ago.
Wir haben erneut Besuch von Spammern. Wie gut, dass wir dank Spam Karma 2 von den Ergüssen verschont bleiben.
Falls jemand ein Wordpress-Blog betreibt ist die…
[...] What can I say, since moving the blog from b2evolution to Wordpress (with the brilliant SpamKarma plugin) I’ve not seen any reduction in Spambot activity, just a complete wipeout of spam comments and trackbacks actually getting through… [...]
[...] So, es wird langsam. Content ist immer noch nicht viel am Start, aber dafür habe ich nun einige Links gesammtelt, die ich noch in Kategorien aufteilen muss. Grad herrscht noch ein wenig Verwirrung im Copiloten-Abteil. Außerdem arbeitet nun auch SpamKarma für mich und ich habe eine tolle ClustrMap. *g* [...]
[...] The news itself is pretty insignificant, relatively that is. But it is interesting to see b5media opt for the pay-for Akismet vs. the absolutely free Spam Karma 2, which based on my experience is an entirely valid alternative to Akismet. In fact, I use both combined through the Spam Karma 2 Akismet plugin. Double the plugins, twice less the comment spam, eh? [...]
[...] We’ve just installed Akismet and Spam Karma 2 so we’re going back to showing your comments as they appear
[...]
[...] I lamented in the last post about having problems with comments. The full post wouldn’t properly display the correct numbers of “responses”. Now that is fixed thanks to the suggestion on the WordPress site of upgrading Spam Karma (I’m now at v2.2) [...]
[...] Call it bad luck, call it an attempt to start a conspiracy theory, call it whatever you want. The anti-spam comments plugin (Spam Karma 2) flagged a great many pro-Reason comments made on this post. The result was more comments accusing us and/or liberals of not being in favor of free speech and choking kittens. We’re always sorry when real people are caught in the spam nets — but going commando is simply not an option. [...]
[...] Seit kürzlich bin ich ja Empfänger von mehreren hundert Spam-Kommentaren und -Trackbacks. Das kam ziemlich plötzlich und hält auch weiterhin unvermindert an. Aber nachdem sie anfangs noch durch die Fänge meines Anti-Spam-Plugins, welches ich hier im Blog nutze, schlüpfen konnten, halte ich sie doch mittlerweile dank leichter Anpassung der Einstellung sehr erfolgreich im Griff – naja merkt ihr ja selbst. Aktuell erscheint keiner dieser Drecksdinger mehr im Blog. Aber natürlich schaue ich trotzdem jeden Tag mal nach, ob nicht vielleicht zwischen den vielen gebloggten geblockten Kommentaren auch ein „guter“ zu Unrecht gelandet ist, den ich noch freischalten müsste. Bislang war das nicht der Fall aber bei meiner Stöberei ist mir eines aufgefallen: [...]
[...] [...]
[...] So I looked around for a good comment spam filter and found Spam Karma 2. At first I wasn’t that impressed with Spam Karma 2 because it was filtering about 80% of my comment spam and approving the other 20% – I temporarily turned it off, but then after looking at some of the options I realized that I could make it more aggressive. Since setting it as a very aggressive spam filter I haven’t had one spam comment approved and I also haven’t had one legitimate comment filtered – I couldn’t be happier. [...]
[...] i had 400 copies of the same file show up on the server yesterday for some unknown reason. until i can get permissions access for my own FTP site and get me a little spam karma (thanks for the suggestion, colin/kev), comments are disabled. i thought i disabled trackbacks last night too, but such does not seem to be the case this morning… hmmm. [...]
[...] Well, it worked! Since I followed Jan’s advice and installed both Spam Karma and the Askimet plugin I am not receiving any spam anymore! Good stuff, thank Jan! [...]
[...] also, i have re-enabled comments and have my spam karma set to “total beeatch” (their phrase – haha), so let me know if you are harrassed by the spam gods in any way that makes you uncomfortable or want to curl up in a fetal position and cry. [...]
[...] 1. Akismet 好了，除非你希望让你的Weblog 充满垃圾评论的收集站，否则Akismet 几乎是任何一个WordPress 系统必备的防止垃圾评论，垃圾Trackback / Pingback 的首选插件，现在的Spam 究竟有多严重？92% 以上的留言 都是垃圾信息发来的。由Matt Mullenweg 开发出来，同时他也是WordPress 的创办者之一（现在你知道他的来头了吧）。当你安装完Akismet 并且启用这个插件之后，你所收到的每一条留言都会经过Akismet 的Spam侦察服务器的检测，有的可能直接丢弃，有的会被列入Akismet 的垃圾留言当中。他们会在你的WordPress 里面保留15 天，假如这些垃圾信息没有被处理的话，那么15 天过后将会被删除掉。另外一方面，当你发现Akismet 没有阻截到某些垃圾留言的话，你可以告诉Akismet，让它自动去学习到，就跟你在Email 邮箱里面汇报垃圾信息同一个道理。你可以在这里下载。如果你不希望别人发送给你的留言都得先绕到其它服务器上面检测，那么你可以选择另外一个与Akismet 起名的反垃圾插件，Spam Karma 2.2，这是他的相关文档介绍。 [...]
[...] Spam Karma ist ein weiteres Spamplugin, neben Akismet. Ich teste dies momentan und kann noch nicht sehr viel zu sagen. [...]
[...] In other news… Finally upgraded the blog to WordPress 2.0.3 and Spam Karma 2.2r3. Also decided to celebrate with a new theme, blog.txt. It’s OK so far, apart from the title sizing… Dunno if I’ll stick with it yet. [...]
[...] Seit ich auf Wordpress umgestiegen bin, hatte ich lange Zeit Ruhe, dann kamen nur vereinzelt Spam-Kommentare. In jüngster Zeit scheinen Spammer mein Blog regelrecht entdeckt zu haben – also habe ich kurzerhand das Plugin Spam Karma – SK2 von Dr. Dave installiert. [...]
[...] 這幾天垃圾迴響實在太多了~~ 只好名召喚出Spam Karma 2 (SK2) (不是SK II喔:P)這個plug-in 希望能夠降低spam的數量 [...]