This software package is bundled with the Extension Manager.

Activate Honeypot

All you'll need to do is activate the Honeypot extension.

There is no setup required, and no options are available.

More control

WordPress has various discussion settings, through which you can fine-tune how comments are displayed and moderated.

These settings can be found at Settings > Discussion.

Gotta catch 'em all

With Honeypot, you can be confident that each comment that comes through is written by a human.

But, if even those human comments are spam, consider combining this extension with an authoritative comment plugin like Akismet. That plugin tracks the user's comment activity over many websites.

Filters

Here you can find the available filters for Honeypot.

Change input field accessibility sentences

When JavaScript is disabled on the visitor's browser, the hidden input field isn't automatically removed and cleared.

Most robots don't know that they need to clear this field. Real visitors should.

The fields are self-explanatory, translatable, and you're free to change them.

add_filter( 'the_seo_framework_honeypot_label', function( $text = '' ) {
    // Text displayed above the input, as a label.
    return __( 'Comments for robots', 'the-seo-framework-extension-manager' );
} );

add_filter( 'the_seo_framework_honeypot_input', function( $text = '' ) {
    // Text displayed that asks the visitor to clear the field.
    return __( "Please remove this comment to prove you're human.", 'the-seo-framework-extension-manager' );
} );

add_filter( 'the_seo_framework_honeypot_placeholder', function( $text = '' ) {
    // Text displayed when the visitor clears the field.
    return __( 'You are human!', 'the-seo-framework-extension-manager' );
} );

Adjust hardcore mode

Honeypot automatically determines whether the "hardcore"-mode is available based on your site's caching settings.

When the "hardcore"-mode is enabled, field names and values are rotated more often. This catches even the smartest bots.

These values have been carefully tuned and shouldn't have to be changed.

add_filter( 'the_seo_framework_honeypot_hardcore', function( $hardcore = true ) {
    // Toggle hardcore mode. Below is the default value.
    return ! WP_CACHE;
} );

add_filter( 'the_seo_framework_honeypot_field_scale', function( $scale = 3600 ) {
    /**
     * This filter only works when hardcore-mode is enabled. Otherwise, unique
     * IDs are created on a per-page basis, which is used indefinitely.
     *
     * This is the minimum time a visitor has to submit an illegal comment on your site.
     * The maximum time is twice the value returned.
     *
     * When this time passes, the submitted comment bypasses some spam checks.
     *
     * Lower than 300 seconds (total 600, i.e. 10 minutes) is not recommended,
     * as some bots enqueue their targets.
     *
     * Below are the default values.
     */
    return 60 * MINUTE_IN_SECONDS;
} );

add_filter( 'the_seo_framework_honeypot_nonce_scale', function( $scale = 43200, $hardcore = true ) {
    /**
     * This is the minimum time a visitor has to submit a comment on your site.
     * The maximum time is twice the value returned.
     *
     * When this time passes, the submitted comment is automatically rejected.
     *
     * Lower than 3600 seconds (total 7200, i.e. 2 hours) is not recommended,
     * as some users might generously wait to comment (closing laptop and such).
     *
     * Below are the default values.
     */
    if ( $hardcore ) {
        return 12 * HOUR_IN_SECONDS;
    } else {
        return 5 * DAY_IN_SECONDS;
    }
}, 10, 2 );

1.1.3

Release date: December 4th, 2018

• Fixed: The textarea no longer has an invalid tag, and its label is now more accessible.

1.1.2

Release date: November 9th, 2018

• Changed: This is now an Essentials extension.

1.1.1

Release date: March 31st, 2018

• Changed: Filter the_seo_framework_honeypot_nonce_scale now passes a second "hardcore" boolean parameter.
  • Documented at developers.
• Fixed: An off-by-one error has been resolved generating a random first alphabetic character.

1.1.0

Release date: November 10th, 2017

• Changed: This extension is now free and out of testing phase.
• Fixed: Generated hashes now always start with an alphabetic character. Making the scoped field always disappear for users as intended.

1.0.1-beta

Release date: August 22nd, 2017

• Improved: The CSS rotation field now uses a scoped style node, rather than inline styling.
• Changed: Moved the honeypot above the comment form, so spammers will more easily fill it in.

1.0.0-beta

Release date: May 15th, 2017

• Initial extension release.