User And Comments Checking in WordPress

Description

In the CleanTalk Anti-Spam Plugin, we added the possibility of checking for existing spam users and comments. This feature can help to clean the website from received spam. Options are available in the plugins for WordPress, Joomla, phpBB 3.1 - 3.2, SMF, IPS.

In this article, we describe how checking in the WordPress Anti-Spam Plugin works. If you'd like to know how it works in other CMSs, please check our guide.

When the spam checking starts, the plugin collects the following information about users and comments:

• IP address;
• email;
• publication date.

Next, the status of IPs and emails in the CleanTalk database are checked on the date of appearing of the comment or signup (some differences are possible with the API methods because the APIs perform the checking for all time, not specific dates).  All the spam users and comments found will be shown in the result list. You can choose any records to delete or delete all the records at once.

The older the registration date, the more difficult it is to identify spam. For more accurate checking use the «Accurate check» and «Specify date range» options to select the period when registrations/posts were made. Keep in mind that not all found records can be spam as the IP addresses of users/spammers change over time. It is necessary to check the date of registrations/posts and spam periods of activity of their IP addresses.

You can see the description of each checking mode below:

1. Default scan – plugin scans all users/comments in bulk without taking into account the dates of their registration/posting and spam activity on these dates.
2. Specify date range – the same method uses as in the «Default scan», but the plugin will scan users/comments for the specified period only;
3. Accurate check – with this option enabled plugin sorts users/comments into groups and checks their spam activity for certain dates. This mode greatly increases checking time.

How to Start User Checking

1. Make a backup copy of the website (files and databases);

2. Go to «Settings» → «CleanTalk».

3. Click «Check users for spam».

On the next page choose the preferred checking mode and press the button «Start check» to run the user checking:

After the checking is completed, you can delete found spammers in bulk (arrow 1) or one by one (arrow 2). Moreover, you can download (arrow 3) the list of found spammers in the CSV file.

How to Start Comments Checking

1. Make a backup copy of website (files and databases);

2. Go to «Settings» → «CleanTalk»;

3. Click «Check comments for spam»;

On the next page choose the preferred checking mode and press the button «Start check» to run the comments check:

You can mark found comments as Spam or move them to Trash (arrow 1). You may also do these actions in bulk or to all comments (arrows 2,3).

How to Scan bbPress topics on WordPress sites:

In case you need to scan bbPress topics on a WordPress site, follow our special guide to install the plugin addon.

If you haven't found the answer to your question, please, contact our support team.