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MathGuard PHP form anti-spam protection

UPDATE: MathGuard version 3.0

Here's an example how to use MathGuard to protect your forms (Adobe Flash player required)

New version features a better way of rendering the expression that user has to evaluate. The numbers consist of 3x5 random character matrix.

featuring more complex anti-spam security question rendering - these numbers consist of the random letters

Download UPDATED version MathGuard

Go to the download section on this website and find there mathguard-v3.0.zip

Installation process is the same as in the version 2.0, so please install it the way it is described below.

The older version - MathGuard 2.0

You can still install the older version:

You have probably seen this solution before on some other websites, it's nothing new,
but I did it by myself and the way I wanted and I am using this anti-spam everywhere it's needed. The good thing is, that it works.

The principle of this PHP anti-spam class

The principle of this PHP anti-spam class is very simple - The class inserts a small piece of HTML code into your PHP form -
an expression consisting of two random numbers, one text input field for user's answer,
and one hidden field with the hashcode.

When user submits the form with the answer, the answer is being hashed and compared to
the security code that has been submitted as well.

How to set up this PHP anti-spam class and use it on your website?

1. Download the code of MathGuard

Current version is 2.0

Go to the download section on this website and find there mathguard-v0.2.zip

2. Unzip the archive

and copy the file ClassMathGuard.php into the folder with forms and action handlers you want to use.

3. Open the code with the PHP or HTML form you want to protect

4. Add the following PHP code snippet (the one in the ellipse)

5. Protect the form handler

		/* first we need to require our MathGuard class */
		require ("ClassMathGuard.php");
		/* this condition checks the user input. Don't change the condition, 
		just the body within the curly braces */
		if (MathGuard :: checkResult($_REQUEST['mathguard_answer'], 
			$_REQUEST['mathguard_code'])) {
			echo ("Great !");	
		//insert your code that will be executed when user enters the correct answer
		} else {
			echo ("Bad answer, go back to school !");	
		//insert your code which tells the user he is spamming your website
		}

6. Open the form in your browser and you should see the mathguard's anti-spam security question there

7. Example - watch the flash demo above

There is also an example in the downloaded archive. It features a simple form and one simple form
handler which displays the data. I recommend you also to watch the flash demo on this website that shows a real example how to integrate mathguard.

8. Enjoy !

If you'd have any questions regarding my PHP anti-spam class, feel free to write to the comments or directly to my email

Sponsored links:

Comments (37)

1. 03-05-2007 13:57

Site doesn't display well in FireFox

This site displays very poorly in Firefox, I'm sorry to say.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

2. 03-05-2007 14:06

Very poorly?

Could you please specify what's wrong that I can make the corrections? Are there also some other people experiencing the same problems? Thank you

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

3. 09-05-2007 19:54

MathGuard on Joomla installation trouble

I'm having a lot of trouble with spam from the contact form on one of my Joomla sites. MathGuard looks like a good solution. I have been trying to install it but I can't get it to work. Where does the form handler code go? I'm not sure which page handles the form.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

4. 09-05-2007 20:38

Re: MathGuard on Joomla installation tro

Hello Mitch,

First you have to find out what code handles your form on submit.
It's usually the one which contains the SQL insert command or some other action.
(eg. with the joomlaboard forum component it's the /components/com_joomlaboard/post.php
line 186).

When you find this piece of code, you have to wrap it in one IF block with the mathguard condition:

.
.
some code
.
.
// we need to tell PHP to require our class

require ("ClassMathGuard.php");

if (MathGuard :: checkResult($_REQUEST['mathguard_answer'],
$_REQUEST['mathguard_code'] ) ) {

// original code with the
database insert wrapped by the IF condition

} else {
// code that handles the wrong answer
}
.
.
some code
.
.

I hope I explained it well. If you'll have some questions, feel free to ask !

Regards,

Matej Koval

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

5. 16-05-2007 19:26

Re: MathGuard on Joomla installation

Matej,
I managed to get this to work by putting the IF condition in the switch on line 30 of contact.php - it should look something like this:

switch( $op ) {
case 'sendmail':
/* first we need to require our MathGuard class */
require ("ClassMathGuard.php");
/* this condition checks the user input. Don't change the condition,
just the body within the curly braces */
if (MathGuard :: checkResult($_REQUEST['mathguard_answer'],
$_REQUEST['mathguard_code']))
sendmail( $con_id, $option );
} else {
//insert your code which tells the user he is spamming your website
echo ("Sorry - Your email has not been sent. Please help us to combat spam by correctly answering the math problem before sending your email.");

}
break;

Thank you for this very useful piece of work. Feel free to share this on your site.

Mitch Vars

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

6. 19-05-2007 15:33

MathGuard not working

I've just downloaded and installed MathGuard example on my web server and every time I try to submit the form it tels me the phrase "Bad answer, go back to school". I don't know what's wrong since it is the authors example? Please, help! It looks fine antispam method protection for me.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

7. 21-05-2007 12:59

Error corrected

Hello Petar,
I'm sorry, there was an error in the example code, you were right.
In the formhandler.php, there has to be $_REQUEST instead of $request.

The error is now corrected and it's bundled in the mathguard-v0.2.zip that you can download from codegravity.com.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

8. 27-05-2007 08:46

Impressed

Thanks for a great spam filter! Took roughly 45 minutes to code the script into my contact form and css all the styles etc to make it look part of the website.

Maybe the documentation could be a little better, but overall I would give this script 4/5.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

9. 30-05-2007 10:51

Impressed

hei, great job! can i use this class for my site without referencing to this site?

Written by kumz (Guest)

10. 30-05-2007 11:03

I can't download the scipt

On the download section I receive a "forbidden access"
message for Mathguard script

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

11. 30-05-2007 11:23

Re: kumz

Kumz,
you can keep or remove the link, it's up to you.
But I think it would be nice to keep it there.

Written by matto3c (Guest)

12. 30-05-2007 11:26

RE: I can't download the scipt

I'm sorry, this usually happens when the pegas-bekd.com where is the download hosted runs out of traffic quota per month.

I hope it will be functioning soon, if not, please use the alternative download:
http://www.immaculata.sk/download/mathguard-v0.2.zip

Written by matto3c (Guest)

13. 19-06-2007 22:45

How to make this work on Joomla 1.0.12

Just wondering wich steps to take to make it work in joomla version 1.0.12

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

14. 12-07-2007 14:59

MathGuard and Frontpage

Will MathGuard work with a form that was created and published with Frontpage?

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

15. 12-07-2007 16:06

Re: MathGuard and Frontpage

MathGuard needs PHP to work, so you can't just include it into a plain HTML with no PHP support.

You can do so, if the .html extension is interpreted by PHP and the piece of code that mathguard generates is inserted there.
The form handler has to be also a PHP-interpreted page that uses MathGuard's function to check the right answer.

I hope I explained it well, if you'll have any further questions, feel free to ask me.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

16. 24-07-2007 12:48

Thanks

Thanks for this script really easy to use and I hope efficient ! Well, I'll tell you in few days...

Written by Djay (Guest)

17. 29-07-2007 01:13

Works well!

It took me about 5 minutes to incorporate mathguard into my existing contact form. It worked straight out of the box. Very impressed. I give it 4/5. It would rate a 5 but it doesn't display well in Opera. Thanks for a very simple way to protect from spammers.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

18. 08-08-2007 01:50

Thanks...

I'm using it on my site that has more than one form and I must say it seems to work pretty well. I wanna thank you for the script.
I also moved the the link to your site to a less visible place without taking it away. A person can still find it easily.

I hope it's fine for you

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

19. 14-08-2007 14:47

Thank you so much

It really works! I set it up in a snap, fitted in perfectly

Thanks!

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

20. 16-08-2007 17:51

Where to paste the code in post.php?

Hi, I really hope mathguard can help me with those spammers. Where to paste the code in post.php? I'm not a good programmer. Shall I paste the whole block of If-then-else into 1 block or have to find the code that insert the database and then break your if-then-else apart? Can anyone help me to paste the snippet into joomlaboard/post.php? Thanks very much in advance.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

21. 20-08-2007 14:31

Firefox and poor display

Mathguard didn't display well for me in Firefox. I did some investigating, using the CSS with no luck. Finally I checked my Firefox font display settings:
Tools > Options... > Content > Font & Colours > Advanced > Minimum font size - set it to "none".
Reload page.
Mathguard now displays well.

This is a per user fix, obviously, and I have no idea how to ensure that my site visitors have their Minimum font size set to "none".

Hope this helps.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

22. 25-09-2007 09:42

MathGuard is wonderful

Thank you very much for this simple and powerful class! I incorporated MathGuard in my site in a few minutes.

Are you planning to release a new version soon?

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

23. 08-11-2007 12:46

Well done

Nice spam protection and very easy to implement. If I can suggest one more option to implement with the random image because many people get use to it. Anyway the counting filter is very effective.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

24. 08-11-2007 12:49

Thank you

I'm working on the new improved version. So if you have some more suggestions, please post them here.

Written by matto (Registered)

25. 05-02-2008 13:04

Thank you

Yes, you are unfortunatelly right. Please re-download and re-install the .zip archive. The error has been corrected.

Written by matto (Registered)

26. 05-02-2008 13:05

Thank you

... Or, you can just replace the ClassMathGuard.php that comes in this new archive in your root Joomla directory.

Written by matto (Registered)

27. 05-02-2008 13:15

Thank you

Thats great! I didn't realize I was running an old version, my apologies.

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

28. 05-02-2008 13:18

which download?

Hi Matto,

Which one to download? The v3.0? I am having problems finding the proper download file.

Written by Gman (Guest)

29. 05-02-2008 13:27

which download?

So... You downloaded the akocomment-TSE1.4.6-with-MathGuard-anti-spam.zip

(the screenshot you posted comes from this component)

But.. this .zip archive had MathGuard class in it, which had this minor bug (see on a screenshot)

After your post I realized that, and put the corrected version of MathGuard (3.0) into this akocomment-TSE1.4.6-with-MathGuard-anti-spam.zip

So, you can re-download it, and replace the ClassMathGuard.php to get rid of this stupid bug.

From this time in akocomment-TSE1.4.6-with-MathGuard-anti-spam.zip is this minor bug fixed.

Or, second option : you can download MathGuard 3.0 (http://www.codegravity.com/component/
option,com_remository/
Itemid,26/func,fileinfo/id,13/)
separatelly and replace it in your root joomla folder.

Cheers,

Matto

Written by matto (Registered)

30. 05-02-2008 13:29

which download?

Hi Matto,

That clarifies things for me. Thanks so much for this wonderful spam protection add on!

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

31. 10-07-2008 23:35

Could you please finish step #2?????????

You could save everyone alot of time by just doing that. Also, what files are we supposed to edit in steps 4 & 5? It would take you 5 minutes to update this info and save your customers hours.

Written by Joe (Registered)

32. 11-07-2008 06:47

Done

It's done now.

Written by matto (Registered)

33. 10-08-2008 15:16

Well done

The best antispam protection. keep up the good work

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Registered)

34. 29-08-2008 17:16

Well done

For some reason I can't get the characters in the Mathguard question for Akocomment to display in red, or in a small-sized font. I've checked the php file but the parameters are correct: they just don't display on the page.

If you'd any thoughts as to why and how to correct it, would be very grateful?

Written by Matti (Registered)

35. 31-08-2008 04:16

Best of best

This was the best antispam protection I ever seen. I will try it and if this is really good, i will spread the words to everyone.

love it!

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

36. 02-09-2008 04:58

Nice one

Great article for php web programming

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

37. 09-10-2008 15:35

can robot read it?

hi,
i've been using this code for several months and till today everything was ok, but i just received email snet from the form on the site with spam massege inside of the body.

can robots read it? and is there a session limit, because i heerd that robot can like with captcha to use the same code for many submits.

i will give you more info if you need.

thanks

Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Guest)

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MathGuard security question, please solve:


1L4 1U6 K O P 318 TD8 DCC U 3 P K 1WX 1TP Q

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MathGuard PHP form anti-spam protection

UPDATE: MathGuard version 3.0

Download UPDATED version MathGuard

The older version - MathGuard 2.0

The principle of this PHP anti-spam class

How to set up this PHP anti-spam class and use it on your website?

1. Download the code of MathGuard

2. Unzip the archive

3. Open the code with the PHP or HTML form you want to protect

4. Add the following PHP code snippet (the one in the ellipse)

5. Protect the form handler

6. Open the form in your browser and you should see the mathguard's anti-spam security question there

7. Example - watch the flash demo above

8. Enjoy !