Category: News and Updates

  • Stop Fake Emails: CleanTalk’s New Non-Existent Email Notification

    Stop Fake Emails: CleanTalk’s New Non-Existent Email Notification

    Spammers often use fake email addresses to hide their identities and avoid consequences for their actions. This can lead to a deluge of spam comments, registrations, and other unwanted activity on your website. To combat this, CleanTalk Anti-Spam has always had a powerful feature: Non-Existent Email Notification. But now, this feature has evolved to a new form—to be useful not only for site owners but also for site visitors! 

    Now, if the email you’ve entered into a form is somehow non-existent (for example, you made a typo in it), you’ll see it right away. No confusion, no hassles, no pain!

    How it Works:

    When a user submits a form (such as a comment or registration form) on your website, CleanTalk’s system instantly checks the validity of the provided email address. If the email address is found to be non-existent or invalid, the user will receive an immediate notification. 

    An email is existent.

    An email is non-existent.

    Benefits:

    • Real-time feedback: This provides immediate alerts as you type, highlighting potential errors or typos in your email address.
    • Simple visual cues: Clear indicators like checkmarks or warning icons can quickly show whether an email address is valid or invalid.

    Experience the Difference

    By implementing CleanTalk’s Non-Existent Email Notification feature, you can significantly enhance the usability of your website while minimizing the impact of spam, and a new aspect of this feature provides even more comfort for your visitors!

  • Decorate your website forms for the holidays

    Decorate your website forms for the holidays

    New Year is coming and we’ve got some holiday spirit news for you!

    We are launching an option for the Anti-Spam plugin, which adds special designs for your WordPress websites’ standard comment forms, including holiday designs. Not only does this attract attention in your comment form, but it also is an active protection against bots and strengthens your site’s defense.

    We are actively working on this option and you can check an example of the form design in the comments below this post. The option is currently in beta but is available in the Anti-Spam plugin starting from version 6.47, which has already been released.

    Please write, what you think about the option in the comments below, we really want your opinion.

    How to enable decorated forms

    Step 1: Go to the Anti-Spam plugin Settings and click on the Advanced settings link.

    2024 12 13 10 17 023

    Step 2: Enable the Holiday form decoration option by switching it to on. Then press the Save changes button.

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    Step 3: Check the result – go to your site and see if the decoration works well. If not – please let us know in the comments below this post.

  • Thank You for 3,000 Reviews!

    Thank You for 3,000 Reviews!

    We are beyond grateful to announce that, thanks to you, we’ve hit 3,000 reviews on WordPress.org! This milestone reflects your trust, support, and shared journey with us.

    Every review is more than just feedback – it’s a story, a connection, sometimes mistakes =) and a reminder of why we do what we do. Your words inspire us to grow, improve, and continue delivering the best.

    To each and every one of you, thank you for being part of our community. There are a lot of milestones waiting ahead!

    https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/cleantalk-spam-protect/reviews
    https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/cleantalk-spam-protect/reviews/

  • Security vulnerability in CleanTalk plugins fixed – please update your plugins

    Security vulnerability in CleanTalk plugins fixed – please update your plugins

    There was a security vulnerability, that was discovered in both Anti-Spam (versions <= 6.43.2) and Security & Malware scan (versions <= 2.145). The vulnerability was relevant to some users, who had created an account, but hadn’t inputed the Access Key. The vulnerability was discovered, but wasn’t exploited.

    We’ve taken immediate action to address this issue and fixed all the vulnerabilities. The only thing you need to do is to ensure, that you use an up-to-date version of the plugin.

     

    How to update the plugin

    To protect your website, please update the plugins to the latest version as soon as possible. This update will ensure that your website is secured against the vulnerability.

    1. Log in to your WordPress Dashboard: Access your website’s administrative area.
    2. Navigate to “Plugins”: Click on the “Plugins” menu.
    3. Update Your Plugins: Look for the available updates for both Anti-Spam and Security plugins. Click the “Update Now” button for each plugin.

    We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Your security is our top priority, and we appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

    If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to drop a comment below or create a private ticket.

  • Moving On: A Farewell to UNI/UniForce

    Moving On: A Farewell to UNI/UniForce

    Hey everyone,

    We’ve got some news about our UNI/UniForce product line, and while it might not be the easiest thing to share, we wanted to be upfront and personal with you all about it.

    Here’s the deal: we’ve decided to sunset UNI/UniForce. What does that mean exactly?

    • November 1st, 2024: This is the day we’re putting a pause on active development. 
    • November 1st, 2025: This is the official end-of-life date for UNI/UniForce. After this point, we won’t be able to provide technical support for it anymore.

    We know this might come as a surprise, and we truly appreciate you sticking with us and using UNI/UniForce. This wasn’t a decision we made lightly. Sometimes, in the tech world, we have to make choices about where to focus our energy to build the best possible future.

    What happens next?

    We understand that you might be looking for a replacement solution. Great news! CleanTalk offers a robust set of APIs that can be integrated into a wide variety of applications. You can find out more about CleanTalk’s API options and how they can help protect your projects here: https://cleantalk.org/help/api-cleantalk-all 

    CleanTalk also provides a powerful blacklist checking tool that allows you to instantly verify if an IP address, email address, subnet, or domain is listed on any major blacklists. This can be a valuable resource for maintaining your security and reputation. Give it a try here: https://cleantalk.org/blacklists 

    If you have any questions about this transition or need help exploring alternatives, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team. They’re always happy to help!

    Thanks for being awesome!

  • 9 new fields added in the Blacklists Database

    9 new fields added in the Blacklists Database

    There are several new fields in both Blacklists API and Offline Database. It will help you see the exact time of the checks and a few other things.

    Offline Database

    In the Offline Database there are 4 new fields for the IP files:

    • IP updated time – time from the corresponding date fields. Format: HH:MM:SS
    • Net updated time – time from the corresponding date fields. Format: HH:MM:SS
    • AS updated time – time from the corresponding date fields. Format: HH:MM:SS
    • Last updated – date and time of the last status update. Format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

    And 3 new fields for email files:

    • Submitted time – time from the corresponding date fields. Format: HH:MM:SS
    • Updated time – time from the corresponding date fields. Format: HH:MM:SS
    • Last updated – date and time of the last status update. Format: HH:MM:SS

    spam_check() API method

    As for the spam_check() API method, there were two new fields added for email checking:

    • in_antispam_updated – date and time of the last status update. Format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS. API response example,
    JSONwe******@cl*******.org":{"frequency": 0,"submitted": "2024-08-05 09:13:35","updated": "2024-08-05 09:13:35", "spam_rate": 0,"exists": 1,"spam_frequency_24h": 0,"appears": 0,"disposable_email": 0, "in_antispam_updated": "2024-08-05 09:13:35","in_antispam_previous": 1,"sha256": "be25f8b7b9fa76bdf8a2a3275f60dd7603c758598e77b332857a9867f0d6598e"}}}” style=”color:#d8dee9ff;display:none” aria-label=”Copy” class=”code-block-pro-copy-button”>
    {"data":{"we******@cl*******.org":{"frequency": 0,"submitted": "2024-08-05 09:13:35","updated": "2024-08-05 09:13:35",
    "spam_rate": 0,"exists": 1,"spam_frequency_24h": 0,"appears": 0,"disposable_email": 0,
    "in_antispam_updated": "2024-08-05 09:13:35","in_antispam_previous": 1,"sha256": "be25f8b7b9fa76bdf8a2a3275f60dd7603c758598e77b332857a9867f0d6598e"}}}
    • in_antispam_previous –  the previous Anti-Spam blacklist status. It can show if the record was blacklisted or not (0 – wasn’t blacklisted, 1 – was blacklisted, NULL – no change). Format: 1. API response example,
    JSON
    {"data":{"8.8.8.8":{"domains_count": 3011,"domains_list": null,"spam_rate": 1,"submitted": "2022-02-09 21:05:06",
    "updated": "2024-10-11 15:25:25","frequency": 6,"in_antispam": 0,"in_security": 0,"in_antispam_previous": 1,
    "in_antispam_updated": "2024-03-05 16:20:44","spam_frequency_24h": 0,"appears": 0,"network_type": "hosting",
    "country": "US","sha256": "838c4c2573848f58e74332341a7ca6bc5cd86a8aec7d644137d53b4d597f10f5"}}}

    Learn more about using the Blacklists Database API in our Help.

  • XenForo 2 spam protection has been strengthened by the Bot Detector feature

    XenForo 2 spam protection has been strengthened by the Bot Detector feature

    The Bot Detector technology identifies spam bots more accurately, greatly enhancing spam bot protection for your XenForo 2 website. The feature is enabled by default starting from version 3.0.1, so the only thing you need to do is update the Anti-Spam plugin following the instructions.

  • Service outage on September 19th

    Service outage on September 19th

    Dear CleanTalk Clients,

    We have experienced a service outage that lasted approximately 12 hours and 15 minutes. Due to a failure with one of our servers, there was no connection from 5:15 PM (GMT0) on September 19th to 5:30 AM (GMT0) on September 20th. As a result, some spam attacks could be missed by our anti-spam plugins and reached backend of sites.

    We are pleased to announce that the issue has been resolved and full service has been restored. Our team is now working to address any potential consequences of the outage and implement measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

  • Wufoo Spam Protection for WordPress in 5 minutes

    Wufoo Spam Protection for WordPress in 5 minutes

    CleanTalk added spam protection for Wufoo Forms using direct form integration. So in case, you prefer using this type of forms be sure to use the most effective Anti-Spam plugin. Read the guide below and learn 4 steps to protect all your contact forms from spam.

    Once the CleanTalk Anti-Spam plugin is installed it starts to protect all of the existing forms on your WordPress website. It may not only be Wufoo Forms but also many others.

    Download CleanTalk Anti-Spam plugin | Download Wufoo Forms 

    How to install CleanTalk Anti-Spam plugin

    To install the Anti-Spam plugin, go to your WordPress admin panelPluginsAdd New.

    Then enter «CleanTalk» in the search box and click the Install button for «Spam protection, Anti-Spam, FireWall by CleanTalk».

    After installing the plugin, click the «Activate»‎ button.

    After it is done go to the plugin settings and click the «Get Access Key Automatically» button. Then just click the «Save Settings»‎ button.

    That’s it! From now you How to completely protect your Contact Forms from spam.

    How to check Wufoo Forms Spam Protection

    You can test the work of Anti-Spam protection for your Contact Forms by using a test email s @ cleantalk.org (without spaces). First, open the form in an Incognito browser tab. Fill in all the required form fields and send a form. After submitting the form, you will see a block message about the block on the form submission.

    wufoo form

    If you have any questions, add a comment and we will be happy to help you.

    Create your CleanTalk account – Register now and protect your Contact Forms from spam in 5 minutes

    Update

    The protection works only for website visitors, not for website admins. Be sure to test the form protection using Incognito mode.

    Additional features

    • CleanTalk protects all forms at once: comments, registrations, feedbacks, contacts, reviews.
    • Installation takes about 1-2 minutes.
    • Smart 99% protection against spambots.
    • Always online – 24/7 technical support.
    • Logs, SpamFireWall, personal lists, country filters, stop-words, and many others.

    Discover the complete list of CleanTalk Anti-Spam plugin features here.

  • Otter Blocks Spam Protection for WordPress

    Otter Blocks Spam Protection for WordPress

    CleanTalk added spam protection for Otter Blocks using direct form integration. So in case, you prefer using this type of contact forms be sure to use the most effective Anti-Spam plugin. Read the guide below and learn 4 steps to protect all your contact forms from spam.

    Once the CleanTalk Anti-Spam plugin is installed it starts to protect all of the existing forms on your WordPress website. It may not only be Otter Blocks Forms but also many others.

    Download CleanTalk Anti-Spam plugin | Download Otter Blocks 

    How to install CleanTalk Anti-Spam plugin

    To install the Anti-Spam plugin, go to your WordPress admin panelPluginsAdd New.

    Then enter «CleanTalk» in the search box and click the Install button for «Spam protection, Anti-Spam, FireWall by CleanTalk».

    After installing the plugin, click the «Activate»‎ button.

    After it is done go to the plugin settings and click the «Get Access Key Automatically» button. Then just click the «Save Settings»‎ button.

    That’s it! From now you How to completely protect your Contact Forms from spam.

    How to check Otter Blocks Forms Spam Protection

    You can test the work of Anti-Spam protection for your Contact Forms by using a test email s @ cleantalk.org (without spaces). First, open the form in an Incognito browser tab. Fill in all the required form fields and send a form. After submitting the form, you will see a block message about the block on the form submission.

    otter blocks forms
    otter blocks forms

    If you have any questions, add a comment and we will be happy to help you.

    Create your CleanTalk account – Register now and protect your Contact Forms from spam in 5 minutes

    Update

    The protection works only for website visitors, not for website admins. Be sure to test the form protection using Incognito mode.

    Additional features

    • CleanTalk protects all forms at once: comments, registrations, feedbacks, contacts, reviews.
    • Installation takes about 1-2 minutes.
    • Smart 99% protection against spambots.
    • Always online – 24/7 technical support.
    • Logs, SpamFireWall, personal lists, country filters, stop-words, and many others.

    Discover the complete list of CleanTalk Anti-Spam plugin features here.