Drupal javascript email obfuscator how to#

Drupal javascript email obfuscator how to#

Only real browsers know how to handle JavaScript and can undo the obfuscation-either by stitching together document.writes or by using a more advanced, unobtrusive, event-based approach.Īn important downside is that such solutions are not bulletproof. Instead, spam harvesters try to extract e-mail addresses from raw HTML by using brute force algorithms-even Googlebot chokes on most of the JavaScript it comes upon. They’re all based on the simple fact that spam harvesters are incapable of parsing JavaScript or understanding DOM changes initiated by JavaScript events. JavaScript-based techniques-like Dan’s-offer the seamless user experience I’m looking for. I want real, clickable e-mail links that work just as expected, but-at the same time-are immune to spam bots. Clearly, this is not the right way to treat visitors or (potential) customers. Similar techniques require users to re-type a (correctly spelled) address that’s rendered as an image-which isn’t any better, of course.Īlthough they don’t require JavaScript, these methods of e-mail obfuscation add an unpleasant barrier to a task as trivial as sending an e-mail. Moreover, users who don’t notice what’s wrong with the address will end up frustrated, because their message cannot be sent or delivered. If you’re like me, you probably don’t like to correct a deliberately misspelled e-mail address after you click on it. You’ve certainly seen e-mail links that look like “ or “ mailto:contact(at)company(dot)com”. Although most seem effective, I can’t use them in my projects, as every one fails to meet one or more essential requirements. Over the years, I’ve tried more than a dozen of these techniques. Their article also includes interesting links to articles about e-mail obfuscation. Wikipedia has an excellent overview of anti-spam techniques. The problem with current techniques #section4 In this article, I’ll share my ideas on the subject and leave you with a working script to build on or to use in your own projects right away. Since then, I have spent a lot of time thinking about a way to fight spam bots. Accessibility is not an optional add-on.Ī few months ago, Wim very unexpectedly passed away (we miss you, Wim!). We work intensely with and for people who have (mostly visual) disabilities.

My solution would need to defeat spam and be accessible. It turned out that 90% of all spam was sent to a mere 5% of the e-mail addresses we own, and guess what? They were exactly the addresses that had been published on our website.Īlthough most of the damage had been done by then (remember Dan’s quote), I promised Wim I would come up with an effective way to protect the addresses on our upcoming portal, on which we intend to publish even more addresses. After Wim, our system administrator, complained about the massive amounts of spam our mail server had to process, we started a small investigation. I work for a large non-profit organization that provides social services for the blind and visually impaired. Of course, spam is an increasingly complicated problem that can never be solved by the efforts of web developers alone. These addresses end up in databases sold to unsavory marketers, who bombard the owners’s inboxes with unsolicited mail. Thousands of spam bots tirelessly crawl the web to collect e-mail addresses exposed on websites, in blog comments, and elsewhere. Experienced web developers and website owners, however, do. Many web users don’t understand the inevitable consequences of exposing their e-mail address on the web.

The Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) estimates that 90 billion spam messages are sent every day, and 80–85% of all incoming mail is abusive. So, did we win the SPAM Arms Race? As you may have noticed by looking at your own inbox recently, not exactly. It’s hard to believe, but it’s been more than five years since Dan wrote these words. Posting a naked e-mail link anywhere on the web (or in a newsgroup, in a chatroom, on a weblog comments page…) is generally the kiss of death for your once-healthy address. Brief books for people who make websites.