Dam Spam is a spam protection plugin that blocks spam registrations, login attempts, comments, and contact form submissions. It provides multiple layers of protection including IP blocking, email validation, CAPTCHA challenges, and integration with third-party spam detection services.

How it Works

Dam Spam runs a series of configurable checks on registrations, logins, comments, and form submissions. When a submission is flagged as potentially suspicious, you can choose to block it outright or present a CAPTCHA challenge. Legitimate users are cached to speed up future submissions, while known spam sources are permanently blocked.

Features

Multiple Protection Layers – Block spam using IP lists, disposable email detection, and behavioral analysis
CAPTCHA Support – Integrate with Google reCAPTCHA or hCaptcha to challenge suspicious submissions
Third-Party API Integration – Connect with Akismet, Stop Forum Spam, BotScout, and other spam detection services
Customizable Challenges – Present challenges only to suspicious users while allowing legitimate users through
Allow and Block Lists – Maintain custom lists of allowed and blocked IPs, emails, and user IDs
Smart Caching – Cache known good and bad IPs to improve performance and reduce API calls
Logging – Track all blocked attempts and approved submissions for review
Custom Login/Registration Forms – Optional custom forms with built-in spam protection
User Management – Identify and manage inactive or suspicious user accounts

Configuration

After installation, go to the Dam Spam settings in your WordPress admin to:

Enable the protection types you need (registration, login, comments, contact forms)
Choose which spam detection methods to use (IP checks, email validation, third-party APIs)
Configure CAPTCHA settings if desired
Set up allow and block lists for your specific needs
Review logs to fine-tune your protection settings

Differences from Stop Spammers

Dam Spam is a fork of Stop Spammers. While the core spam protection functionality remains similar, Dam Spam’s file and code structure has been significantly cleaned up and modernized.

Addon Support

Dam Spam supports custom spam checks via addons. Create a separate plugin with this structure:

<?php
/*
Plugin Name: Dam Spam Addon Example
Description: Custom spam check addon for Dam Spam
Version: 1.0
*/

add_filter( 'dam_spam_addons_block', function( $addons ) {
    $addons[] = array( __FILE__, 'My_Spam_Check' );
    return $addons;
} );

class My_Spam_Check {
    public function process( $ip, &$stats, &$options, &$post ) {
        if ( $ip === '123.45.67.89' ) {
            return 'Blocked by custom check';
        }
        return false;
    }
}

Hook into dam_spam_addons_block or dam_spam_addons_allow
Return an array with your file path and class name
Create a class with a process() method
For dam_spam_addons_block: return false to continue checking, or a string to block
For dam_spam_addons_allow: return false to continue checking, or a string to approve
Test using Dam Spam > Testing (spam checks don’t run when logged in)