| E-mail spiders have become a full-blown epidemic | | | | each email address would be very time |
| (er... infestation?) on the web, crawling sites and | | | | consuming). |
| collecting email addresses for evil spammers. | | | | Again, this is a quick way to employ the image |
| Fortunately there are a number of ways you can | | | | method for multiple addresses |
| protect yourself. | | | | Use a plugin: |
| The number one thing you can do to prevent | | | | If you're a WordPress user a handy plugins have |
| your address from being harvested is to not | | | | been written to prevent email spiders from |
| provide it to your visitors at all. Unfortunately, this | | | | harvesting your address. A quick google search |
| isn't practical for most people. Visitors generally | | | | will reveal several appropriate plugins for your |
| feel a site is more reputable if contact information | | | | blogging platform. |
| has been provided. | | | | Mask the address with JavaScript: |
| If you feel you must provide your email address | | | | There are several sites that allow you to input |
| to visitors, here are a few methods to secure | | | | your address and click a button to generate |
| your address, as well as a few methods to avoid. | | | | HTML or Java code that you can post directly |
| Protect Your Email with These Methods: Use a | | | | into your website or blog. Google "email munging", |
| contact form: | | | | or "email obfuscating" to find these useful sites. |
| Arguably, the most secure option is to use a | | | | Avoid these traditional / old methods: |
| contact form to allow visitors to get in touch with | | | | "mailto:" |
| you. There are a number of plugins for | | | | Don't use the traditional (aka old) "a href="mailto:" |
| WordPress, Blogger, and virtually every other | | | | method of pointing to your email address. Using |
| blogging platform that allow you to use a contact | | | | this method enables email spiders to quickly and |
| form in place of your email address. | | | | easily locate and exploit your email address. |
| - One of the best, most robust, and most | | | | "& # 6 4 ;" |
| configurable contact forms available is cFormsII | | | | Using special HTML characters in place of the @ |
| by deliciousdays. It's highly configurable, and | | | | sign is no longer an effective way to prevent an |
| therefore not the most simple to install, but it's | | | | address from being harvested. You used to be |
| still pretty easy (and it works on WordPress 2.5.1 | | | | able to prevent spiders from "seeing" your |
| - I'm using it for this site). TIP: Just make sure | | | | address by using "& # 6 4 ;" in place of the |
| that after you install the plugin you perform a | | | | @ sign. Spiders are now sophisticated enough that |
| hard-refresh to clear your browser's cache | | | | you& # 6 4 is no different to the spider |
| (Ctrl+F5). Otherwise the cfII Icon won't show up | | | | than (note, I've inserted spaces between the |
| in the TinyMCE editor window inside WordPress. | | | | &, #, 6, 4, and ; because WordPress is |
| Use an Image: | | | | sophisticated enough to replace the un-spaced |
| Create an image of your email address. If you | | | | version with the @ sign as soon as I save the |
| want the text format and size to match exactly, | | | | post - if you were to employ this method you |
| type your email address out like normal, take a | | | | wouldn't use spaces between the & # 6 4 ; |
| Print Screen of the address, and then paste the | | | | characters). |
| screen shot into any image editing software | | | | One last thing, if you've got an email box that fills |
| (even Paint will do). Crop out the address, save | | | | with spam already, have you tried to Google your |
| the cropped address as an image (gif, jpg, | | | | email address? You may find your address |
| whatever), and insert the image in place of the | | | | cropping up on numerous webpages. If you have |
| original text version of the email address. (Note, | | | | control over the content of those pages, remove |
| don't make the image link to your email using the | | | | the address immediately. If you aren't the admin |
| mailto: functionality, doing so would defeat your | | | | for the webpage(s), try to contact the |
| intent.) | | | | webmaster to see if he/she can remove the |
| One downside to this method is that your readers | | | | email address for you. |
| might find it annoying that your address isn't | | | | I had posted my email address in a book review I |
| clickable (they will have to hand-type the address | | | | did for Amazon back in the early 90's before |
| into their email client - Oh, the horror!). All kidding | | | | spam was an issue. I'd completely forgotten that |
| aside, this method is also problematic for visually | | | | I'd listed my email in that review. Several years |
| impaired readers who rely on text-to-speech | | | | later email spiders became prominent and the |
| software to read webpages (your image won't be | | | | inbox associated with that address started getting |
| read aloud to the visitor since it's an image - but | | | | clogged with spam emails. Unfortunately for me I |
| you could type "you at gmail dot com" as the | | | | can't remove the email address from the review, |
| alternate text for the image). | | | | so that address will forever be inundated with |
| Another variation of this method is to use a tiny | | | | spam. But if you find your address popping up in |
| image of the @ sign in place of the text @ sign. | | | | Google, perhaps you can take steps to remove |
| This is a faster method if you list several email | | | | your email from whatever page(s) it shows up on. |
| address on your site (since making images of | | | | Just a tip! |