New spam defenses for Movable Type users

Bloggers have long been peppered with comment and trackback spam. It is a pervasive problem directly related to the gaming of search engines, of which the the biggest target seems to be Google.

Then along came MT-Blacklist, and at least Movable Type users received some relief. Now, one of the folks responsible for Movable Type development has come up with a new plugin with a number of feature enhancements, that may soon supplant it.

SpamLookup is its name, and blog spam killing is its game. While MT-Blacklist does a darn good job keeping known spam links out of blogs, SpamLookup, a creation of Brad Choate of the Six Apart crew, goes a few steps further. Included in the feature set is:

– IP-based blacklisting based on DNS lookup services;

– Domain-based blacklisting based on DNS lookup services;

– Dynamic proxy testing;

– Filtering based on “X-Forwarded-For” HTTP header; and

– Link count limitations.

While some of the services are going to require additional infrastructure support, much as MT-Blacklist does, this is definitely a further step in the right direction.

You can get the further details on the new plugin from MT-Blacklist/Comment Spam Clearinghouse, or grab the new plugin from Brad Choate’s new SpamLookup site.

If you visit MT-Blacklist/Comment Spam Clearinghouse, pay attention to the comments. Some items to note include the fact that MT-Blacklist IS NOT being shut down. Also, there is some question as to what level of server resources the new plugin is going to require. I would be particularly interested in hearing new users comments on that matter, before I take the plunge here at Spamroll.