Boise State’s WordPress environment is seeing an increase in automated attempts to compromise university websites through Gravity Forms. These attempts result in form submissions and notifications that contain unwanted junk code.
You can improve the security of your Gravity Forms by adding a CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart). A CAPTCHA test is designed to be easy for humans to solve but difficult for automated bots to complete due to CAPTCHA tests often involving tasks requiring human cognition (such as identifying objects in images or solving puzzles). By requiring your visitors to pass a CAPTCHA test before submitting a form, you can significantly reduce spam submissions.
Alternatively, you can contact the Help Desk to request the WordPress Support Team add a CAPTCHA for you.
How to add a CAPTCHA
- Enabling CAPTCHA on a boisestate.edu Gravity Form is simple:
- Log in to WordPress and edit your Gravity Form (Forms > Edit)
- Expand the Advanced Fields tab on the right-hand side of the screen.
- Select CAPTCHA to add to the bottom of your form (make sure the CAPTCHA is the last field on your form above the “submit” button).
- Select Save Form to save your change.
While a CAPTCHA is not 100% effective at preventing all spam, it is very effective at stopping bots and should significantly help in preventing that type of mass-spamming we are seeing in some forms.
Need Assistance?
Contact the Help Desk to escalate requests for services and assistance to the WordPress Support Team.