Dealing with Comment/Trackback Spam with Drupal.

Comment Spam is a reality, even with Drupal, if you are using the Drupal trackback module. But there's a way to deal with this - I just did it, and thought I would share it with the masses.

Trackback spam, in this case, was my problem. Since only registered users can post comments on the site, the trackback method is the only way that people can spam me. Fortunately, the same mechanism which makes it easy for them to do this is the seed of the destruction of the SPAM.

All of the SPAM comments tend to have the same subject.

The Solution - for Now

Until the trackback module for Drupal allows moderation of the received trackbacks, and until comment spammers figure out the Achilles heel of this system (which I already know and won't share in public), the process is simple - simply deal with your MySQL directly. For some, this may be scarey.

Fortunately, there's a database administration module which you can install. This is what I use for quick changes - such as deleting SPAM comments/trackbacks - and is an ideal way for people to do the same without having to know MySQL. If you do install it, make sure only administrators have permissions to use it - this could become a security problem if you allow everyone access. Some experience with Drupal is required.

The next step is to open the database administration module, once installed - or use MySQL - and run the following SQL instruction, replacing SubjectOfSpam with the offending subjects:

DELETE FROM `comments` WHERE `subject` = "SubjectOfSpam";

Hit the 'execute script button', and they'll magically disappear... :-)

That will save you some clicking, and make it more convenient to deal with these morons.