New Automatic Form Submission Prevention System
Automatic Form Submission is troublesome and annoying. I've
been working on a prevention for some time. And, now, I am
happy to announce the new auto-submit prevention system!
First, some background.
Some months ago, we set up a remotely hosted automatic form
submission prevention center. It was nudged and tweaked and
now it works like a charm.
Automatic form submission is done by robots, software on
desktop/office computers, and software on remote servers.
They send spam, mostly.
With the beta version of protection, close to a thousand
forms a day, on four participating domains are protected.
And, unlike some methods of protection, nobody has to type
squiggly characters from an image to prove they are not a
robot.
And that was the main idea, finding a way to prevent
automated submissions without using a "type here what's
on that image" captcha system. Such systems I consider
intrusive, distrusting, and apt to discourage legitimate
use of the form.
Site contact and feedback forms are responsible for
starting conversations that result in long-term business
relationships. Nothing should discourage their use.
Creating a non-intrusive method of detecting and preventing
automatic form submissions for independent CGI software
installations was an important goal for me.
The goal has been reached.
Lessons learned from and effective ideas implemented in
that beta installation have now been incorporated into
Master Form V4.
While I was rummaging around in the code anyway, I thought
I would add other features, most of which were previously
suggested by Master Form V4 users. Some of the new things
the software can now accomplish will be welcomed.
A complete list of features would be rather extensive. This
article describes only the new ones. (The user's manual
addresses each feature.)
By the way, Mari wrote a new overview to provide a good
understanding of the scope Master Form V4 operates within.
It's linked at /master/formV4/support/
The New Features
Automatic Form Submission Prevention:
The protection is pretty good. Even so, I know full well
it is not perfect. It never will be perfect so long as
spammers and crackers target web page forms.
Therefore, Master Form V4 comes with another new feature ...
Automatic Update Installation:
Click a button in the control panel to make Master Form V4
check to see if a new update is available. If yes, it will
install itself — if it can. The automatic upgrade will
work on most servers. This feature is built with AJAX.
You must click a button to start the upgrade installation.
It won't just do it on its own without your permission.
"New Update Available" Notification:
If you want to be notified when a new update is available,
say so at the control panel.
Blocking IP Addresses:
You can now block certain IP addresses (or a range of
IP addresses) from using your forms.
Web Page Form Locations:
See at a glance which forms use your installation of
Master Form V4.
Database Module Choice:
If your hosting company has compatible database modules
installed on your server (besides the standard SDBM_File),
you can select the one you prefer to use.
Sequential Numbering of Form Use:
When you need serial numbers or other unique identification
with form submissions, use this new feature.
Temporary Download Links (Separately Purchased Plug-In):
Available in a few days, this separately purchased plug-in
is used to provide temporary download links in email and/or
on "thank you" pages. Download links are valid for the
length of time you specify in the control panel.
Submitting Information To Other Scripts:
Master Form V4 can submit some or all of the form
information to other scripts located anywhere on the
Internet. These might be for subscription or membership
handling, as examples. The additional submissions can be
method GET or POST.
All The Features
Of course, Master Form V4 still has all of the features
available in earlier versions — personalized email and
web pages, multi-page forms, anti-hijacking code, email
address extraction, and other goodies.
See the Master Form V4 product description page at
/mfv4 for more information.
Will you ever use all the features now available? Maybe.
Maybe not. Either way, they are built into the software
and immediately available when and if you need them.
But first you must have the software installed.
Once it's set up, it just works.
If you are a current owner of Master Form V4, this is a
free upgrade. The generation link is toward the bottom of
the product description page. No Transaction ID required
to generate for the same domain name as before.
Grab it, install it, and set your preferences in the new
control panel.
Question:
Did you find this article interesting and understandable? How can it be improved?
Your response is anonymous.
When done typing, click anywhere outside the box. [more info]
Will Bontrager
©Copyright 2006 Bontrager Connection, LLC Bontrager Connection, LLC
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