Joomla 1.5 and 2.5: prevent SPAM from the contact form

These versions are no longer supported and may be unreliable, because they have several security flaws that have been resolved since the advent of subsequent versions, in addition to the fact that they require old PHP and MySQL versions to function.

https://youtu.be/62zRutbKIuw

Among our clients' sites we have detected a significant increase in sending emails through the com_contact component included in the Joomla core. By default this component generates a contact form that is not protected by Captcha or anti-spam systems, especially in older versions of Joomla.

Solutions for implementing a Captcha Joomla 1.5 Many have already replaced the contact forms with a static article in which they clearly indicate their references and addresses, completely disabling the com_contact component of the core.

A valid alternative, to be able to use contact forms, is to use the KeyCaptcha component, which will allow you to activate anti-spam protection for registration and contact forms on Joomla 1.5. Host has prepared a tutorial for implementing KeyCaptcha: https://associazione.host.it/Knowledgebase/Article/View/154/0/installare-ed-attivare-il-plugin-keycaptcha-su-joomla-15x

Joomla 2.5 Joomla 2.5 provides by default a system plugin "Captcha – reCAPTCHA" which allowed the enabling of Google's ReCaptcha service, using its API v 1.0. This version of the API is no longer usable since March 31, 2018, therefore the default Joomla 2.5 ReCaptcha plugin is no longer functional.

Some developers have made a patch available for the plugin that allows you to use the Google reCaptcha API v2 in Joomla 2.5.

To apply the patch you need to replace the file:

/plugin/captcha/recaptcha/recaptcha.php We have packaged an update package of the reCaptcha plugin, containing the patched file, which can be installed as a normal Joomla 2.5 extension.

Download update – reCaptcha v2 – Joomla 2.5

After installing the plugin update, you need to regenerate your Google reCaptcha API keys from https://www.google.com/recaptcha/admin by selecting reCaptcha V2:

After generating the API keys it is necessary to update the plugin configuration by indicating the new keys from Plugin Management > Captcha – ReCaptcha.

Host has prepared a tutorial for implementing reCaptcha in Joomla 2.5: https://associazione.host.it/Knowledgebase/Article/View/155/0/attivare-google-recaptcha-su-joomla-25x

The new version of the system plugin compatible with the reCaptcha API v2 was automatically installed on all Joomla 2.5 sites hosted by Host.it; therefore it is only necessary to generate the new API keys and insert them into the plugin configuration.

Host is constantly proactively committed to maintaining a high level of security on its servers, also thanks to the information campaigns that have been created in recent years, aimed at raising awareness among our customers to always keep the versions of their software and CMS updated.