Blocking spam (See more user questions)
Hello again,
Hope all is well with you. I can't really add anything above what is
written on my website, but if you have any specific questions, please fire
away!
Best wishes.
Charles Sweeney
https://formtoemail.com
The world's easiest feedback script!
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 12:05 AM
Subject: Re: FormToEmail script
While I've got you, I have a separate inquiry.
Below is an email I sent to our IT folks that explains what we need. Your
pro version is being tested now by our IT folks. Seems their initial
concern was that the software was too cheap! and they wondered if it would
work!
Anything else you can add to help them evaluate it? We don't have a PHP
servers, so they'd have to use the remote version.
Thanks!
Background.
We
would like to add a form on our Federal Grants section of the Community
Development Agency website to collect potential applicant information for
future
mailings.. Currently, we send out over 800 pieces of mail in an annual
mailing
to solicit grant proposals for CDBG funding at a cost of over $300 just for
the
postage. Given that we receive a lot of returned undeliverable mail, and
given
that we receive fewer than 100 applications, and given that we have the
opportunity to be more green and send out fewer solicitations, it’s time to
find out who really wants to receive our mailings.
Request
I would
like to direct potential applicants to our website so that they can notify
us
via email that they would like to remain on or be added to our mailing list
and
to update their contact information. Ideally, it would be great, perfect,
and
preferred to have the responses flow directly into either an Excel
spreadsheet
or a database application that could export into and an Excel
spreadsheet.
I
believe I’ve found a solution using the Pro version of Form to Email found
at
https://formtoemail.com/
FormToEmail is a
form processor (form mail) script written in PHP. It comes in a free version
and
a Pro version for $29. It processes web forms. It sends the contents of web
forms by email. It will process any form. It doesn't make forms, it
processes
them. It comes with HTML code for a basic contact form that you can use on
your
website. It is very secure and cannot be hijacked by spammers. It is very
simple
to install, you only need to add your email address to it. Step-by-step
instructions are written in plain English.
Free Version
Very secure. Easy to
install (just one file). Process any form. Form code supplied. Free friendly
support. Pro Version
Very secure. Easy to
install (just one file). Process any form. Form code supplied. Block spam.
Set
required fields. Attach file uploads. Upload files to your server. Block or
allow file types. Securimage CAPTCHA support. Support for reCAPTCHA.
identiPIC
photo CAPTCHA. CSV output to attachment or
file. Autoresponder. Attach a file to the autoresponse. Set encoding,
utf-8 etc. See sender's IP address. Block spam email headers. Block IPs.
Block
web addresses. Block rude words. Optional HTML output. Use email templates.
Block gibberish (MldMtrPAgZq etc). Block gobbledegook characters (�,�,�
etc).
Confirm email address. Referrer checking. Pre-populate the form. Show errors
on
the form page. Check for a set cookie. Ignore fields. Sort fields. Auto
redirect
to "thank you" page. HTML template for "thank you" page. No branding. Free
upgrades for life. Free friendly support.
Specifically, according to the website at
https://formtoemail.com/formtoemail_pro_version.php the pro version can:
CSV output to attachment or
file
CSV
attachment. You can choose to have the form data included in a CSV (Comma
Separated Values) file that is sent as an attachment to the email the script
sends (you still get the form data in the email). The file contains the
field
names as the header row and the form data as the second row. The file only
contains data from the submitted form and does not accumulate data from all
form
submissions (see below if you want a CSV file
containing all form submissions). The CSV file can be opened in
Excel, for example. You do not need to make any changes to your
form.
CSV
file on server. If you enable this, all data
from submitted forms will be accumulated in a CSV file on your
server. You can then download the
file and open it in Excel (for example) and
search/sort/manipulate/print the data to suit. By default the CSV file is
kept
in the same directory/folder as the script but you can specify any location
on
your server. The first line of the file is a header row made up of the field
names from your form. The subsequent rows show the data submitted from your
form, one line of data for each form submitted.
Please
review this and let me know if this is the best approach. It looks pretty
clear
and straightforward. Note that I’ll be out of the office for the rest of
the
week and will return after Labor day.
If you have any questions, please call me
________________________________
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:08:36 PM
Subject: Re: FormToEmail script
My pleasure,
Best wishes.
Charles Sweeney
https://formtoemail.com
The world's easiest feedback script!
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 11:00 PM
Subject: Re: FormToEmail script
> Thanks!
>
> ________________________________
> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 2:30:06 PM
> Subject: Re: FormToEmail script
>
> Hi
>
> If your website is online, spammers will find it. I can't do anything in
> my script that will stop spammers finding your site, but there are a
> number of features in the Pro script that will block spam, not just the
> word block.
>
> You could try changing the name of your form page. Something like
> "contact.html" might be obvious to spammers.
>
> Any questions, just let me know.
>
> Best wishes.
>
> Charles Sweeney
> https://formtoemail.com
> The world's easiest feedback script!
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 6:50 PM
> Subject: Re: FormToEmail script
>
>
>> How are spammers finding my web site? Are they searching on the source
>> code? Is there a way of dealing with this without getting the pro
>> versions? Is there something I could change in the source code?
>>
>> Even getting the pro version, the emails I get don't have consistent
>> phrasing.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> ________________________________
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 2:38:25 AM
>> Subject: Re: FormToEmail script
>>
>> Hi
>>
>> Thank you for your question.
>>
>> With the Pro version of the script, you can block words or phrases. So
>> for example, you could block the phrase "We would like to get your
>> website".
>>
>> Have a look here for more information:
>>
>> https://formtoemail.com/formtoemail_pro_version.php
>>
>> Any questions, just let me know.
>>
>> Best wishes.
>>
>> Charles Sweeney
>> https://formtoemail.com
>> The world's easiest feedback script!
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 6:08 AM
>> Subject: FormToEmail script
>>
>>
>>> Comments: I am using your software am want to know if there is way to
>>> stop the spam I'm getting?
>>>
>>> The spam is a variation of:
>>>
>>> "Message: We would like to get your website on first page of Google.All
>>> of our processes use the most ethical "white hat" Search Engine
>>> Optimization techniques that will not get your website banned or
>>> penalized Please reply and I would be happy to send you a proposal.In
>>> order for us to respond to your request for information, please include
>>> your company's website address (mandatory) and or phone number."
>>>
>>> Thanks,
