How to add CAPTCHA protection to a Drupal site

This article describes how to add Drupal CAPTCHA protection to a site using the CAPTCHA module. CAPTCHAs help protect your Drupal site from spamming by bots and other malicious actors.

For general information about what Drupal CAPTCHAs are and what they do, please see this article.

Adding Drupal CAPTCHA protection

To add Drupal CAPTCHA protection to a site using the CAPTCHA module, follow these steps:

  1. Use your web browser to visit https://drupal.org/project/captcha.
  2. Under Downloads, download the .gz file to your computer.
  3. Log in to your Drupal site as the administrator.
  4. On the top menu bar, click Modules, and then click Install new module.
  5. Click Browse, select the .gz file on your local computer, and then click Install. Drupal installs the CAPTCHA module.
  6. Under Next steps, click Enable newly added modules. The Modules page appears.
  7. Scroll down to SPAM CONTROL, and select the ENABLED check box next to the CAPTCHA module.
    By default, the Drupal CAPTCHA module uses math problems for CAPTCHA tests. If you want to use image-based CAPTCHA tests, enable the Image CAPTCHA module also.
  8. Click Save configuration.
  9. Scroll down to SPAM CONTROL again, and click Configure for the CAPTCHA module. The CAPTCHA module configuration page appears.
  10. You can now define which areas of your site are protected by CAPTCHAs. For example, to protect registration forms, locate user_register_form in the FORM_ID column, select the challenge type, and then click Save configuration. To test this, go to your Drupal site and click a register link. Drupal displays a CAPTCHA in the registration form.
    To preview the CAPTCHAs' appearance based the current site settings, click Examples.

More Information

For more information about the Drupal CAPTCHA module, please visit https://drupal.org/project/captcha.

Did you find this article helpful? Then you'll love our support. Experience the A2 Hosting difference today and get a pre-secured, pre-optimized website. Check out our web hosting plans today.

We use cookies to personalize the website for you and to analyze the use of our website. You consent to this by clicking on "I consent" or by continuing your use of this website. Further information about cookies can be found in our Privacy Policy.