An Updated CAPTCHA Guide: Eradicate the Evil!

*This is an updated version of my popular CAPTCHA post. Much like a virus, every time you adjust to one way of preventing CAPTCHA, Blogger changes its settings. Although to my amazement, Blogger has made the process easier this time.

So here's an updated post on how to turn off CAPTCHA.

CAPTCHA

Like many bloggers, if I had to choose between entering CAPTCHA codes when commenting on a dozen blogs and cleaning up an ant infestation in my kitchen, I would much rather go play with my ant friends.

For those unaware of CAPTCHA, it is the word verification that you must enter in order to post a comment on CAPTCHA-enabled Blogger blogs. Until last year, CAPTCHA consisted of one five or six letter word. This relatively simple, albeit annoying, requirement then changed into something far more irritating - a requirement two enter two long words

Now, it's even worse. CAPTCHA requires you to enter one word and three numbers. Moreover, the letters and numbers that you have to copy are almost impossible to read:

At surface level, CAPTCHA seems like a great idea. As it says, it requires you to "prove you're not a robot." Spam sucks, so it's great to have something to prevent it.

But it's not necessary! In the nearly two years that I've run this blog, hardly any spam comments have gotten through Blogger's behind-the-scenes spam filter. Pretty much every blogger I've encountered says the same thing.

If you want to be taken seriously as a blogger, you must get rid of CAPTCHA.

Numerous people refuse to comment on CAPTCHA-enabled blogs. I'm not one of them, but I can't tell you how irritating it is to repeatedly encounter CAPTCHA when I'm doing mass comments on the Follow Friday and In My Mailbox/Stacking the Shelves memes. Often, I comment on 400 blogs over the course of the weekend (Yes, that's right. I don't have a life). The extra second or two required to enter those f*#&$*g codewords adds up quickly.

A lot of people don't even realize that they have CAPTCHA enabled on their blog. So here is a way to check and get rid of it.

1) Go to your dashboard:

2) Click on Settings and then click on Posts and Comments

3) On that page, scroll down until  you see Show word verification. Hit the drop down menu next to it and click No. This is the key step!

4) Just above Show Word Verification, go to Comment Modification and click Never.

Presto! You're done. That wasn't so hard was it? 

Please, please, please! On behalf of all people who love to comment, I am begging you to get rid of CAPTCHA on your blog. My sanity thanks you.