If you are working with Drupal, you will often encounter issues with spam bots that post a huge number of spam comments. This is specifically true if you are working with an older version of Drupal.
The first step to undertake in this case is to disable the comments module until you delete all the spam comment posts.
You have 2 options for doing this:
#1 – Through Drupal Admin
- Login to your Drupal admin area
- Go to Administrator >> Content >> Content Types
- Edit the content type you prefer
- Ensure that the comments are on ‘OFF’ mode by default
If you are using the Drupal version 7.x/8.x, you can disable the spam comments through these steps:
- Login to your admin area
- Go to Structure >> Content >> Types >>Comment Settings
- Select the option ‘Closed’ present under ‘Default comment setting’
- Save the changes
#2 – By Executing SQL Query
Deleting the spam comments can also be done through phpMyAdmin by executing the SQL query mentioned below in your database:
UPDATE system SET status = ‘0’ WHERE filename = ‘modules/comment/comment.module’;
When you would like to enable the comments option again, execute a reverse query:
UPDATE system SET status = ‘1’ WHERE filename = ‘modules/comment/comment.module’;
It is recommended to use a CAPTCHA module by Akismet to block the spam comments. Even if a spam bot passes the Captcha, Akismet will check it through a spam database. Only if the source of comment is legitimate, it will appear on your dashboard for you to approve or disapprove or delete it.
