Squid Encode
Squid is a free online obfustication application that encodes any plain text email address into its character code equivalent. The encoded result will be displayed normally by any browser but might just fool those pesky spam bots and stop you getting so much junk mail.
Instructions
How to use Squid Encode to prevent spam harvesters from finding your e-mail address.
- Enter the e-mail address you want to encode including any link text you want (optional).
- Click the Encode button and let the squid do its thing.
- Use the Copy button to copy the encoded code snippet to your clipboard.
- Paste the code snippet into your webpage where you want it to appear.
Finally remember to add Squid Encode to your favourites so you can find us easily next time.
FAQ
A list of frequently asked questions that will hopefully address any issue that might spring to mind before you even decide to bring it up.
- Will this stop me getting spam?
- Obfusticating your e-mail only makes it harder for spammers to harvest addresses more advanced spam bots will still be able to find your address.
- What's the point if it is not 100% effective?
- Although it is not 100% effective, if it works on half the spam bots that find your site that's 50% less spam.
- How does it work?
- Your plain text email is encoded into it's numeric character reference equivalent. Encoding user@example.com will create:
<a href="mailto:user@example.com">user@example.com</a> - Does it work in all browsers?
- Absolutely. The generated links will work in all browsers even old ones. There is even no need for Flash, Javascript or CSS. To use the encoder (this page) your browser will need to support Javascript.
- What is the technical name for this process?
- The technical term for what we are doing here is "Transparent Name Mangling".
- Do you keep a record of my address?
- No. I have no interest in your e-mail address or selling it to anyone. All encoding is done on your machine, no information is passed back to my servers.
- How do you make any money if you are not selling my address to spammers?
- We don't make any money. This site was built in our spare time as a side project. We use advertising on the site to cover the costs of hosting.
- What is the name all about?
- The name Squid Encode was chosen to reflect what the site does. The squids defence against being captured is to obscure its attackers view by squirting a cloud of ink. This is kind of what we are doing here, we are making it more difficult for harvesters to see the address with the hope they simply move on to easier prey. To Encode is to convert plain text into a different form by means of a code.
- I get a message saying Javascript is disabled in my browser, what do I do?
- This site requires Javascript to do its job. You will need to either enable Javascript or if that is not possible use another computer that has Javascript enabled. The generated code you paste in your website does not require Javascript to work and will work in any browser.
- Is there a better way?
- There are other ways of stopping your email form being harvested but none are necessarily better. Other methods rely on Javascript or getting the user to decipher your email address for themselves, all have their own disadvantages.