Challenge/Response

The Challenge/Response plugin is a reliable anti-spam tool that is compatible with Adium 1.3 or later. This plugin provides a unique way of filtering spam messages by hiding them until the user answers a question that you have set. For instance, users have to give a numerical answer to a question like "What is the square root of 49?" The responses provided are verified before the hidden messages are displayed. Once a user responds correctly, all the hidden messages are displayed as if no action had been taken. The user is then added to the C/R whitelist and never asked again.

The C/R plugin identifies unknown users who fall within these categories: users who are not in your contact list (excluding AIM's "recent buddies" group), users who are not in your C/R whitelist and users you do not have a chat open with. Since you create the challenge and response, spam bots will not know how to respond. To access the C/R preferences, go to the Adium menu and navigate to the Privacy Settings. You must enable C/R and set the challenge and response before it begins to work. If you disable the plugin, it will display all the saved messages from users who failed to answer the challenge question.

The Challenge/Response plugin has additional options that can be customized to suit the user's needs. One of which is the ability to log all hidden messages to a group chat called ChallengeResponse. The logger plugin currently limits the creation of one group chat per account. The plugin also allows the user to hide all messages from blocked users, especially for protocols like MSN where blocked users can still send messages. Overall, the Challenge/Response plugin is a reliable spam filter with unique features that are easy to customize.