The Automated Spam War: Why Are Hosting Providers Only Fighting Back After the Damage Is Done?

The Internet is becoming a breeding ground for spam. Not the tinned variety—no, we’re talking about the relentless, soul-crushing onslaught of automated form spam that has made running a website feel like an endless game of whack-a-mole with bots

Every time you think you've dealt with it, a new flood arrives, turning your contact forms, comment sections, and customer feedback pages into the equivalent of a dumpster fire.

And where are the hosting providers in all of this chaos? Sitting on the sidelines, waiting for you to report the damage. Why are the companies we entrust with our websites seemingly more reactive than proactive when it comes to combating the spam plague?

According to CleanTalk, a popular WordPress plugin provider, their service now protects most web forms from unwanted spam. However, in an alarming twist, the evolution of sneaky spam bots is beginning to outwit these protections, slipping past even the most advanced filters.

The Proactive Approach: Still a Fantasy

Let’s be real. Hosting providers have the resources. They have the infrastructure. They can see the patterns. But instead of stopping spam attacks before they cripple your site, they wait—oh, they wait until it’s far too late, and your inbox is flooded with a thousand messages about miracle weight loss pills, sketchy loan offers, and suspicious ‘business opportunities.’ Then, and only then, do they swoop in, offering "support" (if you can even call it that).

It begs the question: If they know spam bots are such a rampant issue, why aren’t they doing more? It’s like having a security guard at the front door of a building, but instead of stopping intruders, they wait until the intruder has raided the entire place before calling for backup. Where's the sense in that?

They Have the Tools, But They're Not Using Them

We’ve all heard the excuse, "Oh, but you can install third-party plugins." Yeah, no thanks. Why should customers be forced to play tech support for their own websites when the people hosting them should already be deploying the latest anti-spam and anti-malware systems?

We’re not asking for a miracle, just for you to use the tools you’ve got in a way that makes sense! Cloudflare’s out there doing it, why can’t they?

Hosting providers are quick to offer flashy deals—“99% uptime!” and “24/7 customer support!”—but where’s the promise of “We’ll proactively block malicious bots and won’t allow our servers to be used in attacks on other websites.

Enough is Enough

It’s 2024, and automated form spam is still an unresolved problem because hosting providers are playing a dangerous game of catch-up. They prefer to wait until the bot tsunami hits, responding only when the damage has been done. The result?

Countless hours wasted cleaning up spam, frustrated business owners, and customer trust eroded by the lack of effective spam protection.