More and more, web forms are having to distinguish between real users entering inforamtion and bots/scripts going out and using the form to harass. Thankfully, there's a solution that is simple and easy for just about anyone to implement - a security image - and this new DevShed article seeks to help you create one of your own.

Computers have such amazing power today that they are able to behave almost like humans. Programs can be written to interact with many websites. Unfortunately, many of these interactions are ones we don't want, including fake sign-ups, spam through contact forms, and stealing places in line for items such as tickets.

Using PHP, GD, MySQL and a few PNG images, you can have a sample form up and working in no time. Choose a font, create a random keyword to use in the image, add in the rest of the form, and voila - you have a simple, easy to use form that will (for now) resist spiders/bots/scripts and make things so much easier on you...