Morpho Designs

Could Not Find CAPTCHA Token

This step-by-step repair guide is for anyone who has encountered the

Could not find CAPTCHA token error message. There was nothing on Google that I could find when I was trying to get the Fast Secure Contact Form plugin to work on my blog. Hopefully, this saves someone else from confusion, frustration and gnashing of teeth.

What is the CAPTCHA Token?

Securimage is an open-source free PHP CAPTCHA library that does everything from generating the CAPTCHA images to validating the typed code.
The CAPTCHA Token is written to a temporary file during input validation.

Why is the CAPTCHA Token Not Found?

The Could not find CAPTCHA token message occurs because the Securimage script was unable to create a temporary folder during setup.

After installing the Fast Secure Contact Form plugin, I set up everything. At the time, the plugin did not display the status messages that you will see in this guide. Thanks go to Mike Challis, who developed the Fast Secure Contact Form plugin and updated it after helping me figure out what was wrong with my server settings.

How to Fix the Could Not Find CAPTCHA Token Error

This section will contain all updates, based on reader feedback. Hopefully, I won’t confuse you.

[Updated 8/30/2010] Plugin author Mike Challis commented on the incompatibility between his Fast Secure Contact plugin and Simple Facebook Connect and :

SFC Like and SFC Share are both not compatible with Fast Secure Contact Form, they cause the error “Could not read CAPTCHA token file. CAPTCHA token file is missing.”

If you use either or both SFC Like and SFC Share, you’ll want to bookmark the related support thread on WordPress.org. Alternatively, you could subscribe to the RSS feed so you’ll know when a new reply is made to that thread.

[Updated 8/29/2010] Reader Frank uses Microsoft IIS Web server and tells us that FTP can’t be used to change the read/write/execute permissions on the captcha-tmp folder. You’ll have to research that bit (at least until another visitor can enlighten us further.) When you find out how to do that, you’ll need to turn on “write” and “execute” permissions for the folder.

[Updated 8/25/2010]: After reader Melinda mentioned seeing this problem on my website, I realized that upgrading the plugin will undo all your fixes! Be sure to redo these steps each time you upgrade.

These screen shots are from Filezilla (FTP program) and the Fast Secure Contact Form plugin screens. If you are not using the plugin, but you are using the Securimage script from the PHP CAPTCHA library, you can still apply the fixes for the Could not find CAPTCHA token error message.

If you are using the Fast Secure Contact Form plugin and have encountered the following screen shot during set-up, you can use this guide to prevent ever seeing any Could not find CAPTCHA token error messages on your contact page.

Note: If you do not have FTP or shell access to your blog, jump to Quick Fix for Mike’s last-resort solution to get the Fast Secure Contact Form plugin to work.

Test the CAPTCHA System

First, if you are using an older version of Fast Secure Contact Form (before version 2.8.2), you’ll need to find out whether the error message is due to a missing folder or an unwritable one. If you are using a more recent version, the plugin settings will alert you as soon as you click the Update Options button, so you can skip this test and jump to Fire Up FTP.

Screen shot #1: Click the Test Link

Screen shot #2: Test Results

Navigate to your plugins folder and find the si-contact-form folder.
Under that, look for the captcha-secureimage folder.

Screen shot #3: Find the si-contact-form plugin folder

Create Temp Folder

Right-click the captcha-secureimage folder and select Create directory.

Screen shot #4: Right-click the captcha-secureimage folder

In the pop-up window, type captcha-temp.

Screen shot #5: Create the captcha-temp folder

Try the PHP Test Again

Return to the test page in your browser and click the Try the PHP Requirements Test again link.

Screen shot #6:Retry the PHP Requirements Test

Did Your Server Fail the Test?

Screen shot #7: Unwritable Folder Message

Note: If your server passed, jump to Final Setting.

Fix Unwritable Folder

The WordPress documentation, Changing File Permissions, explains file permissions in detail. What worked for me may not work for you. It all depends on how your web host’s server is set up. Let’s hope for the best:

• Right-click the captcha-temp folder
• Select File permissions . . .
• Follow the recommended order of changes until your server passes the test

Screen shot #8: File Permissions

Mike Challis explained to me that his Fast Secure Contact Form plugin will work just fine with the Use CAPTCHA without PHP session option disabled (as long as PHP sessions are working). He adds that fixing the folder permissions problem is recommended. If you can’t do that, then this option is your solution (disregard Final Setting, below.)

Screen shot #9: Uncheck Use CAPTCHA without PHP session

If the test page in your browser shows that captcha-temp is writable, you’re almost done!

Screen shot #10: Writable Folder!

In the plugin settings, make sure that the Use CAPTCHA without PHP session option is checked.

Screen shot #11: Check Use CAPTCHA without PHP session

CAPTCHA System Works

Congratulations! Enjoy your contact forms.

Screen shot #12: LETT me in!

Need More Support?

Mike Challis has a support form that you can complete in order to get help directly from him. (A donation might help, too )

Posted in High Tech | 30 Comments »

Stressful Blogging 101

Welcome to Stressful Blogging 101

Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to embark on a quest to decipher a syllabus for a free course on Stressful Blogging 101.

Photo by BLW Photography

Should you choose to enroll, your first assignment is to dissect every line of the following poem and contrast it with its linked post. Don’t necessarily look for the obvious. The headline is not always The Event.

If you haven’t droppped out at this point, the second assignment for Stressful Blogging 101 is to identify the type of poem and search within this blog for another example.

Grades for the course will be given out at the end of the term.

In order to pass Stressful Blogging 101, you just have to attain the right mind-set.

Off you go, then.

Something in my head is wrong
Throbbing tension, water cannon
Restraining order crushing stimuli
Ears burning
Senses dimming
Snap! maniacal vertigo
Frothing foaming Saint Vitus duel
Utter mental catacomb:
Lethal.

Bid this twisted, braided pain adieu
Loosen the psychotic pressure cuff
Open my bloodshot eyes
Glean the harvest into sheaves
Gathered from my lyric Muse
Inspiration, crystal clear
Nowhere is the lesson better taught:
Grand were the mountains worn down by simple waves.

Photo by bark

Stressful Blogging 101 was a posting challenge from John Sullivan of BloggerLuv.com.

The actual challenge was to see who would rank the highest for the keyword Stressful Blogging 101. I concede one point by making another: focus on what you’re good at doing. There may still be stress, but it is the honest sweat of a labor of love.

For me, stressful blogging comes, not from struggling to crank out content, but as a result of the effort of producing something memorable, useful or clever, such as a thematic double acrostic poem.

Much of the joy of creating things with words lies in frolicking word play. Take another look at the tenth line of the poem. If you know that the French word for bread is pain, you’ll appreciate the tomfoolery hidden there. On a serendipitous note, reading the line as “Farewell to french bread” would lead to a surprise that only Google can provide.

Posted in Acrostics, Poetry | 14 Comments »

Caught In the Web

Simplification is only going to come when complexity ceases to distract us. This is a mid-year course correction for me: I need to get back to work making my project the best little utility ever. This means regulating my non-productive time and giving myself little goals to complete each day.

Photo by me’nthedogs

The Web is Huge

Club-hopping is counter-productive. Find a nice joint and hang out there. BloggerLuv.com is my place. Note to self: TweetDeck is not a place, it’s a shortwave radio. Tune out the incessant chatter!

Photo by Muffet

The Web is Pretty

It’s hard to find a shockingly bad looking website these days. It’s not hard to find websites that are devoid of content. In the interest of saving time, get a feed reader and be done with it.

Photo by Peter Kaminski

The Web Can Be a Glass Cage

I have a blog, in which I post. But, I am not a blogger. I am a software developer who also loves to write. Are you a blogger? If that’s not what puts food on the table, examine your priorities.

Photo by 1Happysnapper

Web and Focus

Are you staying true to your resolutions? By neglecting my project, I was back-sliding on my year-end self-evaluation and commitment to focus. Neglect is a strong word, but I simply had days when I spent no more than an hour looking at code. Part of the problem is that I am retooling major bits and it is boring. Boredom is anathema to focus! (I completed a chunk today, so I’m celebrating by writing a post.)

Photo by Zyada

“Come Into My Lair”

As technology advances, we’ll get more offers to engage. Beware that you’re not agreeing to fragment yourself. You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing! I wrote elsewhere on this blog about bringing knives to a gunfight: I choose to avoid the whole confrontation.

Posted in Biographical | 22 Comments »

Agility or Ability – Which Is Better?

When it comes to your web browser, do you think you can choose agility over ability? I’ll give you my own answer at the end of this post. First, let me rant about my recent decision to switch to Google Chrome and the abrupt end of the honeymoon.

Agility

Chrome definitely loads pages more quickly. It seems to make better use of computer resources. These features were the initial attraction and I still find them to be very appealing.

Flock and Firefox are misnomers, unless we’re talking about waddling geese and burnt creatures writhing in agony. I know I’m writhing in agony whenever the browsers cause the CPU usage to hit 100%.

Ability

The unadorned browser does nothing for my productivity. I have been accustomed to using several extensions on Flock. I’ve never had any problems with them.

Chrome accepts a mixed bag of extensions; some are good, some are bad. Here’s what I think of the one’s I’ve installed:

AdBlock (Enabled) The closest I could come to NoScript for Firefox, AdBlock is not my favorite extension. The Chrome sandbox security model is supposed to protect me. But what about the ads and pop-under pages? I guess I shouldn’t expect any help from Google! Alexa Traffic Rank (Enabled) I just glance at the current page’s stats from time to time. Awesome Screenshot (Disabled) @Ileane told me all about this extension, here. I’ve noticed that it is sensitive to keyboard shortcuts, which can’t be disabled, despite violent demands for such a capability. Luckily, TechSmith’s Jing is a pretty awesome screen capture utility, too. Delicious Bookmarks (Enabled) The only reason I use this juiceless, link-hating website is that its bookmarking metaphor beats the socks off of any browser’s attempt to organize my favorites. Feedly (Enabled) Feedly is a wonderful aggregation tool. It is indispensable for keeping up with all of the feeds I’m subscribed to from BloggerLuv.com. RoboForm (Enabled) I need RoboForm so much, that I’m willing to stop using Chrome if the integration doesn’t improve. I can live with the bottom-docking, but not the constant crashes and disappearance from non-web pages, such as the extensions page (chrome://extensions/). RSS Subscription (Enabled) This has become an essential extension. I’m glad it works well with Feedly. StumbleUpon (Disabled) I automatically highlight text for inclusion in my review. In Flock, it just works. In Chrome, it just doesn’t. For now, I keep Flock open while I stumble around the web. Wikipedia Companion (Enabled) This is a great mini-browser! No need to open a new tab, unless I want to. I also like the random Featured Pages.

Agility or Ability: A Delicate Balance

A fast browser is nice, but a full-featured browser is more important. I can make concessions on most of the extensions, like using Jing instead of Awesome Screenshot. However, I depend on RoboForm too much to switch to another password manager. I’ll stick with Chrome, but forgive me if I step out with Flock from time to time.

Image by Mitch

Posted in High Tech | 8 Comments »