Joomla

The plugin for Joomla connects to the standard CAPTCHA interface of Joomla. Thus, each form with a CAPTCHA field is protected without your own source code.

Requirements

The following requirements are met:

Requirement	Value
Joomla	version 4.x, 5.x, or 6.x
PHP	from version 8.1
Access	Administration area of Joomla

Install the plugin

Proceed as follows to install the plugin:

Extensions: Install view

► Download the pkg_eucaptcha.zip package.
► In the administration area, open the Extensions → Install entry.
► In the Upload Package File tab, upload the pkg_eucaptcha.zip file.
↳ Joomla installs the two plugins that are included and shows Installation of the package was successful.

Message after the installation

► Open the Extensions → Plugins entry and search for eu captcha.
↳ The list shows the EU Captcha and EU Captcha - Admin Notice plugins. The two plugins are disabled.

List of the plugins with the two extensions

► Select the two plugins and click on the Enable button.
➔ The two plugins are enabled.

List of the plugins after they are enabled

Store the credentials

Until the configuration is complete, Joomla shows a note on each page of the administration area.

Proceed as follows to store the credentials:

Note in the administration area

► In the note, click on the Go to Settings button. As an alternative, open Extensions → Plugins and then the EU Captcha plugin.
↳ The settings of the plugin are shown.

Settings of the EU Captcha plugin

► Click on the Quick Setup button.
↳ A dialog with the registration portal of Myra EU CAPTCHA is shown.

► Complete the registration.
➔ The plugin applies the public sitekey and the secret.

Settings of the plugin after the save operation

As an alternative, enter the available credentials manually:

Field	Contents
Public Sitekey	Public key in the UUID format. The value is permitted in the frontend.
Secret	Secret key in the Base64 format. The value stays in the database of Joomla.

Options of the API

These options are available:

Option	Default	Effect
Check CDN/Proxy Headers	Yes	Reads the true IP address of the visitor from the `HTTP_CLIENT_IP`, `HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR`, or `HTTP_X_REAL_IP` headers, before `REMOTE_ADDR` is used. Activate the option if your website is behind a CDN or a load balancer.
Failsafe Mode	No	With No, a network error blocks the transmission. With Yes, a transmission error counts as a verification that passed. In the two cases, the plugin refuses invalid tokens.

These options control the appearance:

Option	Default	Effect
Widget Theme	Light	Light or dark appearance, values Light and Dark.
Widget Height (px)	empty	Fixed height in pixels, minimum 48.
Widget Width (px)	empty	Fixed width in pixels, minimum 1.

Note in the administration area

The EU Captcha - Admin Notice plugin shows the note until the credentials are complete. The note contains the Go to Settings, Open Dashboard, and Dismiss buttons. The Admin Notice field in the settings of the EU Captcha plugin shows the state of the note. If you hid the note with the Dismiss button, click on the Re-enable Notice button to show it again.

Activate the CAPTCHA

Proceed as follows to activate the CAPTCHA:

Global Configuration view with the Default Captcha option

► Open System → Global Configuration and go to the Site tab.
► Set the Default Captcha option to the EU Captcha value.
► Click on the Save button.
➔ All forms with a CAPTCHA field are protected.

Global Configuration view after the save operation

For the contact form that is included, also activate the CAPTCHA field below Components → Contact → Options in the Form tab.

If no CAPTCHA is selected in the Global Configuration yet, the EU Captcha plugin sets the Default Captcha option to EU Captcha itself when you save the enabled plugin. The plugin does not overwrite an existing selection.

Protected forms

Each form with a standard CAPTCHA field is protected, for example:

registration of users
reset of the password
com_contact contact component
components of other suppliers with a standard CAPTCHA field