3.1.2 Friendly Captcha Setup
๐ก๏ธ Friendly Captcha Setup (ShieldsGuard)
๐ Overview
ShieldsGuard allows full integration with Friendly Captcha, a modern, privacy-friendly CAPTCHA solution. Once integrated, Friendly Captcha can be used as a challenge mechanism within the DDoS Protection module to block automated threats without disrupting legitimate users.
๐ Unlike traditional CAPTCHA methods, Friendly Captcha offers a user-friendly experience with high resilience against bots and headless browsers.
๐งญ Step-by-Step Integration Guide
1๏ธโฃ Create a Friendly Captcha Account
Go to: https://friendlycaptcha.com
Register for an account (free or paid plan)

After login, navigate to the Dashboard
Click on โCreate New Applicationโ


Name your application and define the domain (e.g.,
yourdomain.com
)After creation, youโll receive:
๐ Secret Key
๐ Site Key
2๏ธโฃ Log into ShieldsGuard Panel
Open your ShieldsGuard admin panel
Navigate to: Protection > DDoS Protection
3๏ธโฃ Open Friendly Captcha Configuration
Scroll to the Friendly Captcha section.
Click on the ๐ด Set Key button:

This opens a modal titled Edit Friendly Captcha Key.
4๏ธโฃ Enter Friendly Captcha Keys
In the popup window:
Paste your Secret Key in the first field
Paste your Site Key in the second field
Choose your Endpoint Region from the dropdown (e.g.,
EU Endpoint
,US Endpoint
)Click ๐ Save

โ Keys are now saved and the system is ready for use.
5๏ธโฃ Enable Friendly Captcha in DDoS Protection Mode
โ ๏ธ Captcha setup is not complete until itโs activated under protection logic.
Go back to Protection > DDoS Protection
Under DDoS Automatic Protection, set:
Status =
Automatic Protection or Friendly Captcha
Protection Type =
Friendly Captcha
Configure your desired:
Trigger Threshold (requests/sec)
Protection Duration
IP Limit Rules
Save all changes
๐งช Testing the Integration
To test if Friendly Captcha is active:
Simulate rapid browsing or bot-like behavior (multiple refreshes)
You should be presented with a Friendly Captcha challenge instead of being blocked directly
This ensures human users are verified with minimal friction.
๐ก Best Practices
Privacy
Friendly Captcha is GDPR-compliant and doesn't use tracking cookies
Performance
Lightweight and ideal for mobile and low-bandwidth environments
Custom Domains
Add both domain.com
and www.domain.com
to your Friendly Captcha project
Abuse Detection
Combine with IP Reputation and Request Rate in ShieldsGuard
๐ฏ Friendly Captcha integration offers the perfect balance of strong bot defense and seamless user experience โ especially valuable in public login portals, DDoS-prone environments, and signup forms.
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