Encrypt email addresses being pulled from database before displaying on web?

[KitCarl]

I have a table with a standard email column which is inserted into the database via a form and an encryptedemail column which I have to manually complete by using the reCAPTCHA mail hide method. I'm looking for a method to automatically generate an encrypted email to display on the HTML page like the reCAPTCHA one and save me the work! Open to all ideas as there is probably a completely different and better way to fight the spam bots and I'm new to php.

[jcbones]

I do not understand your question, but I do find this persons suggestions and techniques work in cutting spam in a user friendly fashion.

[KitCarl]

I'm not worried about spam on the forms, I'm trying to find a way to make it hard for the spam bots to gather email information from name, state, email tables that users generate from the database. I would like to have an encryption method for the displayed email addresses in those generated tables on the public web pages.

[marcus]

Just turn their email into an image. http://us3.php.net/manual/en/book.image.php

[The Eagle]

Well you can try replacing like @ in the email.

 

<?php
$str = str_replace("@", "(at)", $post);
echo $post;
?>

 

So if somebody posts bob@bob.net it will show bob(at)bob.net.

[KitCarl]

Eagle, I was hoping to do it in a way that maybe they have to solve a Captcha or something first but when someone clicks on the link it will present the proper email address?

 

mgallforever, Huh? Did you see the note about being a beginner  That one seems way above my pay grade just yet as I haven't a clue.

[marcus]

Beginners have to start somewhere lol

[KitCarl]

mgallforever, Can you point to a site that uses the method you suggested so I can better understand what you mean, and maybe a slightly more detailed explanation. Work with me. 

[marcus]

Well it's a lot easier for spam bot scripts to parse textual data, rather than image data. Any simple script can find (at) and replace it with @ and get that person's email.

 

Using an image, or multiple images the spam bot script will most likely fail in finding information.

[KitCarl]

I can grasp the theory of why it defeats spam bots. How would I go about converting the email string into an image, then convert it back to a usable email link when the upon onclick of the image on the web page?

[The Eagle]

Well, you can look it to reCAPTCHA's email hiding code.

 

http://www.google.com/recaptcha/mailhide/

 

I think they have an API that may suite you.

[KitCarl]

Eagle, That is what I am looking to do, now if I only knew enough to implement it. I read the link and it is above my knowledge. If I had a td cell that presently was ".$row["email"]." any idea how I would go about recoding it to reach out to reCaptcha and return the mailhide capability using the info on that link you suppied?