Alex Mills

When it comes to spam and <a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging#Pingbacks" rel="nofollow ugc">pingbacks</a>/<a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging#Trackbacks" rel="nofollow ugc">trackbacks</a>, the vast majority by far is via trackbacks rather than pingbacks. Very, very few people use trackbacks for legitimate uses anymore (I’ve gotten less than 5 in the last 8 months) as WordPress, etc. all use pingbacks now as their primary ping method.
I had already installed <a href="http://ocaoimh.ie/cookies-for-comments/" rel="nofollow ugc">Cookies For Comments</a> which successfully stops most spam comments but I still had to deal with the tons of trackback spam. So, I wrote this plugin.
It will disable new trackbacks across your site, both legitimate and spam. However since very few people use trackbacks legitimately, this combined with Cookies For Comments should cut your spam down to next to zero.
Why should I use this plugin over one of those trackback validator plugins?
Most non-Akismet style anti-trackback spam plugins work by connecting to the URL that sent the trackback and looking for a link to your blog. The problem with this is that many spammers actually post links to your blog in their spam posts rendering those types of plugins useless. Even those that check the IP address to make sure it matches are beaten by spam blogs (aka splogs).
In the end it’s up to you what to use for anti-spam, but I personally use Cookies For Comments, this plugin, and then Akismet to catch anything that makes it through.

Disable Trackbacks

Globally disables trackbacks to cut down on spam. Very, very few people legitimately use trackbacks and spammers love them, so it's worthy tradeo …

WebberZone

Ajay

Spammers target old posts in a hope that you won’t notice the comments on them. Why not stop them in their tracks by just shutting off comments and pingbacks? <a href="https://webberzone.com/plugins/autoclose/" rel="nofollow ugc">Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks</a> lets you automatically close comments, pingbacks and trackbacks on your posts, pages and custom post types.
You can also choose to keep comments, pingbacks, or trackbacks open on certain posts, pages or custom post types. Just enter a comma-separated list of post IDs in the Settings page.
An extra feature is the ability to delete post revisions or limit their number.
Found a bug or want to contribute? PRs and issues welcome on <a href="https://github.com/WebberZone/autoclose" rel="nofollow ugc">GitHub</a>. For help, use the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/autoclose" rel="ugc">support forum</a> or <a href="https://webberzone.com/support/" rel="nofollow ugc">premium support</a>.
<h3>Key Features</h3>
<ul>
<li>Close (or open) comments on posts, pages, attachments and even Custom Post Types</li>
<li>Close (or open) pingbacks and trackbacks as well across all post types. You can also choose to delete them</li>
<li>Schedule a cron job to automatically close comments, pingbacks and trackbacks daily</li>
<li>Delete all post revisions or limit the number of revisions by post type</li>
<li>Exclude specific post IDs from auto-close</li>
<li>Exclude posts in specific categories, tags, or any taxonomy term from auto-close</li>
<li>Reopen comments automatically when a post is updated, with a configurable open window</li>
<li>Receive an email summary after each scheduled cron run showing what was closed or deleted</li>
<li>Block self-pings and custom ping URLs</li>
<li>Schedule the closing of comments, pingbacks, and trackbacks for the current post</li>
</ul>

Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks

Auto-Close keeps your site clean by automatically closing comments, pingbacks, and trackbacks—so you can focus on content, not cleanup.

Disable Trackbacks vs Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks