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Cover image for Securing React Applications with ReCAPTZ: A Complete Guide
Shejan Mahamud
Shejan Mahamud

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Securing React Applications with ReCAPTZ: A Complete Guide

#react #javascript #recaptcha #security

Meet Grandma Edna. She's 78 years old, runs a successful online knitting shop, and bakes the best cookies in town.

Life was good — until hackers started attacking her website.

Her shop, "Edna's Cozy Knits," was suddenly flooded with fake orders, spam messages, and Russian bot accounts trying to buy her hand-knitted sweaters using stolen credit cards.

Grandma Edna wasn't going to let some cybercriminals mess with her business.

She put down her knitting needles, adjusted her glasses, and said:

"Not today, bots."

And that's when she discovered ReCAPTZ.

Step 1: Grandma Installs ReCAPTZ

Her grandson, Timmy (a "tech whiz" who just started learning React), helped her install ReCAPTZ:

npm install recaptz
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Then, they added a CAPTCHA to stop fake sign-ups:

import { Captcha } from 'recaptz'; function SignupForm() { const handleValidate = (isValid: boolean) => { if (isValid) { console.log('Verified! Real customer detected.'); } }; return ( <Captcha type="mixed" length={6} onValidate={handleValidate} /> ); }
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Within minutes, Grandma Edna had stopped 99% of the fake accounts.

But she wasn't done yet.

Step 2: Stopping Spam Messages

Bots were spamming her contact form with messages like:

  • "Buy cheap Bitcoin now!"
  • "Hot singles in your area!"
  • "Prince of Nigeria needs your help!"

Grandma Edna had enough. She added a letters-only CAPTCHA to her contact form:

<Captcha type="letters" length={5} validationRules={{ required: true, customValidator: (value) => /^[a-zA-Z]+$/.test(value) || 'Only letters allowed, spammer!' }} onValidate={(isValid) => console.log('Verified:', isValid)} />
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The scammers? Blocked. Gone. Vanished.

Now, only real customers could ask Grandma about her sweaters.

Step 3: Preventing Brute-Force Logins

A hacker tried to guess Grandma's admin password by running a bot that tested thousands of combinations.

Bad news for the hacker: Grandma was already two steps ahead.

She added a CAPTCHA to her login page:

<Captcha type="mixed" length={6} refreshable={true} maxAttempts={3} refreshInterval={30} validationRules={{ required: true, minLength: 6 }} onValidate={(isValid) => console.log('Verified:', isValid)} />
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Now, after 3 failed attempts and every 30 seconds, the CAPTCHA automatically refreshed, forcing bots to start over.

Grandma's admin panel? Completely secure.

Step 4: Making CAPTCHA Senior-Friendly

Grandma loved ReCAPTZ, but she had one tiny request:

"Timmy, my eyesight isn't what it used to be. Can we make it easier to read?"

So Timmy enabled dark mode and audio support:

<Captcha type="mixed" length={6} darkMode enableAudio onValidate={(isValid) => console.log('Verified:', isValid)} />
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Now, customers who struggled with small text could listen to the CAPTCHA instead.

Step 5: Protecting the Checkout Page

Some bots were still placing fake orders, so Grandma integrated ReCAPTZ into her checkout form using React Hook Form:

Using React Hook Form 

import { useForm } from 'react-hook-form'; import { Captcha } from 'recaptz'; function CheckoutForm() { const { handleSubmit, setError, clearErrors } = useForm(); const [isCaptchaValid, setIsCaptchaValid] = useState(false); const onSubmit = (data) => { if (!isCaptchaValid) { setError('captcha', { type: 'manual', message: 'Complete the CAPTCHA' }); return; } console.log('Order placed successfully!'); }; return ( <form onSubmit={handleSubmit(onSubmit)}> {/* Form fields */} <Captcha type="mixed" length={6} onValidate={(isValid) => { setIsCaptchaValid(isValid); if (isValid) clearErrors('captcha'); }} /> <button type="submit">Buy Now</button> </form> ); }
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Using Formik 

import { Formik, Form } from 'formik'; import { Captcha } from 'recaptz'; function CheckoutForm() { return ( <Formik initialValues={{ captchaValid: false }} onSubmit={(values) => { if (values.captchaValid) { console.log('Order placed!'); } }} > {({ setFieldValue }) => ( <Form> {/* Form fields */} <Captcha type="mixed" length={6} onValidate={(isValid) => setFieldValue('captchaValid', isValid)} /> <button type="submit">Submit</button> </Form> )} </Formik> ); }
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The bots? Completely shut out.

Grandma Edna? Selling more sweaters than ever.

The Victory

After implementing ReCAPTZ, Grandma Edna's shop saw:

✅ Zero fake orders

✅ No more spam messages

✅ No more hacked accounts

✅ Higher customer satisfaction

Grandma celebrated by knitting a new sweater.

Timmy bragged to his friends about saving the family business.

The hackers? They moved on — but not before leaving a 1-star review that got flagged as spam.

Try ReCAPTZ for Yourself

If Grandma Edna can protect her business with ReCAPTZ, so can you.

Install it today: 

npm install recaptz
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Learn more:

GitHub

Don't let hackers, bots, and spammers ruin your website.

Take back control with ReCAPTZ. 🦾🔥

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