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Web Users Angered by Anti-Spam 'Captcha'

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the web-user-smash dept.

Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "Captchas -- the jumbles of letters that users must type to gain access to some websites -- are a growing irritation, the Wall Street Journal reports. But programmers hope to make new variations that are both easier to decipher and harder to crack. From the article: 'Some captchas have been solved with more than 90% accuracy by scientists specializing in computer vision research at the University of California, Berkeley, and elsewhere. Hobbyists also regularly write code to solve captchas on commercial sites with a high degree of accuracy. ... Henry Baird, a professor of computer science at Lehigh University who studies PC users' responses to the codes, has been working with colleagues to develop new generations of captchas that are designed to be easier on humans but baffling for computers.'"

14 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. What? by Alex+P+Keaton+in+da · · Score: 4, Funny

    I couldn't read the article. They wanted me to type CapTcha. Or was it Cap7cha? Oh well?

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  2. To read this comment enter the text by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

    HOT GRITS

    I prefer kitten auth.

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    liqbase :: faster than paper
    1. Re:To read this comment enter the text by alohatiger · · Score: 2, Funny

      Then we need Live Webcam Kitten Auth(tm)!

      --
      Bigtime Consulting - "We're the best because we cost the most"
    2. Re:To read this comment enter the text by GregStevensLA · · Score: 2, Funny

      Thank you for the link to Kitten Auth -- I hadn't heard of it, and it looks interesting.

      However, as others have pointed out, even image classification is something that (presumably) algorithms will eventually be able to simulate.

      Therefore, I propose that authentication take advantage of the area where we know (through science fiction, of course) computers will never be able to mimic humans: lust and desire.

      Introduce: Hottie Auth: Click on the picture of the hottest person in the following collage of pictures, in order to continue.


      (Users may need to select options like gender, orientation, and known fetishes so that an appropriate collage can be generated. But these are, of course, mere implementation details.)

  3. How about "shootcha"? by Otter+Escaping+North · · Score: 2, Funny
    How about "shootcha" - it's a reverse approach; you start out trusting, then use the shootcha approach to punish the abusers.

    I have a patent on it, of course...

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    Running Windows^H^H^H^H^H^H^H OSX and Linux in the home. (I don't have time for Solitaire any more.)
  4. 90% accuracy? Not bad. by joshv · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Some captchas have been solved with more than 90% accuracy by scientists specializing in computer vision research at the University of California, Berkeley, and elsewhere."

    Hell, that's better than my average. They are getting so cryptic, it seems I get them wrong about 25% of the time these days.

    -josh

  5. I often fail those Turing tests by Bromskloss · · Score: 3, Funny

    ..a script might do better.

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  6. Re:captchas discriminate against the blind by Rob_Warwick · · Score: 5, Funny

    Which is why you should /always/ use proper alt tags!

  7. Re:90% accuracy? Not bad. by aztec+rain+god · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not sure if cryptic is the right word

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  8. The human factor by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 4, Funny
    I wondered at the possibility of using a system that would require human intervention rather than AI for some simple reason of observation, like "Type the color of this person's eyes" next to a JPEG. The only downside, is you have to trust the average Internet user's ability to type "blue," so of course that plan goes out the window.

    If I wanted to be really sadistic, I could instead present site readers with a sentence, in which they have to fill in either "their," "there," or "they're."

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    1. Re:The human factor by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 5, Funny
      If I wanted to be really sadistic, I could instead present site readers with a sentence, in which they have to fill in either "their," "there," or "they're."

      Your a looser for even sugesting such a thing!

  9. Re:Different method entirely by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Which of these is a number: A 2 R P?"

    Or, even better, put it to music - and add a time limit!

    "One of these things is not like the others,
    one of these things just doesn't belong.
    Can you tell me which thing is not like the others,
    before I finish this song?"

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  10. Captcha Faux Pas by hyperizer · · Score: 2, Funny

    I got one from LinkShare once that said "r A p e." It was pretty disconcerting. I should have taken a screenshot.

  11. Re:Take advantage of colorblindness? by nuzak · · Score: 2, Funny

    > How do computers do fare against Ishihara colorblindness tests?

    I've never heard of a colorblind computer.

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