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Audio CAPTCHAs Cracked; ReCAPTCHA Remains Strong

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the captcha-captcha-chameleon dept.

Falkkin writes "Ars Technica reports that audio CAPTCHAs consisting of only distorted digits or letters can be easy to crack using machine learning techniques. This includes most of the audio CAPTCHAs currently in use on the Web. The reCAPTCHA team has discussed their new audio CAPTCHA, which is resistant to this attack."

9 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. I'm sick fo CATCHA by theaveng · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It was okay at first, but now it's reached the point where it takes me 3 or 4 tries to finally guess the letters.

    It's become more hassle than it's worth. Isn't there a better way to stop bots from getting accounts?

    --
    FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
    1. Re:I'm sick fo CATCHA by uglydog · · Score: 5, Funny

      trust me, his mom would be down for that. in fact, she handles multiple requests simultaneously. in the true multiple cores way, not the hyperthreading way

    2. Re:I'm sick fo CATCHA by socsoc · · Score: 5, Interesting

      A method I use is to put an input field with a name like "subject" in a contact form and then hide it via CSS. Then if that field is populated in the form submission, the server side drops the request.

      It isn't the most accessible-friendly method in the world, but once I started doing this, all spam submissions dropped out. It's not foolproof and it's just another step in an arms race, but I agree that CAPTCHAs have gotten out of hand. They are especially confusing to people who are not tech savvy and don't know why they are trying to decipher a spirograph drawing in order to do something simple on your website.

    3. Re:I'm sick fo CATCHA by X0563511 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, kudos for using CSS instead of javascript to hide it.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  2. Solution to AI research? by ashp · · Score: 5, Funny

    They should just make a CAPTCHA that requires strong AI to crack; we could make a great leap ahead in AI by letting the spammers solve all the problems for us!

  3. RECAPTCHA by EddyPearson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    People crack CAPTCHAs for profit. They either sell the algorithms to spammers or spam themselves.

    The thing is, if you managed to reliably crack RECAPTCHA, then you've succeeded where all the best OCR software on the market has failed (All Recaptcha's are words that couldn't be deciphered by existing software). At which point there's big bucks to be made legally selling the software.

    --
    You feel sleepy. Close your eyes. The opinions stated above are yours. You cannot imagine why you ever felt otherwise.
  4. Audio requred by law by tepples · · Score: 5, Funny

    In my crystal ball I see some fool who does not turn off the sound on the PC in an office.

    By law, offices of companies over a certain size must accommodate people whose disability requires sound to do their jobs.

    Unfortunately, history has shown that many people also still have digital camera's that make the *click* noise

    By law, camera phones must make the click noise when operated within some countries to help fight voyeurism.

    1. Re:Audio requred by law by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Insightful

      By law, camera phones must make the click noise when operated within some countries to help fight voyeurism.

      That's a great idea. However, we need a law for video cameras, too.

      I propose that by law, each video camera must be equipped with a prominent hand crank, and shall only record while the crank is being turned. Furthermore, as added protection, people with video cameras must wear a beret and carry a conical megaphone at all times while operating said device.

  5. Re:REPATCHA strong? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If you get it wrong, they'll temporarily start sending you captchas in which both words are known. The chances of a bot guessing both words correctly are minuscule.