1. The Identity of the Irritating 'CAPTCHA'
Distinguishing between users and robots in the online world is a crucial part of web security. In this process, 'CAPTCHA' plays an important role. CAPTCHA stands for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart," literally a completely automated public Turing test to distinguish between computers and humans.
2. History of CAPTCHA
CAPTCHA technology emerged in the early 2000s with the rapid growth of the internet. Initially, it was used to prevent robots from automatically filling out forms or posting spam comments by using simple text distortions. As security requirements increased, more advanced forms of CAPTCHA were developed.
3. Types of CAPTCHA
3.1. Text-based CAPTCHA
: It presents distorted text to users and requires them to enter it correctly.
3.2. Image-based CAPTCHA
It requires users to select specific images or identify objects in images.
Audio CAPTCHA: It reads characters aloud for users with visual impairments to enter.
Logic puzzle CAPTCHA: It requires solving simple problems or puzzles.
Interactive CAPTCHA: It analyzes patterns through user interaction to determine human authenticity.
4. Importance of CAPTCHA
War against spam: It prevents spam bots from automatically posting on forums or blogs.
Prevention of service abuse: It prevents automated scripts from abusing online services.
Account security: It protects user accounts from automated tools.
Data protection: It safeguards website data from automated crawling.
5. Circumventing CAPTCHA
Is there a way to bypass these CAPTCHAs?
There are representative methods as follows.
5.1. Bypass methods using APIs
You can bypass CAPTCHA using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to recognize text and convert CAPTCHA audio into text using a Speech-to-Text API.
https://github.com/dessant/buster
5.2. Bypass methods using AI models
Utilizing well-trained AI models to adapt to the randomness of CAPTCHA may be more efficient. You can use the 'Captcha Solver' at the link below or develop and operate similar models.
https://github.com/cracker0dks/CaptchaSolver
5.3. Utilizing solutions
You can use existing solutions. It is the least time and effort-consuming method with the advantage of no worries about maintenance. Below are representative CAPTCHA bypass solutions.
6. What are the drawbacks of CAPTCHA?
6.1. Service disruption
As a technology responsible for user authentication, CAPTCHA has a meticulous aspect to prove that the user is human.
Especially at the beginning of processes like 'sign-up,' which most users find the most fatiguing, it can lead to negative usability, ultimately contributing to increased churn rates.
6.2. Usability that excludes users
Contrary to the trend of 'Universal Design' that has been steadily advancing for the past decade (designing products that anyone can use comfortably regardless of age, nationality, gender, or disability), there is a regressive issue where CAPTCHA is impossible for low vision or visually impaired users. However, because CAPTCHA is indispensable for security, recent issues have arisen.
7. Summary
From the perspective of operating servers, you may prefer to introduce CAPTCHA as you may have experienced attacks from spam bots at least once.
Hashscraper is continuously researching vulnerabilities to neutralize spam bots to ensure the secure platform use of customer data and users.
So far, defense through CAPTCHA has been in a more advantageous position, but it is expected that artificial intelligence capable of easily bypassing it will emerge soon.
Also, read this article:
Automate Data Collection Now
Start in 5 minutes without coding · Experience crawling 5,000+ websites
