Google develops algorithm to accurately solve CAPTCHAs

Scorpus

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Google has discovered a method to solve CAPTCHA puzzles with high levels of accuracy, a recent paper by the company has revealed. When specifically tackling reCAPTCHAs, a popular implementation owned by Google, the algorithm boasts accuracy of 99.8%, posing questions about the usefulness of the puzzles.

CAPTCHA, which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart, is a test most often used on forms to ensure submissions are made only by humans. If Google's sophisticated algorithm can make a bot act like a human in these tests, it's only a matter of time before we'll need better CAPTCHA implementations.

Google's algorithm is good enough to solve these tricky reCAPTCHAs

The algorithm used to solve CAPTCHAs was primarily developed to read signs and house numbers in Street View imagery, allowing each image to be mapped to a location with greater accuracy. Surprisingly, the algorithm is more effective at solving CAPTCHAs than its primary task: when reading whole street numbers, it achieves 96% accuracy; it's 97.84% accurate at discerning individual numbers; and just 90% accurate at reading text.

Luckily, Google claims that they've found new ways to keep CAPTCHAs from being solved by bots. Vinay Shet, product manager for reCAPTCHA, says that "relying on distorted text alone isn’t enough", with the company instead looking to analyze the interaction between the user and the puzzle to determine what is a human and what is a bot.

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Someone needs to stab the maker of Captchas multiple times!!!, the amount of times I have literally given up from the failure of a job called captchas is beyond a joke, does your site not have many sign ups? wanna know why? BECAUSE YOU HAVE CAPTCHAS ENABLED!!!!

Captchas fail sooo hard at such a simple task, trying to make out what the word is and spending 10minutes trying to get it correct to register on a site is a joke I have wanted to burn multiple sites down for this reason and its the same reason why I dont have an account on certain site not because I dont want to but because the captchas make it impossible to register plain and simple.
 
I've always wondered, why don't they just put a simple image and say "what is this?", like a camel or something (or anything). I can see no reason why this wouldn't be more effective at stopping bots AND be a gazillion times easier for the user.
 
This only means that CAPTCHAs are going to be set to level 9 in the near future. "Please type the answer to the differential equation and the central argument of book 1 of Plato's Republic:"

Bots and their programmers shall fear the level 9 CAPTCHA. Because authenticity!
 
This only means that CAPTCHAs are going to be set to level 9 in the near future. "Please type the answer to the differential equation and the central argument of book 1 of Plato's Republic:"

Bots and their programmers shall fear the level 9 CAPTCHA. Because authenticity!

The next stupid captcha will be a math question that only albert einstein can answer like what is 99-C=9PB + 890012341YX that is greater than T0092X1122.
 
Beg to differ. Captcha, as a technique to thwart bots is wonderful, but sometimes the graphic is not clearly drawn and the criticism of unreadable is very valid. That shows the programmer didn't test the settings - - so bang the programmer, not the technology.

@bexwhitt comment is spot on too.
 
Btw: Shame on Google for the disclosure.

"Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you should"
 
Someone needs to stab the maker of Captchas multiple times!!!, the amount of times I have literally given up from the failure of a job called captchas is beyond a joke, does your site not have many sign ups? wanna know why? BECAUSE YOU HAVE CAPTCHAS ENABLED!!!!

Captchas fail sooo hard at such a simple task, trying to make out what the word is and spending 10minutes trying to get it correct to register on a site is a joke I have wanted to burn multiple sites down for this reason and its the same reason why I dont have an account on certain site not because I dont want to but because the captchas make it impossible to register plain and simple.

Google Captcha is ****. Simple Q&A keeps bots away, unless they are programmed for the answers specifically for your website. That or the game captchas are pretty decent as well.

When you are running a forum, captchas are a must have. However, as you have said a good balance between secure and easy to understand captchas is a key.
 
Er......? I'm not sure how to respond to that. If it takes someone > 10mins to solve a captcha then we have a problem with education, or more importantly, reading comprehension. If mindless computers can do it with 98 percent accuracy, we have a problem.
 
Er......? I'm not sure how to respond to that. If it takes someone > 10mins to solve a captcha then we have a problem with education, or more importantly, reading comprehension. If mindless computers can do it with 98 percent accuracy, we have a problem.

Not all CAPTCHAs are created equal. The examples in the article, for instance, are what I'd class as "level 2." They're easy; if it takes you any meaningful amount of time to solve those, the problem isn't with the system. However, some forum admins like to use "level 7" and "level 8" CAPTCHAs. Those little buggers are thorns in the side of anyone who's ever had the displeasure of having to solve one.
 
The pure letter scramble captchas I have come into contact with, all you need to do is hit the reload button, if you can't figure out the 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd puzzle you run into.

Google seems to be of the habit of finding ways to poke holes into a website's security.

Wasn't the recent, "we know what you're going to type before you type it", password cracker, Google as well?

All this does is give Google a big leg up to use bots to enter cloud sites, in order to find out what you can download from them. Turning that information over to the RIAA & MPAA seems like it could be the next logical step. Heretofore, those organizations had to solve captchas like the rest of us. So, goodbye net freedom, and cloud privacy, in one fell swoop.

As far as making it more difficult to sign up with more forums goes, for Christ's sake, how desperate is your need to spread your opinion around, that the time invested doing a captcha is a major setback.:p

Arguing with the regulars about Bitcoin and Windows 8 here at Techspot, is as much as these old bones can handle. Somehow, I have a massive aversion to the effort it would require to do it all over the web.

By the same token, I never post as a "guest", nor do I use the "ignore list". So...., Hee eye is, y'all, fire when ready!:cool:
 
Why is this news?
anybody with minimal skills and need for it could solve this anytime...
I bet many have done it... and offcourse.... you wont make it public to everybody...
 
Captchas fail sooo hard at such a simple task, trying to make out what the word is and spending 10minutes trying to get it correct to register on a site is a joke I have wanted to burn multiple sites down for this reason and its the same reason why I dont have an account on certain site not because I dont want to but because the captchas make it impossible to register plain and simple.
I agree that captchas are ****, but really, you need 10 minutes to type captcha correctly? You don't have to be a genius to solve it. Sometimes it lets you pass without entering the right code.

Captchas also suck cause people with certain disabilites can't enter it.
 
This only means that CAPTCHAs are going to be set to level 9 in the near future. "Please type the answer to the differential equation and the central argument of book 1 of Plato's Republic:"

Bots and their programmers shall fear the level 9 CAPTCHA. Because authenticity!

The next stupid captcha will be a math question that only albert einstein can answer like what is 99-C=9PB + 890012341YX that is greater than T0092X1122.
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This might actually be good news. They have realized that distorted, hard to read text is more difficult for humans to read than for a computer. I probably clock a 50/50 accuracy on them myself. Studies like these can get rid of the things that make it hard for humans and add things harder for programs.
 
It's a lazy afternoon and I though I would take as long as it took to solve Captcha -- after an hour I gave up! Captcha just make me angry.

For me, Captcha is absolutely unsolvable! I don't think I have dyslexia but I think there is something in my perception that makes Captcha impossible.

Especially when they mash rnmrnHIIHhrnvvw together, it is absolutely impossible for me.

If they would at least use real words, it would help.

I will boycott all websites that use Captcha. I have no other choice!
 
This might actually be good news. They have realized that distorted, hard to read text is more difficult for humans to read than for a computer. I probably clock a 50/50 accuracy on them myself. Studies like these can get rid of the things that make it hard for humans and add things harder for programs.
Sites that use "recaptcha", usually allow you another chance, either before, or after, you fail to solve the first one with which you're presented.

So, I've come to the conclusion that part of solving a captcha, is knowing that you can't solve "this one", and moving on, by hitting the "renew" button
....[ ]....For me, Captcha is absolutely unsolvable! I don't think I have dyslexia but I think there is something in my perception that makes Captcha impossible.

Especially when they mash rnmrnHIIHhrnvvw together, it is absolutely impossible for me.

If they would at least use real words, it would help.

I will boycott all websites that use Captcha. I have no other choice!
I have found if you renew the captcha that's stumping you, you will eventually find one you can solve. Websites may actually ease up on the difficulty, after you pass on one. (I think a site may be able to choose the desired degree of difficulty). In seems to me you might earn points, so to speak, by being smart enough to know you can't solve a particular one.

"Dyslexia" would give you a problem reading normal materials, and possibly spelling as well. Unless of course you know beforehand, how to correctly spell the word.

In any case, are you sure you're simply not in denial about needing glasses? A very real possibility.
 
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