Many of us remember the early batches of captchas. Annoying and sometimes next to impossible to get right. Googles "one click" captcha was a fresh breeze when it came. I'm not so sure anymore though. Now instead we have to use brain power to press 2-4 images in an AI quiz or said differently "help Google improve their ML data-set for free" which I'm not at all comfortable with. Isn't there a better way to fight bots? Could not the community make a FOSS alternative? How hard is this really?
Ask HN: Do we need Google captcha?
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Re: Ask HN: Do we need Google captcha?
#2It's worse than that. It fingerprints the browser, the OS, and a ton of other stuff.
I'd love to see a solution that's privacy-friendly.
Re: Ask HN: Do we need Google captcha?
#3To the extent that you'd consider non-Google alternatives, there are multiple different CAPTCHA services, and we at NetToolKit recently launched our own version called Shibboleth: https://www.nettoolkit.com/shibboleth/about
You can try out demos at https://www.nettoolkit.com/shibboleth/demo
While not open-source, the service is very affordable ($10 for 100,000 CAPTCHAs), and clients get to review user submissions to see if the CAPTCHAs are reasonable or not.
Would love to get your feedback on the service.
Re: Ask HN: Do we need Google captcha?
#4Are bots now advanced enough that transcribing obscured text is no longer a viable solution?
There's dozens of simplistic captcha libraries that serve obscured text. I can would rather transcribe a few letters much than complete a Google Captcha, probably faster, too.
Re: Ask HN: Do we need Google captcha?
#5To the extent that you'd consider non-Google alternatives, there are multiple different CAPTCHA services, and we at NetToolKit recently launched our own version called Shibboleth: https://www.nettoolkit.com/shibboleth/about You can try out demos at https://www.nettoolkit.com/shibboleth/demo While not open-source, the service is very affordable ($10 for 100,000 CAPTCHAs), and clients get to review user submissions to…
The maze one is interesting, but it seems it can be frustrating (because it didn't enforce walls when I tried, though I can see why it might do that)
Re: Ask HN: Do we need Google captcha?
#6Are bots now advanced enough that transcribing obscured text is no longer a viable solution? There's dozens of simplistic captcha libraries that serve obscured text. I can would rather transcribe a few letters much than complete a Google Captcha, probably faster, too.
They were advanced enough to do that 10 plus years ago.
Re: Ask HN: Do we need Google captcha?
#7I didn't even find Google Captcha to be effective, I still got a ton of spam coming through my web contact forms - often advertising software tools to bypass Captcha.
In the end I wrote my own rule based spam filters and that has been significantly more effective without tracking or annoying users.
Re: Ask HN: Do we need Google captcha?
#8> Isn't there a better way to fight bots?
Don't?
I mean, what are you trying to protect? If it's account registrations, shouldn't an email confirmation be enough?
Re: Ask HN: Do we need Google captcha?
#9My problem with Google Captcha is that I have to solve the "select all" window every time I check the checkbox, even when I'm logged in to Google. Maybe it's because I use Safari, but it's getting really annoying. What's the benefit of Google Captcha if you have to solve the captcha every time?
Re: Ask HN: Do we need Google captcha?
#10Over the past 2 years or so I've become incredibly skilled at identifying crosswalks, fire hydrants, traffic lights, and bicycles.
I don't necessarily mind contributing to googles car-driving AI, but the services that I've put this captcha infront of have seen a dramatic increase in spam.
I unfortunately don't know what the solution to this problem is but I would gladly contribute to whatever someone smarter than me comes up with!