A “CAPTCHA” is a Turing test to tell human and bots
apart. In other words, CAPTCHA determines whether the user is real or a spam
robot. It is easy for humans to solve, but hard for “bots” and other malicious
software to figure out.
reCAPTCHA is a free service from Google that helps
protect websites from spam and abuse. By adding reCAPTCHA to a site, you can
block automated software while helping your welcome users to enter with ease.
How Does a CAPTCHA Works?
CAPTCHAs were invented to block
spammy software from posting comments on pages or purchasing excess items at
once. The most common form of CAPTCHA is an image with several distorted
letters. It is also common to choose from a variety of images where you need to
select a common theme.
The internet and computers are made
up of a unique coding language. Computers find it difficult to understand
languages because of the strange and intricate rules human languages take on,
along with slang that humans use.
How CAPTCHA prevents Scammers
CAPTCHA has a variety of applications for keeping
websites and users secure. These include but are not limited to:
- Protecting
email addresses from scammers
- Protect
website registrations
- Protects
online polling
- Protects
against email worms/junk mail
- Prevents
dictionary attacks
- Prevents comment spamming on blogs
