Finally: Google Releases Consumers From the Scourge of CAPTCHA

CAPTCHAs -- those
combinations of
squiggly, helter-
skelter numerals
and letters
designed to make
the Web safer --
are tricky enough
that they generally
have been viewed
with loathing by
the very people
whose Web
experience they
were designed to
protect. Google has
discovered an
easier way to
discriminate
between humans
and machines,
relieving
consumers of the
burden of proof

G oogle on Wednesday announced the no-CAPTCHA
reCAPTCHA, a kinder, gentler way of distinguishing
human Web surfers from bots.
The new system requires that users confirm their humanity
by checking a box to the left of the statement "I'm not a
robot." A privacy statement is displayed on the right.
If checking the box doesn't work, a window containing
distorted text will pop up.
"Given how annoying CAPTCHA was, I actually think
this is a step in the right direction," Rob Enderle, principal
analyst at the Enderle Group , told TechNewsWorld.
Google also unveiled new CAPTCHA technology for
mobile users that requires them to match a given image to a
gallery of others.
How the No-CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA Works
Google's latest iteration of its CAPTCHA technology
relies on subtle cues, including how users move their mouse
to respond to the CAPTCHA box on the screen, artificial
intelligence, and advanced risk analysis built into the
CAPTCHA technology.
"I know you're human but tell me so anyway, just because"
seems to pretty much sum up this approach, which raised a
few hackles when Google first disclosed it in October.
"Interesting, but if the system has already determined that
someone is human then why even present the easy captcha?"
asked "Jono" in one of many comments in that vein
following the October announcement.
The new CAPTCHA might not work quite the way
users thought it would, however.
"From what Google has released," said Electronic
Frontier Foundation Staff Technologist Jeremy Gillula,
"it appears the new Captcha will work as follows: Google
analyzes all sorts of data as you click the 'I'm not a robot'
checkbox.
"If from that data they're still not sure whether or not
you're a bot, then they'll serve you a more traditional
CAPTCHA," he told TechNewsWorld. "So, they don't
know whether or not you're human until after serving you
the first CAPTCHA."
Google's All-Seeing Eye
Information collected for the CAPTCHA adds to the
massive amounts of data Google already has on users.
Google two years ago announced plans to consolidate
information on users across all its services, sparking an
outcry among privacy advocates and leading The
Washington Post to instruct readers how to close their
Google accounts .
"They've been collecting information on us for some time,"
said Enderle. "This is one of those rare instances when
they are using that information to make things easier for
us."
When its Captchas appear on other sites, Google will be
able to track users' movements only over the CAPTCHA
widget and not over the entire Web page, Google
reportedly said.
"Given the breadth of services they offer, I'm not sure this
'Chinese wall' means that much," Enderle opined.
Privacy Is Not an Issue, Maybe
Google "hasn't really invented a new threat to privacy
here," Gillula pointed out. "Analyzing keystroke and mouse
dynamics for identification is a technique that's been around
for a while."
Google already can track users from one device to another
without the data it will capture through the no-
CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA technology, noted Robert
Neivert, COO at Private.me .
"Our mouse movements are just another piece of
information among many, and they're probably not even that
significant," he told TechNewsWorld. "Overall, there are
much bigger privacy fights that are important."
In any event, the company "already has ... [user]
information and has many other ways to acquire it,"
Enderle remarked. "If you were worried about Google
getting information about you, it likely is way too late by
the time you click on the CAPTCHA widget."

Source;TechNewsWorld