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December 3, 2008 3:01:16 PM CST


CAPTCHAs

CAPTCHAs news stories

3 Stories

Anti-Spam Program Aids Archivists

Text unreadable by scanners decoded by access-seekers

(Newser) - Archivists attempting to convert aging texts into digital copies are turning to a trusted online tool used to block automated spammers, the BBC reports. Many sites that make users write out garbled words or segments of text as a means of proving they’re actual human beings are displaying texts from antique texts that need transcribing. More »

More about:  spam archive CAPTCHAs

OPINION

In One Domain, Anyway,
Man Still Conquers Machine

CAPTCHAs, where humans distill words from squiggles, hold line in spam war

(Newser) - Every web user has come across CAPTCHAs: wavy-lettered depiction of words you must retype as text. Most pay them no mind, but, Lev Grossman writes in Time , we should reflect upon completing one. They're one of the rare visible skirmishes in the largely invisible war between spammers and security programmers. But besides that, they are quite literally tests of our humanity. More »

More about:  email spam computer security cybercrime Carnegie Mellon University CAPTCHAs web email accounts

Gmail Spam Doubles, Duping Junk Blocker

Program touted to tell real email from spam 'defeated'

(Newser) - Spammers doubled junk mail from Gmail accounts last month and all but iced a touted spam-blocker, PC World reports. Gmail junk rose from 1.3% to 2.6% of all spam in February, overwhelming the company's CAPTCHA programs with spam from multiple accounts. "It's only a matter of time before (CAPTCHAs) are comprehensively defeated," one analyst said. More »

More about:  Google spam Gmail CAPTCHAs junk mail

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