[thelist] Preventing Malicious Login

Steve Clason stevec at topdogstrategy.com
Sat Oct 15 10:10:11 CDT 2005


On 10/15/2005 8:22 AM Tim Burgan wrote:
> Hello,
> 
>   1. What's the name of the image that is generated on some login
>      websites that make the user enter the numbers displayed within the
>      image into a text box?

The technique is generically called CAPTCHA, "Completely Automated 
Public Turing test to tell computers and humans Apart".
> 
>   2. What it is about these images that make image reader software from
>      detecting what's written within the image?

That's the challenge--apparently they aren't 100% successful: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captcha
(scroll down to "Circumvention").


-- 
Steve Clason
Web Design and Development
Boulder, Colorado, USA
www.topdogstrategy.com
(303)818-8590



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