A CAPTCHA is a security feature used on websites to differentiate between humans and automated bots. It ensures that certain actions, like filling out forms, making purchases, or creating accounts, are performed by real users rather than malicious programs.
Meaning of CAPTCHA
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CAPTCHA stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.”
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It was introduced in the early 2000s as a way to prevent spam, fraud, and automated abuse on websites.
How CAPTCHA Works
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CAPTCHA presents a challenge that is easy for humans but hard for bots to solve.
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Common types include:
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Text-based CAPTCHA: Distorted letters or numbers that users must type.
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Image-based CAPTCHA: Selecting images that match a certain theme, like “select all traffic lights.”
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Audio CAPTCHA: Users listen to a sequence of numbers or letters and enter them.
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reCAPTCHA: Google’s advanced version, which can detect humans with a simple checkbox (“I’m not a robot”) using behavioral analysis.
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Why CAPTCHA Is Important
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Prevents spam: Stops bots from posting unwanted content on blogs, forums, or comment sections.
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Enhances security: Protects login pages and online forms from brute-force attacks.
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Maintains website integrity: Ensures that surveys, polls, and contests are fair and human-driven.
Interesting Facts
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The distorted text in CAPTCHAs is designed using patterns that humans can recognize but bots struggle with.
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Some CAPTCHAs have been used to digitize books by asking users to type words from scanned texts.
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Modern AI continues to improve, so CAPTCHA systems are evolving to stay ahead of bots.