[Software] What CAPTCHA means, why it is so important on the Internet and what types there are

[Noticias ALEJANDRO]

Specifically, here we are going to talk to you about what are known as CAPTCHA that many web pages use as an authentication method or access security system. The real meaning of this term that you have surely heard on many occasions is Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. We could translate it as a public and automatic Turing test to distinguish computers from humans.

What is a CAPTCHA
Well, this is a security system that has been with us for several years and that over time has become known as question/answer authentication. To give us a better idea, a CAPTCHA of these characteristics helps websites protect themselves against bots and spam that is responsible for automatic password decryption. Therefore, to protect the platform from all these malicious elements, it asks us to complete a simple test. This is used to prove that you are human and not a computer that is trying to access a password-protected account.

This is a method that was developed in the 90s and was designed by Luis von Ahna at the age of 22. He created this security system trying to alleviate the disasters caused by spam in online forums and mailboxes.

 

 

In fact, we can find different formats belonging to this security method, as we will show you later. Basically this authentication element consists of two parts. On the one hand we find a sequence of letters or numbers that is generated randomly and appears as a distorted image. It is also made up of the usual text box.

Therefore, in order for us to pass the authentication test and continue on the web, we will have to prove that we are human. To do this, the CAPTCHA gives us the opportunity to type the characters that we see on the screen, specifically the distorted image that we mentioned, and record them in the text box. To say that this is the most common authentication method and that we will encounter on the greatest number of occasions.

When is this security method used?
After everything we have told you, it is clear that these security methods offer a reliable protection system against remote digital inputs. In reality, what they achieve is that only a human being with the correct password can access the account and thus avoid automated bots. And computers are not capable of reading the information included in a distorted image and interpreting it correctly, a problem that only a human can carry out, and sometimes with complications.

 

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