“I'm not a robot”, why machines can't press this button

Page security is the main concern of website developers and a main mechanism for protecting pages from the entry of malicious robots is the CAPTCHA system, or better known to the vast majority of users as the “I am not a robot” button. As a filter to determine whether a person trying to access an online service is a real person or a bot.

despite of This model has undergone some transformations To make this distinction, initially it required recognition of the illegible text of a device, then recognition of different images was required, and now in most cases, all you have to do is click on the common box.

The truth is that for years CAPTCHA (Fully Automated General Turing Test to Distinguish Computers from Humans) They were necessary to stop elements that might try to clutter the page or be used incorrectly. This would be the case for a forum or website containing surveys and forms, which, if they do not have this protection, could be full of spam responses.

How CAPTCHAs work It relies on humans being able to overcome tests that robots cannot solve Easily, such as identifying distorted objects in images or solving simple selection tests.

Although these challenges may be tedious for some users, they play a crucial role, as detailed by Google on its support page, because Add an extra layer of security to accounts and services More sensitive, such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google Workspace accounts.

It is important to note that this verification system has always been completely free, and has been purchased by the American technology company since 2009. In 2014, it was updated with the launch of No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA,focuses on a mechanism that analyzes a user's past behavior on the web, using IP address and active cookies as key indicators.

This is behavioral analysis It includes mouse movement before interacting with the security systemHence the ability to distinguish between human and automated actions. This allows online activities, from logging in to conducting business transactions, to be carried out securely, preventing access to unauthenticated users.

However, this methodology Raised the privacy dilemmaBecause it involves virtual monitoring of the user's activities without his explicit knowledge.

In the 1990s, the Internet was a mess with spam flooding email inboxes and online forums. This did not happen until the year 2000 A 22-year-old named Louis von Ahn designed the system To control all this automated advertising by forcing those who access these sites to prove that they are humans and not robots.

And this is how CAPTCHA was born, A test in which you had to recognize written letters that are difficult to read In just a few seconds during the registration process. But it had a problem: it required a lot of effort from users for nothing, simply to prove their humanity. Therefore, in order to make the system useful, it had to evolve, and reCAPTCHA was born.

But some robots are designed to overcome traditional barriers, resulting in… Constant game of cat and mouse Between the developers of these protocols and the creators of malware. A scenario that emphasizes the importance of continuous updates and improvements to verification systems to maintain a significant advantage over automated access attempts.