[nfbcs] Accessible CAPTCHA

[Aaron Cannon]

Hi Ryan.

Not sure on the answer to your question.  However, before you decide
you need a CAPTCHA, you might consider a few things.  Most scripts
used by spammers seem to target standard software.  Automatically
spamming custom-built applications is a bit harder, though not
impossible.  Some spammers also seem to use tools that try to guess
what information might work in what form fields, though this is much
more rare in my experience.

If you are building a custom feedback page, like it sounds like you
are, instead of using a traditional CAPTCHA, why not just ask a simple
question with an obvious answer.  Some examples I've seen are "is fire
hot or cold?" or "What do humans breathe, water or air?"  Spammers
aren't likely to go through the hassle of building a custom
application just to spam your site.  It would be far easier to just
spam you manually, which they could do anyway, no matter what measures
you put in place.

For the past several years, I have been on the receiving end of a
custom built web form without a CAPTCHA of any sort, and a nice big
comments box just waiting for spam, and I have only seen one or two
ads come through.  The form in question is also linked to from Project
Gutenberg www.gutenberg.org, so it's not exactly hidden away on a dark
corner of the Internet.

So in short, before you go slapping a CAPTCHA on your project, I would
first consider whether or not you actually need a CAPTCHA, and if you
do, whether or not a simpler form of CAPTCHA might not suffice.

Good luck.

Aaron Cannon

On 7/14/11, Ryan Stevens <rysteve at comcast.net> wrote:
> Hello,
>
>
>
> My company is working on a feedback page for a new client website, and we
> will most likely need to use something CAPTCHA-esque to avoid it being
> overwhelmed with spam.  I did a little research and found an article in the
> January 2009 Braille Monitor reviewing an address given at our 2008 National
> Convention from Dr. Jonathan Lazar from Towson University concerning
> something called HIPPUU, which, in testing, was significantly more
> accessible and effective than standard and audio CAPTCHA's, for both blind
> and sighted.  Has this technology come to fruition, and if so, where can I
> find it to present to my managers?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ryan Stevens
>
>
>
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