What is CAPTCHA? - Check Point Software (2024)

How Does CAPTCHA Work?

CAPTCHAs work by asking a visitor to a website to solve a problem that is easy for a human but difficult for a computer. In general, these tend to be computer vision problems. For example, a CAPTCHA may ask the user to enter the characters displayed in a blurred image or identify all of the images in a grid that contain a traffic light. Some newer CAPTCHAs ask the user to click in a box stating that they are not a robot and use various metrics to differentiate between human and automated visitors.

What are CAPTCHAs Used For?

A CAPTCHA is designed to differentiate between a legitimate, human visitor to a website and automated traffic. CAPTCHAs are used for various purposes, including the following:

Types of CAPTCHAs

CAPTCHAs can come in a variety of different forms. Some common examples include the following:

Blurred Text
Image Recognition
Audio CAPTCHAs
Math and Word Problems
Social Media Sign-In
ReCAPTCHA (“I am not a robot” checkbox)

How CAPTCHA Prevents Scammers

Scammers and other cybercriminals commonly use automated bots in their attacks. Bots can register large numbers of fake accounts, automatically interact with a website, and perform credential stuffing attacks. Without automation, these attacks are nowhere near as scalable.

CAPTCHAs help to protect against scammers by reducing the tactics that they can use during their attacks. While a scammer can still perform many of the same malicious actions, they require a human user to solve the on-page CAPTCHAs. This slows down the process, making these attacks more expensive, less profitable, and less scalable for scammers than they would be otherwise.

Disadvantages of CAPTCHAs

CAPTCHAs have their advantages. They have the potential to differentiate between human and bot visitors to a website, reducing the load on a company’s systems and protecting against various types of automated attacks. However, CAPTCHAs are not a perfect solution to the problem of malicious bots.

Some of the limitations of CAPTCHAs include the following:

Poor User Experience: CAPTCHAs require a user to complete a task before visiting a webpage. Since these tasks can be difficult and frustrating, CAPTCHAs can sour the user experience and cause site abandonment.
Difficult for Some Users: Users that struggle with reading text may find some types of CAPTCHAs difficult to complete. For this reason, CAPTCHAs commonly include alternative options — such as an MP3 speaking characters for the user to input — and are moving to more inclusive variants — such as clicking the “I am not a robot” box.
Technological Support: CAPTCHAs may not be supported by some browsers, screen readers, and assistive devices. This prevents some users from visiting a website protected by a CAPTCHA.
Ineffectiveness: CAPTCHAs are designed to differentiate between humans and bots. However, some CAPTCHAs can be completed by bots, defeating their purpose.

Bot Management with Check Point

CAPTCHAs can be an effective solution to one aspect of the bot threat. By making it more difficult for scammers to automate their attacks, CAPTCHAs reduce the scalability, effectiveness, and profitability of these schemes.

However, managing the bot threat also requires addressing some of the other security risks that bots pose. Computers infected with botnet malware can be conscripted into performing these automated attacks. In addition to automated browsing of websites, these bots can also be used for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against corporate websites and online services.

Check Point provides solutions designed to address these other bot threats. Check Point Harmony Suite integrates anti-bot defenses designed to identify the network traffic used by cybercriminals to control their bots. By identifying and blocking this traffic, Harmony Endpoint can prevent bots from carrying out these commands and alert on the presence of malware infections and begin the remediation process. To learn more about how Harmony Endpoint can help to protect against botnet malware and other threats, sign up for a free demo today.

As an expert in cybersecurity and bot management, I can confidently affirm the accuracy and relevance of the information provided in the article on how CAPTCHAs work and their applications in combating various online threats.

The article accurately describes CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) as a mechanism designed to distinguish between human users and automated bots. The method involves presenting users with challenges that are easy for humans to solve but challenging for computers, typically in the realm of computer vision. Examples cited, such as entering characters from a blurred image or identifying objects in a grid, align with common CAPTCHA practices.

The purposes of CAPTCHAs outlined in the article highlight their significance in addressing specific cybersecurity challenges. These include preventing automated account creation by scammers, ensuring the integrity of online polls by preventing bot voting, protecting against spam comments and reviews, and combating ticket scalping by requiring human interaction.

The article also provides a comprehensive list of different types of CAPTCHAs, ranging from traditional blurred text and image recognition to audio CAPTCHAs, math and word problems, social media sign-ins, and the widely used reCAPTCHA with the "I am not a robot" checkbox.

Furthermore, the article delves into the role of CAPTCHAs in preventing scammers and cybercriminals from exploiting automation in their attacks. By introducing a human element in solving CAPTCHAs, scammers are hindered in their ability to conduct large-scale, automated actions, making their attacks less scalable, less profitable, and more time-consuming.

However, the article also recognizes the limitations and disadvantages of CAPTCHAs. Notably, the potential negative impact on user experience, difficulties for users with certain impairments, lack of support on some browsers and assistive devices, and the occasional ineffectiveness of certain CAPTCHA types against bots are all valid concerns.

Finally, the article introduces Check Point as a provider of solutions for bot management, emphasizing that while CAPTCHAs address one aspect of the bot threat, comprehensive protection requires addressing other security risks associated with bots, such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and botnet malware. The Check Point Harmony Suite is mentioned as an integrated solution designed to identify and block malicious network traffic associated with bot attacks.

In summary, the article provides a well-rounded overview of CAPTCHAs, their applications, strengths, limitations, and the broader context of bot management in cybersecurity.