As we developed websites and apps, others developed automated programs, or bots, to infiltrate them, sometimes to hack, but mostly to spread spam or skew statistics. So developers came up with Turing tests called CAPTCHAS to eliminate non-human users. But the bots got better, and so the tests had to get better, in an escalation that never ends. Tom Scott explains the process. This video is barely over five minutes- the rest is an ad.
Those picture Captchas can be a royal pain in the @$$! I have gone through a dozen or more "Click on the traffic lights" or "Click on the bridges" before I could send a message. I have REALLY come to hate those things with a passion! Sometimes I just wanted to scream at my computer "I AM A %@&%* HUMAN BEING, SO LET ME THE &*<@#! THROUGH!!!"
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Google's reCAPTCHA v3 - it "runs in the background and watches what you do". You do realize the significance of that right? Especially if you're signed into your Google account and/or using the Google Chrome browser. Some people, at the further expense of their privacy, will get a free pass; others, not so much. Rumor has it Firefox users have an especially hard time. I'm a Firefox user and I agree. I can offer one hint when clicking on bridges and fire hydrants: The more obvious something is, the slower you should click. Act like a stupid human.
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