[jaws-uk] Re: Thoughts on captchas
- From: "Rashmi Shah" <RASHMI.SHAH.TAGGART@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <jaws-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2011 16:00:23 -0000
I think audio capture as an alternative option for blind people which is
made available by various websight and to encourage websight provider to
provide such option.
Rashmi
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tristram Llewellyn" <tristram.llewellyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <jaws-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 5:36 PM
Subject: [jaws-uk] Re: Thoughts on captchas
>I know this isn't much help and probably provocative at best but here goes,
>I hope it will at least provide some understanding of the issues involved.
>
> The CAPTCHA is a test designed to tell a human and computer apart. It
> relies solely on the fact that there are certain tasks a human (properly
> equipped with senses) can only do. It has (incorrectly as it turns out)
> been assumed that all humans have the same senses, and that assumption
> that sight makes one human is therefore equally suspect.
>
> However one must consider more carefully what is going on before assuming
> this is merely a case of discrimination against non sighted web users.
>
> A CAPTCHA test normally taking the form of an image is displayed that a
> sighted human deciphers. Because what you get as an image a screen reader
> cannot decipher it and therefore neither can a user of that software since
> their screen reader cannot help the crack the test. Of course other
> software exists that aims to defeat CAPTCHAS is used both illegitimately
> by those who want to break into resources they shouldn't and those who may
> for legitimate reasons which to break a CAPTCHA just to get access to
> things. At this point we should be clear both groups described above are
> essentially breaking the CAPTCHA which is a test of humanness (albeit
> flawed).
>
> Blind users fall into this second category by using various software to
> effectively break a CAPTCHA that is sufficiently weak in order to do so
> (one such example is Webvisum for Firefox) The other approach is
> effectively to hire some eyes like the Solona approach where a human
> intermediary is used as a service to decipher the CAPTCHA.
>
> The problem philosophically is to genuinely find a test that a blind
> person met with a CAPTCHA can genuinely pass which carefully crafted
> software could not. When one begins to carefully consider what makes a
> person uniquely human over a distant internet connection it is actually
> really quite hard and therefore an accessible CAPTCHA is a tautology since
> by being accessible it no longer functions as an effective test of being a
> human..
>
> The only ways I have actually thought may be of any help are re-purposing
> technologies that are really designed for authentication like OpenID or
> using some kind of one time password system. Neither of these are really
> the answer however. Therein lies the rub, there really hasn't been a
> solution so far offered that really tackles it since blind people are more
> heavily mediated by technology in order to access the websites that use
> CAPTCHA it is in effect more difficult to tell them apart from a sighted
> fellow human using the same website.
>
> Apologies for the small essay but it may help people to understand why
> this problem seems so intractable rather than it simply being a question
> of nobody doing anything.
>
> Regards.
>
> Tristram Llewellyn
> Sight and Sound Technology
> Technical Support
> www.sightandsound.co.uk
>
> Mail:
> Tristram: tristram.llewellyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Technical: Support@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> General - info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Phone:
> Support line: 0845 634 7979
>
> Sight and Sound Technology Limited is a company registered in England and
> Wales, with company number 1408275.
>
> Sight and Sound Technology
> Welton House North Wing
> Summerhouse Road
> Moulton Park
> Northampton
> NN3 6WD
>
> VAT Number - GB 860 2121 66.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jaws-uk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jaws-uk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> On Behalf Of Jamie Cuthbertson
> Sent: 17 March 2011 15:18
> To: jaws-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [jaws-uk] Thoughts on captchas
>
> Hi there,
>
> I know that there's been some discussion of the issue of captchas on this
> list in the past but I'm looking for your thoughts on alternatives that a
> web designer might use.
>
> I'm currently working with a software developer who is considering
> introducing a captcha on their site but which, even with the audio
> alternative, is really hard to use. I'm sure that most folk will have
> encountered these at some stage.
>
> I fully understand the reasoning behind the desire to have these as an
> additional security defence but personally hate them with a vengeance.
> Having said that, my dislike of them isn't a particularly pro-active way
> of
> helping the company achieve their desire for increased security but at the
> same time wishing to make the site as accessible as possible.
>
> My question...does anyone know of any commercially available accessible
> captchas or similar security device that will satisfy both requirements?
>
> I also think that some people have mentioned that Firefox has some
> features
> that make captcha solving easier - if this is correct, what is it about
> Firefox that makes this possible?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Jamie
>
>
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