Notes_Norton Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 This is off topic, but so many people on this list have a guitar website that it might be of some use. I hope it is OK to post this here (I have nothing to gain by it). If not, let me know and I'll refrain from any similar behavior in the future - (I promise <grin>) As many of you know, I've had a website where I sell my Band-in-a-Box aftermarket style and song disks since the mid 1990s (before SPAM was a problem). Posting my e-mail address was a plus for me then (I used the HTML mailto command). When the spammers started harvesting e-mail addresses, I installed a web form. The advantage was that the spam-bots didn't recognize it, the disadvantage was that e-mail address of the person sending the message didn't automatically show up. I put in a box for them to type their address, and the typos were few and far between. Well last week the spam-bots figured out how to get to my web forms. In a half day I got 178 SPAMS that were filled with nothing but links for products. Well to make a long story not-so-long, I found out how to hide my e-mail address. On my site is a link to a site maintained by the Carnegie Mellon University. Click the link and you get two of those squiggly words that the spam-bots cannot read. Type the words in the box (you actually need to only get one correct) and a click-able link to my correct e-mail address is displayed. I also found out that squiggly thing is called a CAPTCHA (for Completely Automated Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart) and if interested you can go to http://www.captcha.net/ to put one on your web site. It's free. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 'Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 'Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart' You are correct. BTW' date=' I copied and pasted [i']CAPTCHA (for Completely Automated Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart)[/i] from the http://www.captcha.net/ site. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyelcrrt1281733995 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 That's the first practical application of a Turing Test I've ever seen! and for the first time, I understand what my old psych prof meant when he said it measured whether or not a person or thing COULD think intelligently, and not a measure of HOW MUCH it knew. Thanks for giving me SOME use for my college education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 <...>Thanks for giving me SOME use for my college education. My pleasure ;-) 90% of what we learn in college is forgotten in a few years. We only retain what we use on a day to day basis. Examples: I couldn't begin to remember how to solve simultaneous linear equations or how to factor polynomials' date=' but I can arrange a piece of music and improvise good enough to make and audience and my fellow band-mates smile! And to me, that is [i']much [/i]more important. BTW, between my web host's installing of Brightmail on their server and the CATCHA I installed, my daily spam has gone down to about 3 per day!!!!!!!!! Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalfBlindLefty Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Hi, Lately I have seen an increase on bulletins stating that amongst others the MS Hotmail and Yahoo captchas have been compromised. Currently there is no evidence of what is being used as an engine (OCR, Users tricked to type them in before entering a porn site etc). I guess that is just a matter of time. So for now the captchas may suffice, I'm afraid their 'protection' won't last a long time. /Hans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 Hi' date=' Lately I have seen an increase on bulletins stating that amongst others the MS Hotmail and Yahoo captchas have been compromised. Currently there is no evidence of what is being used as an engine (OCR, Users tricked to type them in before entering a porn site etc). I guess that is just a matter of time. So for now the captchas may suffice, I'm afraid their 'protection' won't last a long time. /Hans [/quote'] True. I understand the old-fashioned CAPTCHAS (the ones with only squiggly letters) have been compromised. That is why Carnegie Mellon University started using squiggly letters with lines drawn through them. But I'm sure that in time, the spammers will figure that one out as well. By using the Carnegie Mellon University CAPTCHA to hide my e-mail address, I'm hoping that they stay abreast of the situation and make needed changes when necessary. But even if the protection is "just for now", it's better than none. The only way to stop spam is to make it unprofitable. And as long as there is a sucker born every minute, there will be people who send their money to spammers. So I'm afraid it is here to stay. And so we go 'round and 'round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalfBlindLefty Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Bob, I know the hacked version is the older one. It won't take a lot of time to get true the Carnegie Mellon University CAPTCHA I'm affraid. And yes again, protection for now is better then none at all. and for those 'suckers' I've met a few back when I was working as a system/network engineer. Replying to spam with the message " I don't want your mail " etc........... I had to tweak my contentscanner to filter his stupid replies......... Might just be a reason to write the "oh no, no spam blues" in Cm ... /Hans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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