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Re: CAPTCHA

for

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Nov 5, 2014 5:09AM

Greetings all!

Speaking for myself, I certainly appreciate all efforts in this space,
so if people misconstrued my wondering aloud about the remaining
challenges, that was not my intension.
My main point is that CAPTCHAs are one of the most difficult problems
to solve in accessibility and I value any attempt at doing so.

Being over-analytical is not always a good thing.

Cheers
-B


On 11/5/14, Tim Harshbarger < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> I appreciate this potential CAPTCHA solution being shared. I also think it
> is important to understand what the potential shortcomings of any particular
> solution might be. In this case, it sounds like this solution doesn't
> address the needs of users who are deaf-blind. Is that correct?
>
> I think that brings up an interesting question that might be useful to
> discuss here for the edification of everyone.
>
> Are there accessibility solutions for CAPTCHA's that work specifically well
> for users who are deaf-blind? Are there solutions that be combined with
> other accessibility solutions to try to improve the accessibility/usability
> disaster that CAPTCHAs seem to create? What kind of real world success have
> people had trying to solve the CAPTCHA accessibility problem? How many
> different ways can we solve this kind of problem?
>
> I understand that there is good information on why CAPTCHA's shouldn't be
> used at all. Unfortunately, I suspect many accessibility advocates and
> experts run into the situation where we can't persuade people to drop
> CAPTCHA. So, when we are stuck with a bad situation, what can we do to make
> the best out of it?
>
> Any thoughts?
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Clark, Michelle -
> NRCS, Washington, DC
> Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2014 5:16 AM
> To: WebAIM Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Towson University Gets Patent For Technology to Help
> Blind Internet Users
>
> Thanks for your comments. What I do not understand is why are the comments
> from others on this list so snarkey? We use thist to share, not to snipe.
> Right?
>
> Michelle
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Birkir R.
> Gunnarsson
> Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2014 3:36 PM
> To: WebAIM Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Towson University Gets Patent For Technology to Help
> Blind Internet Users
>
> It is always good to have more options.
> I hope we are nearing the era of fingerprint identification, codes
> sent to a registerred email address or cell phone number, or other
> more secure forms of identification where that is needed.
> At least providing CAPTCHA puzzles accessibly in two different
> modalities includes a lot more users than only one.
>
>
>
> On 11/4/14, Mallory van Achterberg < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>> So the blind are also deaf/hoh still can't use this, or does the
>> doctor have something for them as well that I missed in the
>> article?
>>
>> _mallory
>> On Tue, Nov 04, 2014 at 01:07:12PM +0000, Clark, Michelle - NRCS,
>> Washington, DC wrote:
>>> This came from the Maryland NFB newsletter. I found it interesting and
>>> hope it is for those of you out there working on the woes using the
>>> internet can bring.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Michelle
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Towson University Gets Patent For Technology to Help Blind Internet
>>> Users
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Team creates audio CAPTCHA
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Editor's Note: The following article from the Baltimore Sun shows that
>>>
>>> thanks to the efforts of Jonathan Lazar and his students at Towson
>>>
>>> University, we are making slow, but steady progress in eliminating the
>>>
>>> CAPTCHA barrier to navigating websites. Many Federationists
>>> participated
>>> in
>>>
>>> Dr. Lazar's CAPTCHA sound study. He has been a champion of an accessible
>>>
>>> Internet for the blind for many years. We look forward to seeing the
>>>
>>> SoundsRight CAPTCHA being widely adopted.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Description: Anne Taylor and Dr. Jonathan Lazar
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> (caption for image) Anne Taylor, Director of Access Technology, Jernigan
>>>
>>> Institute, National Federation of the Blind, uses braille and QWERTY
>>>
>>> keyboards in the International Braille and Technology Center for the
>>> Blind.
>>>
>>> Dr. Jonathan Lazar, professor of Computer and Information Sciences at
>>> Towson
>>>
>>> University, is working with her on a technology that makes CAPTCHA, a
>>>
>>> website security feature, accessible to blind people. (Kim Hairston,
>>>
>>> Baltimore Sun / April 14, 2014)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> By Carrie Wells, The Baltimore Sun
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> April 27, 2014
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> While blind people can browse the Internet through a variety of means,
>>> there
>>>
>>> is often one thing that stops them cold-a security feature known as a
>>>
>>> CAPTCHA that's designed to distinguish human users from robots.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> CAPTCHAs, in which a user must identify the letters in a distorted
>>> image,
>>>
>>> are commonly used to block automated bots from grabbing up all the
>>> tickets
>>>
>>> for an event, signing up for thousands of email addresses in a short
>>> period
>>>
>>> of time or unfairly swaying the results of an online poll. They have
>>> drawn
>>>
>>> criticism from advocacy organizations for the blind for being too
>>> difficult
>>>
>>> to use, but last month, Towson University
>>>
>>> <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/education/colleges-universities/towson-un
>>>
>>> iversity-OREDU0000148.topic> secured a U.S. patent for a new kind of
>>>
>>> CAPTCHA that's intended to be easier for those with limited or no
>>> eyesight.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> With Towson's SoundsRight CAPTCHA, users listen to a series of 10 random
>>>
>>> sounds and are asked to press the computer's space bar each time they
>>> hear
>>> a
>>>
>>> certain noise-a dog barking, a horse neighing-among the other sounds.
>>> The
>>>
>>> developers say it is superior to Google's
>>>
>>> <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/economy-business-finance/computing-inform
>>>
>>> ation-technology-industry/google-inc.-ORCRP006761.topic> current audio
>>>
>>> alternative CAPTCHA, citing studies showing that version's failure rate
>>> of
>>>
>>> 50 percent for blind users.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Blind people are capable of doing everything that a visual person can
>>> on
>>>
>>> the Internet," said Jonathan Lazar, a Towson professor who has led a
>>> group
>>>
>>> of graduate and outside researchers on the project. "We just try to come
>>> up
>>>
>>> with some equivalent features that make it easier."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Some people are unaware that blind people can use the Internet," Lazar
>>>
>>> added.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The SoundsRight CAPTCHA is still in a "beta" version, Lazar said, and
>>> the
>>>
>>> developers are hoping a real-world rollout will help identify any
>>> necessary
>>>
>>> tweaks.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Towson researchers worked closely on testing with the National
>>>
>>> Federation of the Blind, which is headquartered in the Riverside
>>>
>>> neighborhood of Baltimore. Anne Taylor, the Federation's Director of
>>> access
>>>
>>> technology, said there are several types of software available for blind
>>>
>>> users to read the text on a web page aloud. Taylor, who is blind, said
>>> not
>>>
>>> being able to use visual CAPTCHAs could impede a blind person's ability
>>> to
>>>
>>> enjoy the benefits of the Internet and hurt their ability to hold a job.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> A sighted person could help a blind user with the visual CAPTCHAs, she
>>> said,
>>>
>>> but the blind want to be independent on the Internet. Further, since
>>> many
>>>
>>> CAPTCHAs are on web pages that ask for personal financial information,
>>> she
>>>
>>> has concerns about privacy.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "The Internet is such an important and integral part of our daily lives
>>>
>>> now," Taylor said. "Just think of how many hours you spend on the web as
>>> a
>>>
>>> sighted individual. Would you really want to have someone with you all
>>> that
>>>
>>> time?"
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> CAPTCHA, which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test
>>>
>>> <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/science-technology/computing-information-
>>>
>>> technology-industry/alan-turing-PEHST00000279.topic> to tell Computers
>>> and
>>>
>>> Humans Apart, was introduced as a concept by computer scientist Alan
>>> Turing
>>>
>>> in 1950. The term was coined in 2000 by researchers at Carnegie Mellon
>>>
>>> University who developed an early Web page test program for Yahoo. The
>>>
>>> CAPTCHAs protect from automated hacking programs that can also leave
>>> spam
>>>
>>> comments on blogs, attack protected passwords and send junk email.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Tim Brooks, the chief software developer on the SoundsRight project
>>> since
>>>
>>> 2010, said the audio CAPTCHA can be embedded into any Web page and
>>>
>>> customized by the webmaster. Brooks said its script could be tweaked to
>>> be
>>>
>>> used in any number of different languages or have users identify any
>>> number
>>>
>>> of sounds. An organization for train enthusiasts, he said, could
>>> potentially
>>>
>>> have users identify the sounds of different types of trains.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The SoundsRight CAPTCHA is just as secure as the traditional visual
>>>
>>> CAPTCHAs, he said. Sighted users can use the audio CAPTCHA as well, or a
>>> web
>>>
>>> page could give the option of either a visual CAPTCHA or the SoundsRight
>>>
>>> CAPTCHA, he said. The only potential downside to the technology is that
>>> it
>>>
>>> takes about 30 to 40 seconds to complete, versus less than 10 seconds
>>> for
>>> a
>>>
>>> visual CAPTCHA, Brooks said.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "A lot of people don't have that kind of patience," he said.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Towson CAPTCHA project was the brainchild of then-undergraduate
>>> student
>>>
>>> Jon Holman in 2007 as a class project, Lazar said. In a 2007 focus
>>> group,
>>>
>>> blind users identified visual CAPTCHAs as the biggest impediment to
>>> their
>>>
>>> using the Internet independently. Several other students, faculty
>>> members
>>>
>>> and outside researchers have assisted in developing the technology since
>>> the
>>>
>>> project began.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "We've always done the evaluation with blind users at every step," Lazar
>>>
>>> said. "This was research that was done because blind users were telling
>>> us
>>>
>>> this was important."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The project was partially supported with a $50,000 grant from the
>>> Maryland
>>>
>>> Technology Development Corp., Lazar said. The researchers went through
>>>
>>> several different prototypes, rejecting those that weren't found to be
>>>
>>> secure enough.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The SoundsRight CAPTCHA is in use on the National Federation of the
>>> Blind's
>>>
>>> website, and the organization is working to encourage various groups and
>>>
>>> businesses to adopt it.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "We are all one step away from a sudden disability, so why not make the
>>>
>>> Internet an inclusive place for everybody?" Taylor said.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thank You,
>>>
>>>
>>> Michelle Clark
>>> Information Technology Specialist
>>> Section 508 Coordinator
>>> Office of the Chief Information Officer
>>> USDA / Natural Resources Conservation Service
>>> 1400 Independence Ave. SW.
>>> Rm. 1669-S
>>> Washington, DC. 20250
>>>
>>> O: 202 2609014
>>> E-mail: <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
>>> To learn more about Section 508, go to
>>> www.section508.gov<;http://www.section508.gov>;.
>>>
>>> "Because your own strength is unequal to the task do not assume it is
>>> beyond the powers of man; but if anything is in the powers and province
>>> of
>>> man, believe it is within your own compass also!"
>>>
>>> Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA
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>>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >>
>
>
> --
> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> > > > > > > > > >


--
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