# Captcha reading?

Category: accessible Devices

## Post 1 by kamalani (Generic Zoner) on Tuesday, 22-May-2007 17:49:21

Can anyone tell me a way I could read captcha registration if at all? Thanks!

## Post 2 by blbobby (Ooo you're gona like this!) on Wednesday, 23-May-2007 6:33:44

Here's a way that I've tried, with limitted success.
I have printed the page to the virtual printer in Kurzweil, and then read the screen in Kurzweil. It's very primative, but sometimes works.
I've also used this method for reading screens that are page images.
Other than that, I'd suggest a good friend. &LT;lol>
Bob

## Post 3 by SingerOfSongs (Heresy and apostasy is how progress is made.) on Wednesday, 23-May-2007 14:38:21

That does sound like an interesting idea there Bob. I'll have to try that sometime.

## Post 4 by kamalani (Generic Zoner) on Tuesday, 29-May-2007 8:21:05

Yeah. Good idea! I'll have to try that too.

## Post 5 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Wednesday, 08-Aug-2007 14:55:20

If i were you, I don't recommend getting a friend to help with that. That friend could get your user name, password, and any other sensitive information. I advise contacting the company you're registering with and explain your problem with varification codes.

## Post 6 by Reyami (I've broken five thousand! any more awards going?) on Tuesday, 21-Aug-2007 3:02:50

not just a friend, but a trustworthy friend, at that

## Post 7 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Tuesday, 21-Aug-2007 5:24:27

How would the friend get your password? They are always blanked out or masked on the screen so the actual letters in your password are not vissible.

## Post 8 by blbobby (Ooo you're gona like this!) on Tuesday, 21-Aug-2007 6:04:17

Surely there's someone you trust. Right?
1. Mom.
2. Dad.
3. Sibling.
4. Wildebrew. &LT;lol>
If there's no one in your life that you can trust, may I suggest a good therapist for your paranoia?
Seriously, Wildebrew is right, the password is masked, and, though there are ways of capturing the keystrokes you type, that requires that a person get control of your computer to put a program into your startup routine. Not an easy task for someone who is vigilant.
So, be trustful of someone who is trust worthy is my advice.
Bob

## Post 9 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Tuesday, 21-Aug-2007 6:10:39

aah *evil laughter* trust me, let me keep that credit card for ya, oh yes.
And, besides, on a more serious note, I can't imagine why people here are so freaked about people getting user and pass to their desktops, are they trading drugs or stealing Swiss bank account numbers.
People are welcome to see anything on my computers, sure there's logs and music and all sorts of stuff, may be something fairly personal (although I can't think of anything right now), I mean, people here seem to act as if they are running top knotch security things, so what if your friend (untrustworthy like Bobby of course *lol*) gets hold of your computer, what is that person going to do, go on msn and pose as you telling x you have a crush on him/her?
cheers
-B

## Post 10 by BrailleNote Nut (the Zone BBS remains forever my home page) on Tuesday, 21-Aug-2007 21:09:54

Well actually, I id have a socalled "friend" not really, a skype contact hack into my system, pose as me, and tell everyone in my contacts I wanted to have sex with them! He als said i hated them all, complete with audiofiles. Crazy,huh? And while this moronic idiot knows nothing about being nice to people, John knows how to be a moron, that's for certain. just thought i'd share that.
I wish yahoo had accessibility! cmmon, yahoo get with the program! I dont have kurtzwell how much does that go for?
thanks

## Post 11 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Tuesday, 21-Aug-2007 21:35:39

Well, I have friends I trust, but they are blind as well, so they couldn't see that varification code in the image. My mom, that's possible, but she might be unwilling. Even though the password is blanked out, there is a link "forgot password?" That link isn't there for nothing. If the one who reads the varification code to me clicks that link, that's a good way for them to hack. Also, yes, I do have some very personal information that I don't want others to find.

## Post 12 by blbobby (Ooo you're gona like this!) on Tuesday, 21-Aug-2007 22:35:50

As far as the forgot password thingy goes, they usually send it to you via email. So, the person would have to have access to your email.
If I have someone who is typing a captia for me, I'm standing right over their shoulder, because usually they have to turn off jaws to do it because jaws virtualizes the screen and that drives sighted people wild. If they start typing without turning forms mode on first the cursor bounces all over the screen: &LT;lol>.
Bob

## Post 13 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Tuesday, 21-Aug-2007 23:15:49

Thanks for telling me about the password being emailed to me. The downside is that my mom has my email password. I had to give it to her to fix the internet problem I was having.

## Post 14 by Darrell Shandrow (Generic Zoner) on Wednesday, 22-Aug-2007 1:11:46

Contact the companies in question and insist not only that they help promptly with your particular issue, but that they make their CAPTCHA accessible. Until then, they are locking us out from participation.

## Post 15 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Wednesday, 22-Aug-2007 2:53:17

I think that's one of the best ideas yet. I should contact the company in question, msn, and have them make their captia accessible. Not only for me, but for the blind community. If I don't fight for what I want, I won't have it. To all who posted, thanks for your wonderful ideas, and I'll try to work this out with msn.

## Post 16 by BrailleNote Nut (the Zone BBS remains forever my home page) on Thursday, 23-Aug-2007 12:28:15

Yeah thats the way to go! contact the company and insist we get what we want! an accessibile captcha!

## Post 17 by soaring eagle (flying high again!) on Thursday, 23-Aug-2007 13:41:21

I agree call the company we have a right to use anything on the net!

## Post 18 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Friday, 24-Aug-2007 14:59:58

Yes! Today, I finally got msn! My friend, dj dug, from the zone set it up for me. It works great!

## Post 19 by bharding (Generic Zoner) on Monday, 03-Sep-2007 14:36:46

What I think they mean that a friend would end up with the password is if you don't have someone there and you have them set up the account for you by calling them or something. That problem is usually easily fixed by changing the password after they set it up if you don't trust that they won't misuse it.

## Post 20 by Gilman Gal (A billy Gilman fan forever and always!!) on Friday, 14-Sep-2007 4:31:06

my mom usually helps me. either that or a really good friend.

## Post 21 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Thursday, 20-Sep-2007 20:46:22

I had a good friend help me set up my msn account. I met this friend on the zone. I trusted him with the password and everything.

## Post 22 by Voldemort (Account disabled) on Thursday, 20-Sep-2007 20:57:07

You can't trust anyone you meet on the zone. Another thing, don't always go to the company. You people sound like NFB. You got to realize that Captcha's are there for a reason. They're there to keep hackers out. You can't demand something. if you call the company, you get your issue resolved then great. It isn't as easy as it sounds to make a captcha accessible, and most administrators don't alwayus have the time to sit there and work with a blind person demanding things. I'm just saying, there're better ways of resolving an issue.

## Post 23 by YankeeFanForLife! (Picapiedra: king of the boards!) on Thursday, 20-Sep-2007 21:56:28

Hey man, why the hell are you going around all these boards, acting like and asshole? Like you know it all. Shit!

## Post 24 by Voldemort (Account disabled) on Thursday, 20-Sep-2007 22:22:26

Well, I don't. Just getting opinions and facts out there.

## Post 25 by blbobby (Ooo you're gona like this!) on Friday, 21-Sep-2007 5:27:12

Actually image verification is not the only way to verify that a human is on the other end of a computer.
A simple question like "which animal goes bow wow" would do the trick as well and could be read by everyone.
The web consortium has taken a position against image verification. Maybe someday I'll look up the link and post it.
It's just that companies are unwilling to think out of the box. "We'll do a captia because that's how everyone does it", never thinking that it provides real problems.
Bob

## Post 26 by Toonhead71 (move over school!) on Thursday, 27-Sep-2007 3:09:19

Yep, and I don't think anyone is being too harsh here. See, the problem is this...unless things have changed and I'm wrong, some websites not only require some kind of visual verification to set up an account, but to do a simple thing like change your password so, that friend who helped you, or anyone else for that matter, can't get in and do something. Of course if they were a really good friend they wouldn't do that but that's besides the point. The idea here guys is that popular sites lyke google and myspace and facebook use captchas, but they're using them for more than just setting up the account. So we need to at least let them know what they're doing is keeping someone who can't see from using their service, and especially for a site where you pay for a subscription, that's like turning someone away simply because they don't have the secret password to get in. what they need to do is offer more than one alternative than the visual one, like some other sites do, such as an audio captcha, or a challenge and response type of thing where, you are asked your secret question, and in order to gain access, you can bypass the captcha. or if a secret question method wasn't going to work, you could simply type in your e-mail address and the numbers and letters that appear could be either e-mailed to you or you could receive it as a text on your phone. See, these companies just do not think out of the box like Bob rightly pointed out.

## Post 27 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Thursday, 27-Sep-2007 12:29:30

Way to go dj toonhead. Captchas do cause problems, and these companies are keeping blind people away from their services. The only way things will change is if we do something about it.

## Post 28 by kl1964 (the Zone BBS remains forever my home page) on Thursday, 27-Sep-2007 13:21:54

Captcha is evil. It especially galls me when I've spent time painstakingly filling out a form, have everything ready, and the very last step is...enter the characters in the box below. Ugh! What I find interesting is that there was a time, up until around a year or so ago, when I thought the captcha issue may have been slowly dying away. In the recent past, though, I have found it to be as prevalent as ever. Bob is correct that it's usually companies not thinking outside the box. I also suspect it's the quickest and cheapest solution. That being said, I still say it's evil.

## Post 29 by mr. google (Veteran Zoner) on Thursday, 27-Sep-2007 14:14:52

it doesn't take much effort I wouldn't think to put an audio link up on these sites and it wouldn't cost that much either.
Kerby

## Post 30 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Friday, 28-Sep-2007 1:00:10

captcha, captcha. Just thinking of that evil, but protective way of preventing spammers, but evil, o so evil.

## Post 31 by Gilman Gal (A billy Gilman fan forever and always!!) on Tuesday, 02-Oct-2007 6:35:21

or have an audio thing that actually works!

## Post 32 by Voldemort (Account disabled) on Tuesday, 02-Oct-2007 10:09:17

No, but why would they want to put an effortinto putting a captca just for blihnd people? We're the low minority of theusers on the internet, and they wouldn't noticeif we weren't ablt to use their services.

## Post 33 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Tuesday, 02-Oct-2007 19:16:05

O yes they will. what can be done for the sighted should be available for the blind.

## Post 34 by Voldemort (Account disabled) on Tuesday, 02-Oct-2007 23:28:36

Well, it is, but maybe not at that site. And, who says it's not available? It's available, but you have to want to do it. There have been some suggestions made above, and you have to take them into consideration. You're not the only one around!!!

## Post 35 by Voldemort (Account disabled) on Tuesday, 02-Oct-2007 23:29:43

The sighter majority are what the companies are going for, not some fat, lazy, unclean blind idiot!!

## Post 36 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Wednesday, 03-Oct-2007 0:07:26

Well, if the sight doesn't have audio captcha, or they don't want to accomidate, well that's it for that site. There's no way on god's green earth that I'm letting someone sighted help me with captcha reading.

## Post 37 by Voldemort (Account disabled) on Wednesday, 03-Oct-2007 0:11:32

Wow! How about going to that company and ask them to help you with setting up an account?

## Post 38 by Voldemort (Account disabled) on Wednesday, 03-Oct-2007 0:12:30

How about not being so close-minded? WE CAN'T HAVE EVERYTHING!!!! It's not fair sometimes, but it's reality when we live in a sighted world.

## Post 39 by Reyami (I've broken five thousand! any more awards going?) on Wednesday, 03-Oct-2007 16:27:41

precisely what I said on another message board.

## Post 40 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Thursday, 04-Oct-2007 12:12:39

Well, talking to the company is my first step. If they aren't willing to help in any way, that's it for them!

## Post 41 by purple penguin (Don't you hate it when someone answers their own questions? I do.) on Thursday, 04-Oct-2007 13:49:18

Then you get other people to talk to the company. You can't give up that easily, or don't use that website.

## Post 42 by Voldemort (Account disabled) on Thursday, 04-Oct-2007 22:15:34

As has already been mentioned on this board. I am tired of going around in loops with you. If you speak to the company, and you treat them with respect, they have no reason not to assist you, especially if it is for a paid product.

## Post 43 by louiano (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Friday, 05-Oct-2007 0:07:43

Interesting, interesting Voldemort. look at your posts: 22 and the later ones... isn't that a bit contradictory? yOu say we shouldn't go to the company. We are not trying to sound like the nfb either. "for the wellfare of the blind and their independence, we always shall ask for a rebellion against capcha and should stay away and exclude by all means, the responsible inventors, creators and enforcers of such measure." that is more like it IMO. Anyway, the point here is that we, wehter deaf, blind deaf, blind, sighted, ETC. are all people. Things are suually created for the people and by the people. Just like in banks and other places by law, the contracts in print should be read or offered in an alternative format, there should be an alternate way to implement this for capcha as well. it is all like a person with a wheelchair. The screen reader allow the blind user to go wherever he or she wants, with different acomodations or alternate ways (ramps). However, as son as an image is present and there is no other way around, this functions as a stairway on this person's path. If you still don't get my point then do us all a favor and either improve the breaking capcha methods out there or just read all the capcha's for us will you?

## Post 44 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Monday, 08-Oct-2007 23:10:36

I totally agree with you louiano. We shouldn't let captchas get in our way. There may come time where the company doesn't want to assist. That happened to me and a friend. We asked the company nicely, and explained about the captcha, but the company wouldn't do anything about it. If that happens, now what. How can you get other people to talk to these companies, and who can you get to do so.

## Post 45 by purple penguin (Don't you hate it when someone answers their own questions? I do.) on Monday, 08-Oct-2007 23:14:57

As many as possibel. Most people arn't even aware of our problems with Captcha.

## Post 46 by ezziejc (The Bathroom Skyper!) on Sunday, 14-Oct-2007 12:20:13

you'll have fun if you try to contact MSN - they take weeks just to respond. I did have success with facebook though. On the side, when you sign up for messenger accounts about 50% of the audio capchas work.

## Post 47 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Monday, 15-Oct-2007 2:52:08

That msn captcha was anoying. Thank goodness the audio captca worked for my friend who signed me up.

## Post 48 by purple penguin (Don't you hate it when someone answers their own questions? I do.) on Monday, 15-Oct-2007 13:58:56

The audio is distorted just like the visual one. It would be too easy if we all are able to understand it perfectly.

## Post 49 by audioadict (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Wednesday, 17-Oct-2007 3:28:54

What I mean, when I clicked the can't see image? link, the audio wouldn't play. Sorry to be off topic, does anyone know of any free email services that do not use captchas? I'm asking this because my mom has my email username and password for my main email account, she has my hotmail user name an I can't change my msn name because my mom uses msn messenger and she'll kno I changed the user name. Sorry if I'm asking to much but my mom has gotten into my email twice and sent messages as me, and I wouldn't be surprised if she reads my email on a daily basis, and forwards the emails to others. I'd like any feedback on this.

## Post 50 by Siriusly Severus (The ESTJ 1w9 3w4 6w7 The Taskmaste) on Monday, 12-Oct-2009 23:40:22

I just get a friend or a family member. I have them read the image, tell them to get on with their life then enter my stuff.

## Post 51 by luckyluc20 (the Zone BBS remains forever my home page) on Tuesday, 13-Oct-2009 13:23:43

I've never been able to understand the audio CAPTCHA's on webpages. Have you tried signing up with webvism?

## Post 52 by cumbiambera2005 (i just keep on posting!) on Tuesday, 13-Oct-2009 14:31:07

Webvisum is really good, and is helpful on most sites. I have, however, run into a site that webvisum doesn't work on, on which i have no choice but to use the audio captcha. Luckily though, there's a link that I can click on that says can't hear the sound, and what that link does is it will download the file and play on winamp, and then I can keep playing it until I get it right. Also, I have been on that site long enough that I know what their normal captchas are supposed to be like, so i know when I have gotten it right because I know what to be expecting. Anyway though, to answer the question about email, I would highly recommend gmail. It is extremely accessible, and google is very good with assisting people to get their accounts set up. Or, you could get a good friend who has webvisum to do it for you. Or, you can sign up for it if this is something you encounter often. I know I run across captchas quite a bit, so webvisum works well for me most of the time. And, about the trust thing, you can't trust people these days, sighted or not, you can't trust anyone. I have even had a blind person that I thought I could trust go into an account, and when I turned my back, that person hacked back into my account and changed everything. So no, trusting is not as easy as you think, plus, there's not always going to be someone around to assist. So when in doubt, contacting the company is always the best thing to do. And even if they don't answer, it's always worth a try. So, I don't blame this person for not wanting to trust people, that is not always safe.

## Post 53 by Siriusly Severus (The ESTJ 1w9 3w4 6w7 The Taskmaste) on Tuesday, 13-Oct-2009 21:09:59

If they read the image first and then you shoo them off and do the image, then you don't need to trust them. Your job is just to shoo them off the sceen. Hahaha, I love the shooing them off part of it.
Yeah, Gmail is great, I use it, and you don't get much spam at all.
I understand the things okay, I just need to hear it four or five times.