I thought you may like to know (unless I'm the last one to cotton on!) that a scenario we've theorised about on the ASRG mailing list for years is finally here, there's now at least one commercial service that will translate CAPTCHA's for cash.
I found the link (shown below) to a service that will decode captcha's for you for $2 per success. (Ironically it was in an ad served to me by gmail.)
So to anyone who ever proposed a spam "solution" that relied on differentiating between people and machines, and doubted us when we told them that the commercial imperative would be its downfall, read this:
That link: http://www.decaptcher.com/client/![]()
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I found the link (shown below) to a service that will decode captcha's for you for $2 per success. (Ironically it was in an ad served to me by gmail.)
So to anyone who ever proposed a spam "solution" that relied on differentiating between people and machines, and doubted us when we told them that the commercial imperative would be its downfall, read this:
We told you so, and it only costs two bucks a go!I predict much more of this in time, with costs falling as more competition enters the market, and I honestly think it presages the end of the useful life of the captcha.
That link: http://www.decaptcher.com/client/
