27 Aug What is a reCAPTCHA form and Why Do You Need It?
We’ve all attempted to fill out an online form, only to be stopped at the end to verify we’re in fact a real, live person. Though these forms, called CAPTCHAS or reCAPTCHA, can seem a little annoying when you’re just trying to pay for your dog’s gourmet food subscription, they are important to protect the business’s website and the user’s information.
CAPTCHA forms come in many different varieties. Some ask users to decipher a line of text. Others ask users to identify specific image elements in a group of photos. They all serve the same purpose: verify that the form submission (or purchase) is real and not spam.
What is reCAPTCHA?
reCAPTCHA is Google-owned network of captcha forms. This network is arguably better than other versions of CAPTCHAs. Over 630 million websites use reCAPTCHA forms. Originally, reCAPTCHA forms served a greater purpose than just identifying spam. The mystery words deciphered were actually lines of texts from old books and newspapers. Users identifying the characters helped to digitize the writing.
Now, as reCAPTCHA evolves, it is better for another reason. Version 3 of reCAPTCHA runs in the background. It’s non-intrusive and doesn’t ask users to fill out questions or identify images. This makes the form, which is necessary, less annoying to users.
reCAPTCHA forms installed on your site analyze user activity as they work through your website. They determine whether or not the user’s behavior is robotic or not. reCAPTCHA forms also identify cookie information of the user. If the user’s actions on the site appear human-like, they will simply need to tick a box that says “I am not a robot” when attempting to fill out a form. If anything a user does while on the site is deemed “robotic”, the reCAPTCHA generates a test like word or image identification so the user can prove they are a human.
Why do you need a reCAPTCHA form on your website?
Having reCAPTCHA on your website can help protect you, no matter what the purpose of your website is. Here are a variety of ways the reCAPTCHA form can add a layer of security to your site:
- reCAPTCHA forms prevent spammy-form fills from bots
- They add another layer of security to online shopping
- They prevent attacks where hackers use robots to attempt to log into websites by repeatedly testing passwords until the right one is found.
- reCAPTCHA can prevent hackers from signing up for multiple email accounts to use to hack into people’s computers
When designing and maintaining your website, it is important to consider not only your security but the security of your users as well. You should be taking every precaution available to protect yourself and users against online hackers. If you need help adding a reCAPTCHA form to your site, reach out to our team to get started today!