"A tracking cookie farm for profit" - report claims reCAPTCHA has caused 819 million hours of wasted human time, and billions in Google profits - Related to human, google, makes, profits, data

"A tracking cookie farm for profit" - report claims reCAPTCHA has caused 819 million hours of wasted human time, and billions in Google profits

reCAPTCHA tests are not particularly effective at blocking security threats, research states.

Security tests are also costing millions of hours in lost time for customers.

New 'invisible challenges' could be an alternative for businesses.

Well, it turns out that everyone’s favorite slight inconvenience isn’t even effective at preventing bot traffic, as a study called “Dazed and Confused: A Large-Scale Real-World User Study of reCAPTCHAv2” has discovered the tests have wasted millions of hours of time for internet consumers -but also generated an estimated $888 billion in tracking cookie data for Google.

The tests are virtually unavoidable. And are so widespread that individuals have spent roughly 819 million hours solving them, despite each test taking researchers an average of only seconds to complete. Bots are increasingly able to solve CAPTCHAs, and the tests may become obsolete - here’s what we know so far.

The analysis notes there are two common types of test, CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA - the first is the text-based challenges where clients decipher scrambled characters, and the second is a more advanced image-based approach which data pictures from Google street view, and in which clients are asked to select the image including a bicycle, for example.

When Google acquired reCAPTCHA in 2009. It used the technology to improve Google Street View by processing photos of house numbers and street signs, and to digitize Google Books.

But the CAPTCHAs are no longer fit for purpose, or at least, not in the way they used to be. The development of new AI tools means that CAPTCHA’s tests can be solved by bots, making them almost entirely obsolete - but only for the ostensible purpose of the tech.

By just 2010, there were automated services that could solve image labeling challenges with 100% accuracy, so reCAPTCHA tests are inadequate as a security challenge.

The study goes on to explain the tests, "wouldn’t make sense as a security service, yet it would make sense given that obtaining labeled image data is highly valuable and is even sold by Google.”.

Not only do the legitimate challenges fall short of protecting consumers, but researchers have observed fake CAPTCHA pages used to spread infostealer malware. Presenting serious risk for unsuspecting surfers,.

It’s not just about wasted time though, and as with all internet activity, the CAPTCHAs use energy - million kWhs, or million lbs of CO2 to be precise,.

This leads us to the ‘true purpose’ of CAPTCHA tests. These tests could be garnering huge profits for Google, which has potentially gained $ billion USD per each sale of its total labeled data set;

“The conclusion can be extended that the true purpose of reCAPTCHAv2 is a free image-labeling labor and tracking cookie farm for advertising and data profit masquerading as a security service”.

It is undeniably significant for businesses to verify whether individuals are humans or bots - to protect against DDoS attacks, data-scrapers. Scalpers, and more. So if CAPTCHA isn’t an effective security measure (and is pretty annoying for individuals), then what are the alternatives?

Well for now. CAPTCHA is virtually inevitable for anyone surfing the internet. However, there are alternatives for businesses, who can move on from the tests to something more secure and user-friendly.

There are now ‘invisible challenges’ which provide a much more user-friendly security solution for websites. With improved data accuracy and adaptability. These work by using complex algorithms and behavioral analysis to distinguish between humans and bots, all without needing explicit user interaction.

Whilst these invisible challenges don’t necessarily spell the end for a need for CAPTCHA, they can combine with the traditional CAPTCHA tests to deliver a much more seamless experience whilst providing more robust security for business websites.

To help keep your networks safe against bot attacks, we've also featured the best firewall software - which will help you by acting as a shield around your network infrastructure, and. Many will block harmful files before they can install and damage your system.

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DeepSeek AI draws ire of spy agency over data hoarding and hot bias

The privacy and safety troubles continue to pile up for buzzy Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek. After having access blocked for lawmakers and federal employees in multiple countries, while also raising alarms about its censorship and safeguards, it has now attracted an official notice from South Korea’s spy agency.

The country’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) has targeted the AI firm over excessive collection and questionable responses for topics that are sensitive to the Korean heritage, as per Reuters.

“Unlike other generative AI services. It has been confirmed that chat records are transferable as it includes a function to collect keyboard input patterns that can identify individuals and communicate with Chinese companies’ servers such as ,” the agency was quoted as saying.

Furthermore, this comes after a government notice asking different agencies and ministries to block employee access to DeepSeek over security alarms. Australia and Taiwan have already put such restrictions in place, and more countries are expected to follow suit.

The core issue is that DeepSeek is reportedly offering its ad partners open access to user data, which the Chinese government can also get its hands on. As per local laws. , the chatbot was also returning controversial answers to queries about culturally sensitive and contentious geopolitical topics.

Notably. The chatbot delivers different answers when asked the same question in Korean and Chinese languages. , the agency will conduct further tests to assess the safety and security aspects in the near future.

While security concerns have made headlines as the biggest concern with DeepSeek. Experts are also worried about the responses it can generate. In an analysis by The Wall Street Journal, the AI coughed up worrying information such as the recipe to cook up bioweapons, a Nazi defense manifesto, and self-harm encouragement.

In an analysis by fellow AI giant Anthropic, the organization’s CEO Dario Amodei mentioned that DeepSeek proved to be the worst AI model in their tests when it comes to generating extremely disturbing information such as the creation of bioweapons.

Just over a week ago, researchers at Cisco also tested it against jailbreaking tools across six different categories. And it failed to block every single attack. In another round of tests by Qualys, the AI could only muster a 47% jailbreak pass rate.

Additionally, then there are the concerns about leaking sensitive data and. Sharing it without any restraint. Cybersecurity researchers at Wiz in recent times discovered over a million lines of chat history containing sensitive information that was publicly accessible.

DeepSeek plugged the flaw, but. Its commercial uptake remains a topic of hot debate. In the US, NASA has already banned employees from using DeepSeek, and so has the US Navy. Moreover, a bill seeking a DeepSeek ban on federal devices is also on the table.

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Want YouTube Premium features for free? This app makes it happen

Youtube has been trying to push people toward Premium for a while now, dangling all kinds of benefits ranging from ad-free viewing to extra functions like downloading videos for offline playback and playing videos in the background while using other apps.

That all sounds nice. But some people are never going to pay to remove ads on YouTube. Lots of valid reasons for that, including the fact that Google likes to quietly hike up prices — so much so that YouTube Premium currently costs $ per month (or $ for a family plan that supports up to five family members). In this economy? No thanks.

One possible alternative is YouTube Premium Lite, which is far cheaper for the extra functions but still has ads. But Premium Lite isn’t yet available in the United States and many other countries. In that case, what else can you do? Well… you’d be surprised.

Turns out, you can unlock the premium capabilities of YouTube without paying for a subscription — in a way that’s free and. Legal. It’s all made possible by a free Android app called NewPipe, which you can simply download on GitHub (or on the alternative app store F-Droid).

NewPipe has everything that YouTube Premium has, which means you can watch YouTube videos without ads, download for offline playback, minimize and keep playing in the background, watch with your screen locked. And more.

In addition, NewPipe is a good option if you care about data privacy, as the app doesn’t use Google APIs and only saves the data you want offline on your device. That makes it lightweight and faster, too.

Battery consumption is also lower than with the official YouTube app, plus all the details you normally see (like comments, likes. Descriptions, etc.) are displayed as usual. There are no compromises here.

The look of the NewPipe app is also somewhat simpler than normal YouTube. But that’s purely a matter of taste. Some might even prefer the “tidier” experience on top of all the premium capabilities for free.

Apart from that, NewPipe also offers some of its own special attributes. Like data sharing with other devices. Even if you don’t care for YouTube’s premium attributes, these might be unique selling points to themselves.

NewPipe is essentially just a pure media player app that lets you access services like YouTube and. Soundcloud without logging into your own accounts. It streams data from those services, either via APIs or scraping, and presents it to you. It’s completely legal to use.

The app doesn’t interface with Google’s API, which is why it can’t be listed in the Google Play Store. However, it’s very easy to download via GitHub or F-Droid if you have an Android device.

That unveiled, even if the app isn’t technically illegal. It’s certainlyl a thorn in Google’s side. The enterprise may occasionally try to block YouTube alternatives like NewPipe, but open-source apps like this usually come back under different names and start working again.

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