Humans can tell the difference between dogs and cats. Computers cannot. That’s the key to Asirra, a new system for accessing secure services and information, just released by Microsoft.
By Joellen Secondo
Most every internet user has encountered a box of distorted numbers and letters—
a Captcha (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart)—when signing up for an online service or posting a comment. Used to prevent automated software from gaining access to secure sites, Captchas have turned out easier for malicious computers to read—and more confounding to humans.
As a more secure and fun alternative—and one with an important mission—John Douceur, Jeremy Elson, and Jon Howell of Microsoft Research devised Asirra, in collaboration with Jared Saul, founder of
Petfinder.
With Asirra, users are presented with 12 images and asked to find the cats among the dogs. Each time it is used, Asirra randomly generates a new set of 12 images, pulled from a database of 2 million photos provided by Petfinder. The huge number of possible image combinations prevents automated hackers from developing ways to gain access.
In addition to providing online security, Asirra helps find homes for dogs and cats. The text, “Adopt Me,” appears below each dog or cat image and links to that animal’s page on Petfinder. So far, one individual has started the process of adopting a beagle he saw during a test session. Microsoft wants to know if other users adopt animals. Email them at asirra@microsoft.com.
It’s obvious animal lovers are behind Asirra. The Microsoft Research website admits that the system uses lots of screen space compared to Captchas, offering the trade-off, “But, look at all the cute kittens.”
John Douceur, one of the developers, has been a vegan for 17 years. His
personal page on the Microsoft Research site includes a gallery of cats he and his wife adopted.
Go <a href="
http://research.microsoft.com/asirra/installation.aspx " target="_blank">here</a> to download Asirra for free.