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Google wants to beat the bots and kill CAPTCHA boxes forever – here’s how

Buying concert tickets online can be a real chore, thanks to the CAPTCHA tools that distinguish us from the bots seeking to snagging all the best seats.

However, given how adept automated systems have become, ticket sellers and buyers have become reliant on the checks that ask us to retype text or identify photos before checking out.

Google, which has already simplified the process with the “I’m not a robot” ReCAPTCHA tick box, now reckons it has a plan to batter the bots and rid us of CAPTCHA for good.

The company is testing an “invisible reCAPTCHA” that analyses how visitors interact with the app or website in order to distinguish us from robots.

Related: What does the BT Openreach split mean for you?

To help completely do away with CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) Google is using a combination of machine learning and “advanced risk analysis” that adapts to emerging threats.

“Since the launch of No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA, millions of internet users have been able to attest they are human with just a single click,” Google writes on the reCAPTCHA website.

“Now we’re taking it a step further and making it invisible. Human users will be let through without seeing the “I’m not a robot” checkbox, while suspicious ones and bots still have to solve the challenges. We’re excited about this and hope you will give it a try!”

Google is asking folks to sign up for the invisible reCAPTCHA trials today. Follow this link and select Invisible.

Have you missed out on gig tickets due to mis-typing a CAPTCHA before? Yeah, us too. Share your tales of woe about how you could have been front row for Springsteen in the comments below.

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