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CAPTCHA design: color, usability, and security

CAPTCHA design: color, usability, and security
CAPTCHA design: color, usability, and security

Most user interfaces use color, which can greatly enhance their design. Because the use of color is typically a usability issue, it rarely causes security failures. However, using color when designing CAPTCHAs, a standard security technology that many commercial websites apply widely, can have an impact on usability and interesting but critical implications for security. Here, the authors examine some CAPTCHAs to determine whether their use of color negatively affects their usability, security, or both.

CAPTCHAs, color, Internet security, robustness, usability
1089-7801
44-51
El Ahmad, Ahmad Salah
e6e3d56d-a029-404f-aca6-14a8d54d2f43
Yan, Jeff
a2c03187-3722-46c8-b73b-439eb9d1a10e
Ng, Wai Yin
ab137c22-27ab-4c49-ba38-37f717fa4364
El Ahmad, Ahmad Salah
e6e3d56d-a029-404f-aca6-14a8d54d2f43
Yan, Jeff
a2c03187-3722-46c8-b73b-439eb9d1a10e
Ng, Wai Yin
ab137c22-27ab-4c49-ba38-37f717fa4364

El Ahmad, Ahmad Salah, Yan, Jeff and Ng, Wai Yin (2012) CAPTCHA design: color, usability, and security. IEEE Internet Computing, 16 (2), 44-51, [5959144]. (doi:10.1109/MIC.2011.102).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Most user interfaces use color, which can greatly enhance their design. Because the use of color is typically a usability issue, it rarely causes security failures. However, using color when designing CAPTCHAs, a standard security technology that many commercial websites apply widely, can have an impact on usability and interesting but critical implications for security. Here, the authors examine some CAPTCHAs to determine whether their use of color negatively affects their usability, security, or both.

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More information

Published date: March 2012
Keywords: CAPTCHAs, color, Internet security, robustness, usability

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 500862
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/500862
ISSN: 1089-7801
PURE UUID: e885e157-2a27-4720-8d0b-803aa3af5316

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Date deposited: 14 May 2025 16:50
Last modified: 14 May 2025 16:50

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Contributors

Author: Ahmad Salah El Ahmad
Author: Jeff Yan
Author: Wai Yin Ng

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