A pain in the arse - Log In Procedures for CCBill sites

[rambux]

Log In Procedures for CCBill sites

I'm commenting about the recent trend of sites which use CCBill to demand a 'type in the cide', as well as the username and password.
Obviously it's an attempt to screen out non-members, but I thought the UN & PW served that prupose!
My latest complaint is with the 'tug-job queens' with the jerk pass-off network.
No matter how many times I type in the code, it keeps telling I've made a mistake.
I wrote and told them that if this persists, I will demand my money back. I've also told CCBill that in future, I will avoid sites which bill through them.

What do others think - has anyone else had problems here?

[Jeppe]

I don't agree with you completely here. Yes it's less convenient than the standard popup browser login screen, but this other method is used to prevent brute force crackers from guessing logins using special software to try hundreds of thousands login attempts.

It's the same principle used on many comments boxes and in registration procedures to prevent spammers from using software to post links.

Unfortunately this is something that we cannot avoid due to a small group of people who will abuse everything to make a quick buck.

But back to the main topic: As long as it is possible to let the site remember my login and password so that I only have to enter the random characters, I don't think it is a problem. And of course as long as the characters are readable! Everybody should include an option of getting a new image if you can't read the current one.

More info can be found here btw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captcha

[rambux]

Hi Jeppe - thanks for you reply. Upon reading it I see your point. At the moment I wrote it I was totally frustrated - and I found that the Jerk Pass Off code doesn't seem to work at all on internet explorer, but works some of the time on firefox.

Certainly I understand their need to do this - my problem is when you get sites like JPO where you have to keep feeding it in lots of times before it works. Part of the problem is that frequently, the codes are illegible.

I also want to add that I'm really enjoying the site itself - I just wish it wasn't so difficult to log in!

[Jeppe]

No worries :-) I could tell the frustration from your post, and recognize the feeling.

I think we can boild it down to this: Those sorts of security measures are justified in some cases, but webmasters should be careful that they actually work as intended and that it doesn't inconvene the average user.