CAPTCHA Verification Is Broken, For Some Blogs, In Various Applications

We're seeing a number of problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about various problems which involve CAPTCHA verification processes.

The symptoms are fairly diverse.

• Some blog owners report problems with commenting, on their blogs.
• Some report problems with high posting volumes.
• Some report problems getting abuse review requested, for their blogs falsely accused of hosting abusive content.

The reporting volumes, and perceived urgency, for each case, will vary.

The known problems involve various bX codes, issued in place of the CAPTCHA form.

• An unverified code is being seen, by people trying to post comments, on blogs using CAPTCHA screening.
• Blog owners are reporting various bX codes, when trying to post high volume blogs.
• Other blog owners are reporting "bX-niui1k", when trying to request spam review, from the dashboard "Deleted blogs" list.
• It's possible that there are other CAPTCHA applications, also seeing bX codes.

The audience observing the bX codes will differ - because the relationship of the people needing to use the CAPTCHA, and the volume of CAPTCHA use by the affected people, will differ.

People observing a bX code, when trying to post a comment, will be guests on blogs which use CAPTCHA screening - since blog members and owners are not subject to comment screening. CAPTCHA screening is optional for comment moderation, in general - and it's possible that many blog owners are not using CAPTCHA screening on their blogs.

It's also possible that only blogs which use the full page and popup comment forms are vulnerable, to this problem. The report volumes involving bX codes involved with comment moderation are low - and this will make affinity analysis difficult.

People observing a bX code, when trying to post at high volume, will be blog owners who post frequently. The reports of this problem are low to medium volume - possibly because many blog owners avoid posting excessively. This may be because we have observed that repeatedly solving a CAPTCHA will be inconvenient.

The people who report this problem are fairly insistent that this problem needs to be solved. Since the bX code is observed repeatedly (once for each high volume post attempted), by the blog owners affected, this case will involve the most controversy. Several blog owners have reported seeing differing bX codes.

People observing a bX code, when trying to submit an abusive blog review request from the "Deleted blogs" dashboard list, will be blog owners whose blogs were deleted or locked, spuriously, for abusive content (aka "spam hosting"). These people will post in the forums, and can be helped fairly easily, by our promptly offering a manual review, submitted to Blogger Support.

This case represents the most frequently reported symptom - but since the people affected can be helped with minimum fuss - and since this case is only observed once for each blog involved, this case will involve less controversy. This case has been reported, as noted, consistently producing the "bX-niui1k" code.

It's possible that CAPTCHAs are used in other unidentified applications - and we may yet have other cases to discuss, if the base problem is not resolved fairly promptly. Blogger Support is currently aware that there is a problem - and hopefully, where the problem lies.

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Post Editor Problems With Blog Owners Using Internet Explorer V8

We've been seeing a steady stream of problems being reported in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from blog owners unable to use post editor.

The symptoms are varied, in detail.

• Some can't get the cursor active, in the window.
• Others can't use the Preview option.
• Still others can't Publish.

The primary symptom, seen by many, involves yet another mysterious bX code.

In many cases, this problem has been forecast, for some time - and the blog owners should blame only themselves. Many of these blog owners are using - or trying to use - Internet Explorer V8, to maintain their blogs.

Last year, Google warned us that this time was coming.

We support the latest version of Google Chrome (which automatically updates whenever it detects that a new version of the browser is available). We support the current and previous major releases of Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari on a rolling basis. Each time a new version is released, we begin supporting that version and stop supporting the third most recent version.

Google stopped supporting Internet Explorer V8, in 2012.

As previously announced, Internet Explorer 10 launched on October 26, 2012, and as a result, we discontinued support for Internet Explorer 8 on November 15.

Recently, as part of an update to post editor, Blogger used code which is incompatible with Internet Explorer V8. As they continue to update Blogger, to remain compatible with newer browsers, they will continue this policy.

As time progresses, more blog owners, trying to use IE V8, will find problems with Blogger - with the problems not answered by Blogger Support. Blog owners using IE V9 or V10, in compatibility mode, will also see these problems.

If you are using Internet Explorer V8, you are way overdue for a browser upgrade. If your computer uses Windows XP, then you need to replace or update your computer. As an alternative, consider using Chrome or Firefox for all Blogger activity.

The solution, for this problem, requires your action.

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