Why does Google throw up an error message when using scandoo.com?

General Topics
1

Hi malware fighters,

Now when I start to search using http://www.scandoo.com to get Google results with the scandoo linkcheck results, Google throws up an error message that I am a automatic search tool and I get the results only after resending with a copied captcha code. Is this deliberate by Google or just a bug?

polonus

2

That must be a new problem. I have the scandoo add-on in the
google toolbar and even that one comes up with the strange message.

3

Well it looks like google is fighting back against scroogle using google and stripping the ad content, etc. and it makes you jump through a couple of hoops before you eventually get redirected to the google search and not scroogle.

I too had to enter the captcha text string twice.

4

I don’t get the captcha. Maybe because I’m using Opera ???

5

But how are you accessing the scroogle search ?
To do so in firefox you have to add scroogle to the list of search engines to use.

6

This is all I get.

7

Ah so Opera can’t display the full page with the captcha element.

Are there any display settings or rather blocking options in opera that might block the creation of the captcha element.

8

This is what Opera’s error console shows:

9

I have ScanDoo on one of Opera’s Speed Dial pages. Since last Friday, I have been getting what you see in the first image below. I can not even get ScanDoo to work in the search box on the address bar nor does Scroogle work from there. But, Scroogle does work from Opera’s Speed Dial page. Image 2 shows the results.

10

Hi malware fighters,

The captcha after sending the search query with scandoo still is popped up by Google and now also follows a seperate redirect, I bet that spammers are able to break Google’s CAPTCHA with a <1% href=“hxxp://www.ceas.cc/papers-2005/160.pdf”>this paper from Microsoft Research on the importance of segmentation in CAPTCHAs). An example project based around accessibility has released open source captcha breaking tools: http://churchturing.org/captcha-dist/

They bring up good points about how accessibility is very limited by captchas. Captchas will not hold out eventually against the zombies: http://www.amirharel.com/2008/03/captcha-is-broken_22.html

polonus

11

Captcha isn’t the issue her but Google protecting its revenue stream as it said in the message your query looks like an automated request. I thing the bit about, from a Virus or spyware application, is smoke and mirrors to justify block automated searches not originating from a google url.

Interestingly today I did another search with Scandoo as the search and it went through without the message or captcha hoops to jump through. However it didn’t present in the same stripped out way as the Sponsored likes were there. see image1. So perhaps scandoo have come to some sort of agreement with google ???

See the same search using Google and my CustomiseGoogle firefox add-on in which I strip ads, no sponsored links.

12

Hi DavidR,

There was no bug, but it was a protective measure taken by Google. A lot of worms and other malware using asp/php exploits use the Google search engine to find vulnerable sites through requests like (allinurl:weakphpscript.php) when too many of these kind of request are coming in, Google will block that (proxy-)IP. So searching through a proxy can be kind of a nuisance when too many of mentioned malicious queries are being performed through that proxy, probably that was what happened here as well, because now the scandoo protection was removed again (scandoo, lenovo and Google work together there)

The captcha not being the right solution against this threat as I mentioned in my previous posting is additional information to demonstrate that the nature of the Internet is not such that easy solutions work, because there are parties on the Internet that do not abide by the rules (I mean the anarchic attitudes of malcreants, hackers, profiteers, pirates, and legit profilers, etc.),

polonus

13

I do not think blocking Scandoo had anything to do with Google’s revenue stream as ScanDoo does not remove Google’s sponsored ads. ScanDoo even rates those ads. First image below is a search I did today since ScanDoo is working again. Second & third images are from several months ago showing that the sponsored ads were there before this problem arose.

14

Ah, I’m getting my scroogle and my scandoo mixed up ;D it is scroogle that scrapes the cr*p from the google searches.

15

Yeah, that happens sometimes. :slight_smile:

By the way, I did send ScanDoo an email about the problem Saturday night. No response from them, though. Anyway, the important thing is than ScanDoo is working again … as is Scroogle.