Overcoming CAPTCHA: The Biggest Hurdle in Web Scraping

CAPTCHA is a method against bots accessing the website.

23:39 01 August 2023

Web scraping is one of the best means to obtain data on the internet. Many businesses use this method for market research, competition analysis, and brand improvement. However, it’s not all fine and dandy when scraping the web. You can encounter numerous challenges that may stand in the way between you and the needed information.

Some websites use additional layers and traps to catch all web scraping attempts. For instance, you may discover honeypot links only visible to your web scraper, which could result in your IP address being banned from accessing a website’s content if your scraper follows the honeypot link. CAPTCHAs are another major obstacle, so let’s see what they are and how to go around them for the best web scraping experience.

What is a CAPTCHA?

A Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart, also known as CAPTCHA, is a method against bots accessing the website. Since computer programs can enter websites, scrape data, and do it on a massive scale, website owners take extra measures to protect their websites from unnecessary server load. 

With a CAPTCHA, website owners ensure that only real humans can use their sites, thus avoiding bots, spam, and other potentially harmful scenarios. CAPTCHAs consist of tests only humans can pass. For instance, they present viewers with distorted images and ask them to select a specific object from those images.

Since traditional CAPTCHA solutions may not be sufficient in today’s modern technology, websites can incorporate various types of CAPTCHAs. There are even invisible CAPTCHAs, which grant access according to a user’s previous internet activity.

Although these may seem mindless tasks for any human, they pose a threat to bots and other computer-based tools, as discussed below.

Why are CAPTCHAs a problem for web scraping?

When you use web scraping tools, you use robots that collect internet data. As mentioned, CAPTCHAs are responsible for catching such bots that may adversely affect a specific website. As bots have difficulty bypassing these measures, you may not get the desired results. 

Moreover, the program may stop scraping the web or lead to a more complex experience due to CAPTCHAs. In some cases, CAPTCHA is the primary anti-scraping tool due to its properties and effectiveness. 

Web scraping bots rely on pre-written scripts for scouring the web and obtaining the necessary data. However, if they encounter obstacles, they will abort the mission and not deliver the desired results. 

Thus, you will need more than just a web scraper to ensure the best scraping experience and successfully delivered quality data. 

What solutions can you use to go around CAPTCHAs?

If you have already experienced CAPTCHA issues or want to avoid these scenarios, you should consider additional tools to help you on this journey. As bots may be unable to complete certain tasks independently, here are some solutions to help you go around CAPTCHAs:

Web unblocker 

As the name suggests, a web unblocker can help you eliminate all web restrictions, leading to a smooth web scraping experience. These tools are different than VPNs and proxy servers, which only hide your IP address.

An unblocking tool from a trusted provider, like Oxylabs Web Unblocker, can automatically manage a proxy pool of rotating IPs, execute JavaScript on dynamic websites, select the best combination of HTTP headers, cookies, and other browser parameters using AI, and automatically retry the request if it fails. In turn, this sophisticated process will make your scraping requests appear as coming from a real internet user and not a bot, as well as it will ensure uninterrupted access to quality data.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the future of the internet. You can discover numerous advanced tools and features to help you automate processes and make your day-to-day life easier. AI has advanced rapidly, and there are AI-based solutions you can use to bypass CAPTCHAs and freely go on with your scraping experience. 

Almost all AI tools have advanced image recognition properties. They can detect the images from CAPTCHAs and solve tasks quickly. Additionally, AI consists of machine learning systems that can remember solutions and solve math problems from CAPTCHAs for the best experience. By incorporating AI, you will undoubtedly bypass CAPTCHAs and let your scraping bots run without fearing them.

Conclusion 

If you need to collect data from the internet but don’t want to do it manually, you can opt for web scraping tools to help you reach your goals. Although these tools are efficient, they may encounter various obstacles, disrupting the data collection journey. There are many viable options, yet, web unblocker tools are the best bet as they’re specifically designed for block-free scraping.

CAPTCHAs are some of the main obstacles you might encounter while scraping the web. However, you now know some methods you can use to go around them for the best scraping experience.