all-in-one privacy solution":["Proton Unlimited es una solución de privacidad todo en uno"],"Black Friday":["Black Friday"],"No ads. Privacy by default.":["Sin anuncios. Privacidad por defecto."],"People before profits":["Primero las personas, luego los beneficios"],"Security through transparency":["Seguridad con transparencia"],"The best Proton Mail ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } deals":["Las mejores ofertas de Proton Mail en el ${ BLACK_FRIDAY }"],"The world’s only community- supported email service":["El único servicio de correo electrónico del mundo financiado por la comunidad"]},"specialoffer:limited":{"${ hours } hour":["${ hours } hora","${ hours } horas"],"${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } and ${ secondsLeft } left":["Tiempo restante: ${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } y ${ secondsLeft }"],"${ minutes } minute":["${ minutes } minuto","${ minutes } minutos"],"${ seconds } second":["${ seconds } segundo","${ seconds } segundos"],"Limited time offer":["Oferta por tiempo limitado"]},"specialoffer:listitem":{"Create multiple addresses":["Cree múltiples direcciones"],"Hide-my-email aliases":["Seudónimos de hide-my-email"],"Quickly unsubscribe from newsletters":["Cancele suscripciones a boletines rápidamente"],"Use your own domain name":["Use su propio dominio"]},"specialoffer:logos":{"As featured in":["Tal como aparece en"]},"specialoffer:metadescription":{"Get an encrypted email that protects your privacy":["Obtenga un correo electrónico cifrado que protege su privacidad"]},"specialoffer:metatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Up to 40% off":["Oferta de Black Friday de Proton Mail: hasta un 40% de descuento"]},"specialoffer:newmetadescription":{"Get up to 40% off Proton Mail subscriptions this Black Friday. Find great deals on our secure end-to-end encrypted email plans.":["Aproveche las rebajas de Black Friday y obtenga suscripciones de Proton Mail con hasta un 40 % de descuento. Encontrará las mejores ofertas en planes de correo electrónico seguro cifrado de extremo a extremo."]},"specialoffer:newmetatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday sale | Up to 40% off secure email":["Rebajas de Black Friday en Proton Mail | Hasta un 40 % de descuento en correo electrónico seguro"]},"specialoffer:note":{"* Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["*Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante el primer año"],"*Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["*Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante los primeros 2 años"],"30-day money-back guarantee":["Garantía de devolución de dinero de 30 días"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante los primeros 2 años"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante el primer año"],"You save ${ SAVE_SUM }":["Ahorre ${ SAVE_SUM }"]},"specialoffer:off":{"${ PERCENT_OFF } off":["-${ PERCENT_OFF }"]},"specialoffer:testimonial":{"I love my ProtonMail":["Amo mi Proton Mail"],"My favorite email service":["Mi servicio de correo electrónico favorito"],"Thanks Proton for keeping us all safe in the complicated internet universe.":["Gracias Proton por mantenernos a salvo en el complicado universo de Internet."],"You get what you pay for. In the case of big tech, if you pay nothing, you get used. I quit using Gmail and switched to @ProtonMail":["Obtiene aquello por lo que paga. En el caso de la gran tecnología, cuando uno no paga nada, se acostumbra. Dejé de usar Gmail y cambié a @ProtonMail"]},"specialoffer:time":{"Days":["Días"],"Hours":["Horas"],"Min":["min"]},"specialoffer:title":{"And much more":["Y mucho más"],"Safe from trackers":["A salvo de rastreadores"],"Stay organized":["Mantenga todo en orden"],"Black Friday email deals":["Ofertas en correo electrónico del Black Friday"],"Don’t just take our word for it":["No confíe solo en nuestra palabra"],"Make your inbox yours":["Tome posesión de su bandeja de entrada"],"Our story":["Nuestra historia"],"Transfer your data from Google in one click":["Transfiera sus datos de Google con un solo clic"]},"specialoffer:tooltip":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES }+ countries, connect up to 10 devices, access worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Acceda a contenidos bloqueados y navegue de forma privada. Incluye más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES } países, se conecta con hasta 10 dispositivos, accede a servicios de transmisión de todo el mundo, bloquea malware y publicidad y mucho más."],"Easily share your calendar with your family, friends or colleagues, and view external calendars.":["Comparta su calendario con familiares, amigos y compañeros fácilmente y consulte calendarios externos."],"Includes support for 1 custom email domain, 10 email addresses, 10 hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Incluye compatibilidad con 1 dominio de correo electrónico personalizado, 10 direcciones de correo electrónico, 10 seudónimos de hide-my-email, posibilidad de compartir calendario, etc."],"Includes support for 3 custom email domains, 15 email addresses, unlimited hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Incluye compatibilidad con 3 dominios de correo electrónico personalizado, 15 direcciones de correo electrónico, seudónimos ilimitados de hide-my-email, posibilidad de compartir calendario, etc."],"Manage up to 25 calendars, mobile apps, secured with end-to-end encryption, 1-click calendar import from Google, and more.":["Administre hasta 25 calendarios, apps móviles, protegido con cifrado de extremo a extremo, importación de calendario con 1 clic desde Google y más."]},"Status banner":{"Learn more":["Más información"],"Please note that at the moment we are experiencing issues with the ${ issues[0] } service.":["Tenga en cuenta que, en este momento, estamos experimentando problemas con el servicio ${ issues[0] }."],"We are experiencing issues with one or more services at the moment.":["En este momento, tenemos problemas con uno o más servicios."]},"Status Banner":{"At the moment we are experiencing issues with the Proton VPN service":["En este momento, tenemos problemas con el servicio Proton VPN."],"Learn more":["Más información"]},"steps":{"Step":["Paso"]},"suggestions":{"Suggestions":["Sugerencias"]},"Support":{"Sub category":["Subacategoria","Subcategorías"]},"Support article":{"${ readingTime } min":["${ readingTime } minuto","${ readingTime } minutos"],"Category":["Categoría","Categorías"],"Didn’t find what you were looking for?":["¿No encontró lo que buscaba?"],"General contact":["Contacto general"],"Get help":["Obtener ayuda"],"Legal contact":["Contacto legal"],"Media contact":["Contacto para medios"],"Partnerships contact":["Contacto para colaboradores"],"Reading":["Lectura"]},"Support Form Platform option":{"VPN for Android TV":["VPN para Android TV"],"VPN for Apple TV":["VPN para Apple TV"],"VPN for Chromebook":["VPN para Chromebook"]},"Support troubleshooting":{"App version":["Versión de la app"],"Browser":["Navegador"],"Check if this helps":["Compruebe si le sirve"],"Choose a product":["Elija un producto"],"Did this solve your issue?":["¿Le ha resultado útil para resolver el problema?"],"Faster assistance is just a few clicks away":["Solo le separan unos clics de una asistencia más rápida"],"How can we help?":["¿Cómo podemos ayudarle?"],"No, contact support":["No, contactar a soporte"],"Please fill out one field after another":["Complete un campo después de otro"],"Please make your selections":["Realice sus selecciones"],"Proton account":["Cuenta de Proton"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Thank you for your feedback":["Gracias por sus comentarios"],"What can we help with?":["¿En qué podemos ayudarle?"],"Yes":["Sí"]},"support_modal_search_query":{"Search query":["Consulta"]},"support_search_button":{"Search":["Buscar"]},"support_search_i_am_looking_for":{"I'm looking for":["Busco"]},"SupportForm":{"For a faster resolution, please report the issue from the Bridge app: Help > Report a problem.":["Para una resolución más rápida, reporte el problema desde la app Bridge: Ayuda > Reportar un problema."],"Information":["Información"]},"SupportForm:option":{"Account Security":["Seguridad de la cuenta"],"Contacts":["Contactos"],"Custom email domain":["Dominio de correo electrónico personalizado"],"Email delivery and Spam":["Entrega de correo electrónico y spam"],"Encryption":["Cifrado"],"Login and password":["Inicio de sesión y contraseña"],"Merge aliases and accounts":["Combinar alias y cuentas"],"Migrate to Proton":["Migrar a Proton"],"Notifications":["Notificaciones"],"Other":["Otros"],"Plans and billing":["Planes y facturación"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Sign up":["Regístrese"],"Storage":["Almacenamiento"],"Users, addresses, and identities":["Usuarios, direcciones e identidades"]},"SupportForm:optionIntro":{"Select a topic":["Seleccione un tema"]},"Testimonial":{"Awards":["Premios"],"Customers":["Clientes"],"Featured":["Destacados"],"Go to testimonial source":["Ir a la fuente testimonial"],"Open source of award":["Abrir fuente del premio"],"Open source of quote":["Abrir fuente de la cita"],"Reviews":["Reseñas"],"Videos":["Videos"],"Watch on TikTok":["Ver en TikTok"],"Watch on YouTube":["Ver en YouTube"]},"TestimonialCategory":{"Awards":["Premios"],"Customers":["Clientes"],"Featured":["Destacados"],"Media":["Medios"],"Reviews":["Reseñas"],"Videos":["Videos"]},"Text":{"If you need help, check out our ${ supportLink }.":["Si necesita ayuda, consulte nuestra ${ supportLink }."],"The page you’re looking for might have been removed, or it could be an\nold link.":["Es posible que la página que busca haya sido eliminada o que sea un\nenlace antiguo."],"Your question may already have an answer in our knowledge base:":["Puede que haya respuesta a su pregunta en nuestra base de conocimientos:"]},"Title":{"On this page":["En esta página"],"Related articles":["Artículos relacionados"],"Share ${ thisPage }":["Compartir ${ thisPage }"],"Switch to Proton Pass - Contact us":["Cambie a Proton Pass - Contáctenos"],"Thank you!":["¡Gracias!"],"this page":["esta página"]},"tooltip_vpn":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES }+ countries, highest VPN speed, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } VPN connections, worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Acceda a contenidos bloqueados y navegue de forma privada. Incluye más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES } países, la mayor velocidad VPN, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } conexiones VPN, servicios de transmisión en todo el mundo, bloqueador de malware y publicidad y mucho más."]},"vpn_servers":{"Get Proton VPN Plus":["Obtener Proton VPN Plus"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Action":{"Get Proton Wallet":["Obtener Proton Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Homepage hero product link title":{"Wallet":["Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Homepage product navigation bar":{"Wallet":["Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:menu item":{"Bitcoin guide":["Guía sobre Bitcoin"],"Proton Wallet news":["Novedades sobre Proton Wallet"],"Proton Wallet support":["Soporte para Proton Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Pricing":{"Includes everything in Proton Unlimited and":["Incluye todas las funciones en Proton Unlimited y"],"Limited availability":["Disponibilidad limitada"],"The easiest way to securely own, send, and receive Bitcoin":["La forma más fácil de retener, enviar y recibir Bitcoin con seguridad"]},"wallet_signup_2024:ProductRange":{"Discover Proton Wallet":["Descubra Proton Wallet"],"Store and transact Bitcoin privately with an encrypted self-custody wallet.":["Almacene Bitcoin y negocie de forma privada con una cartera de autocustodia cifrada."]},"wallet_signup_2024:wallet bitcoin":{"Learn about Bitcoin, the Internet's value network.":["Infórmese sobre Bitcoin, la red de valor de internet."]},"wallet_signup_2024:wallet overview":{"Ensure you're always in control of your Bitcoin.":["Asegúrese de tener siempre el control de su Bitcoin."]},"wallet_signup_2024:wallet security":{"The encrypted, open-source wallet that puts you in control.":["La cartera cifrada de código abierto que le permite controlarlo todo."]}}},"base":"blog","cdn":{"enabledForAssets":true,"enabledForImages":true,"url":"https://pmecdn.protonweb.com/"},"unleashApi":"https://account.proton.me/api"};
window.frameworkContext = frameworkContext;
const context = frameworkContext.base === '' ? '' : `${frameworkContext.base}/`;
window.__toAssetUrl = (filename) => {
if (frameworkContext.cdn !== undefined && frameworkContext.cdn.enabledForAssets === true) {
return `${frameworkContext.cdn.url}${context}${filename}`;
} else {
return `/${context}${filename}`;
}
};
})();
At Proton, we’re always working on new and innovative ways to protect the privacy and data of the Proton community. Sometimes that means developing entirely new services, like our Proton Sentinel program, which combines AI and human security analysts to increase the account security for high-profile users. Other times, it means taking an old idea and putting a new twist on it, like our new, custom-built CAPTCHA.
In our What are CAPTCHAs? post, we introduced what CAPTCHAs are, how they work, and a roadmap for future development to keep CAPTCHAs ahead of the game as a first line of defense against bots and spammers on the internet.
At Proton, we also need to defend our website against bots and spammers. However, as we investigated available CAPTCHA options, we weren’t satisfied, so we decided to develop our own. Our primary goal was to provide a system that doesn’t compromise on privacy, usability and accessibility, or security. If you plotted those three priorities on a chart, we wanted our CAPTCHA to be firmly in the center.
Moreover, building our own solution meant that we could resolve current CAPTCHA availability issues for members of the Proton community in countries with restricted internet issues (for example, Iran and Russia). Because of our unique needs, Proton CAPTCHA is the world’s first CAPTCHA with censorship resistant technologies built-in.
Our system offers the following features:
Built with a privacy-first approach that’s fully GDPR compliant
Mobile friendly
No third-party services
Support for alternative routing, allowing access to those in restricted countries
Multiple defenses:
Proof of work: Computational challenges with adjustable difficulty.
Proton CAPTCHA’s differentiator comes in its multi-layered defense strategy, combining visual challenges with computational proof of work. Why both? While computational proof of work makes it more “costly” for attackers to hit a website, it doesn’t stop them from doing so. Visual challenges, however, are still effective at stopping the majority of attacks.
A multi-layered defense strategy
Combining visual challenges with computational proof of work (PoW) in CAPTCHA systems creates a multi-layered barrier that offers the following benefits:
Defense in depth: Combining two different types of challenges provides a “defense in depth” strategy. Even if one layer is compromised, the other layer still provides a level of security.
Adaptive difficulty: The difficulty of the computational task can be adjusted based on suspicious behavior. For instance, if a user fails a visual CAPTCHA several times, the subsequent PoW can be made more challenging, slowing down potential bots.
Enhanced accessibility: For users with visual impairments who find traditional CAPTCHAs difficult, computational proof of works offers an alternative way to verify themselves while still providing a layer of protection against bots.
Proof of work
Initializing a CAPTCHA can itself be a heavy server process since there is a requirement to generate the visual challenge involving image processing. To protect against attacks on even this endpoint, we also add proof of work as a line of defense to dissuade bots that try to use our own CAPTCHA system against us.
Proof of work in general is becoming more popular with mCaptcha(nueva ventana) and Friendly Captcha(nueva ventana) emerging in this space. However, reliance on computational challenges as your only defense strategy is risky. While these challenges are unintrusive, they heavily depend on the user’s device and its abilities (processor speed or memory). If a device is too slow, the user experience can be suboptimal, as you may have to wait many seconds for the challenges to complete. On the other hand, powerful servers used by a spammer would have no difficulty solving these challenges relatively quickly.
To address this, we conducted extensive tests on a variety of devices internally while developing our system. This helped us calibrate appropriate difficulty settings for all device types. If our CAPTCHA observes a high number of failures on the visual challenges, it’s designed to increase the difficulty level of the proof of work challenge accordingly.
In this manner, a botnet that can bypass the initial proof of work but struggles with the visual challenges will be met with increasingly complex computations. This escalating difficulty makes the process more costly for the botnet but normal people will be able to pass quickly.
Visual Challenges
The typical CAPTCHA is a visual challenge (or audio challenge for the visually impaired). With Proton CAPTCHA, we built a modular system that supports multiple challenge types. We have set out to make the CAPTCHA at least a bit more fun than traditional CAPTCHAs and have even created our own CERN-flavored game. At present, we have two:
A beam alignment challenge: Inspired by our particle colliding origins at CERN(nueva ventana), the goal is to align two rectangles that represent a beam line (where the particles are fired from) so they can collide. The animation at the end is worth the effort, we promise.
An intuitive 2D puzzle: Our puzzles are constructed dynamically on the server using many base photographs, some from Proton employees, the rest from Unsplash(nueva ventana). This means it’s unlikely you will see the same puzzle twice.
Summary
Proton CAPTCHA has already been served to millions of users over the past months, with 100% of sign-up and login CAPTCHAs now using our in-house solution.
However, this is only the start of the journey. Our goal is to provide a CAPTCHA that is accessible, usable, privacy-preserving, and secure against even the most advanced threats. As such, you can expect to see more innovation in this space, with the goal being to reduce the burden of CAPTCHA for real users while making it hard for attackers to abuse our services.
We look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions! In the future, we may also consider making it available for third-parties who care about privacy via an API. To find out more, you can contact us at enterprise@proton.me.