Security News > 2022 > January > Microsoft Skype makes you solve a complex captcha 10 times to sign up
New Skype users report frustration after being presented with a captcha that requires them to solve a complex puzzle ten times before signing up for the service.
Tests by BleepingComputer confirmed the problematic captcha required when signing up for a Microsoft account via Skype-even after verifying your email address.
A captcha is a challenge-response test used by websites and online services to check if they are interacting with a human user or a bot.
The captcha puzzle presented to those signing up for Skype requires the user to keep rotating through an image with a sphere containing arrows pointed in random directions until there are "Exactly 2 arrows" left, pointing directly upward.
The captcha presented by Skype during the Microosft account signup process to BleepingComputer took at least five minutes to get through the eighth attempt, with two more left.
Other users report having spent half an hour on solving an alternative captcha presented by Skype.