Idea Catchers Group Achieves Front Runner Status with Form Armor
Hosted security service for Web forms leverages the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 platform for security and reliability
Plano, TX - January 26, 2009 - Idea Catchers Group, LLC announced today that Form Armor, its Web-based application using Microsoft SQL Server 2008, has achieved Front Runner status from Microsoft Corp.
Form Armor, an anti-spam service for Web forms, in combination with SQL Server 2008 enables customers to stop spam and abusive submissions on website forms without requiring security codes, CAPTCHA word-letter puzzles or other ‘human’ tests that can interfere with usability, accessibility, and conversion rates. SQL Server 2008 provides a trusted, productive and intelligent Data Platform for business-critical applications.
“Microsoft remains committed to the success of our broad ISV partner community who drive innovative solutions to market,” said Mark Jewett, director of SQL Server marketing at Microsoft. “The Front Runner program was designed to provide our partners with the best development environment and give them the technical and marketing tools they need to be successful over the long term.”
“We’re excited to support SQL Server 2008 because it provides a stable and powerful platform for our application and is a great leap forward,” said Larissa Reynolds, founder and CEO of Idea Catchers Group, LLC. “Achieving Front Runner status enables us to deliver a reliable, secure Web application to customers within the same timeframe as the launch of SQL Server 2008. With the hosted solution we have developed, we are uniquely positioned to help our customers take advantage of the latest database technology for Web-based services.”
Form Armor automates critical processes for Web form security and spam detection. Unlike CAPTCHA solutions, that require website visitors to participate in the spam detection process and solve distorted word-letter puzzles, Form Armor enables companies to manage Web form abuse behind-the-scenes where it remains invisible to Web site visitors and customers. CAPTCHA refers to an automated test that attempts to distinguish computers from humans.
In a comprehensive research study on The Hidden Cost of Web Form Abuse, Idea Catchers Group found that on average companies spend more than 10.5 hours every month managing spam sent through website forms, with an average of 25 percent of all Web form submissions being classified as spam. Additional research found more than 10 percent of consumers could not successfully communicate with companies through Web forms that use CAPTCHA as an anti-spam measure.
Form Armor uses the features of SQL Server 2008 to create a stable, secure solution that adapts to emerging spam and security threats for website forms. Form Armor successfully detects spam submissions from both automated bots and humans, on any type of Web site form. As a hosted subscription service, no software, plug-ins, add-ons or libraries are required and Form Armor can be used on any website. Subscriptions are available as a simple HTML setup or through use of the Form Armor API. Form Armor also offers an ASP.NET Web Service for Visual Studio.
In 2008, security researchers discovered that CAPTCHA scripts used by Google and others could be solved by the same automated computer programs that CAPTCHA attempts to block. Additional research uncovered an extensive network of CAPTCHA-solving companies who use human workers to submit spam via website forms. Although CAPTCHA attempts to provide tests that humans can solve and current computer programs cannot, the increasing use of humans to solve CAPTCHAs and submit Web form spam brings the effectiveness of the method into question.
Idea Catchers Group, LLC
Founded in 1999, Idea Catchers Group, LLC develops custom Web applications and services that strive to make life and work easier for both users and companies. Led by husband and wife team Chris and Larissa Reynolds from their Texas office, Form Armor traces its roots back to 2002 when Chris got fed up with the “guilty-until-proven-innocent” approach of CAPTCHA and refused to implement it as an anti-spam measure for the company’s websites. After more than 5 years of research into the idiosyncrasies of Web form abuse, Form Armor launched as a hosted Web service in 2007.
For a free trial of the Form Armor service, visit http://www.formarmor.com. Extended trials are available for media professionals and bloggers. For more information or to schedule an interview about Form Armor or issues related to CAPTCHA, call 1-866-433-2638 x110 or email pr@formarmor.com.
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