GC geochecker - Recaptcha validation failed

[+Megalodon]

The GC internal geochecker from Groundspeak website uses the captcha validation, this ist not working.

The box in which I used to put in a check mark is not displayed and so pressing the button to check the coordinates returns with an error (see attachment)

 

tested Browsers: firefox V97.0 and edge 98.0.1108.50

 

 

[+IngoKnito]

I have exactly the same problem. Whether on the PC (Chrome & Edge tested) or on the smartphone via another Internet access: The captcha is not loaded.

Even the usual deletion of cookies on the PC does not help

 

[strange but untrue]

Ditto on Chrome 98.0.4758.82.  I've done some test recaptchas on another site to check it's not a global problem.

 

Looking at the F12 developer console for the cache page shows a warning:

"The resource https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js was preloaded using link preload but not used within a few seconds from the window's load event. Please make sure it has an appropriate `as` value and it is preloaded intentionally."

 

So it kind of looks like the recaptcha isn't actually being loaded onto the page any more?

[+Megalodon]

Thanks to strange but untrue for research and posting the information here. Now I am interested in some answer from Groundspeak and hopefully an explanation and/or solution for the problem.

[+Megalodon]

I just found out, that a *deactivated* AddOn in firefox was the reaon, why the Captcha was not shown and so not working. This was the Addon:

 

...Captcha was not working.

 

I set the uBlock Origin to 'activ':

 

...and the captcha was working again. That's it !

[+IngoKnito]

Really interesting. Good investigation Megalodon!
 

I had uBlock installed and enabled. But whether enabled or disabled: The captcha is not (!) displayed on the PC.
My research showed on the smartphone that deleting the cookies helped. At least a partial success.

But on the PC (Chrome 98.0.4758.102 and Edge 98.0.1108.50) it does still not work :-(

On Edge all Extensions deactivated: No Change

Edited February 15, 2022 by IngoKnito

[+arisoft]

It is working in Firefox and Edge on my Windows 10 computer. Have you already tried open the page "InPrivate" mode?

[+IngoKnito]

Good idea: Private Mode did not work.

A testwise installed Firefox: The same.

 

So now i have three Browsers on Win11 that doesn't work. Firefox without any special Settings.

 

No Idea any more :-(

 

[+lefisher]

This is happening to me.  I've tried other browsers and Recaptcha Validation Failed.  

[+Isonzo Karst]

Windows Pro, (not updated to Win 11)  Firefox 97.0  with or without scripts running, in house checker works  for me. I offer this simply to help troubleshoot.

[+gerritvanwoerkom]

Same issue here. Windows 10, both on Chrome and Edge. Found out that accepting all cookies brings back the Captcha! This looks similar to the Message issue some time ago... Is Groundspeak again trying to get us into accepting cookies again???!!! I don't want to accept advertising cookies and other stuff like that. The site should be 100% functional without that crap!

Edited February 15, 2022 by gerritvanwoerkom

[+gerritvanwoerkom]

Tried accepting different cookie types one by one and that shows that only if I accept advertising cookies the Captcha shows up...

[+Bl4ckH4wkGER]

26 minutes ago, gerritvanwoerkom said:

Is Groundspeak again trying to get us into accepting cookies again???!!! I don't want to accept advertising cookies and other stuff like that. The site should be 100% functional without that crap!

Thanks for the lead regarding cookies. That may explain why I was unable to reproduce this issue on my machine with the latest version of Chrome with all cookies accepted.

 

Are others seeing the same thing? We will have a closer look at this.

Regarding your comment above - we are not trying to do anything and your unfounded allegations are not appreciated. Not every single cookie on the internet, even of the advertising variety, is out to get you.

The third party tool that HQ uses to manage our cookie obligations, cookiebot, regularly re-scans and re-categorizes cookies. It appears that in this case it may have gotten the one responsible for the captcha wrong. This has also been the reason for similar issues with other site functions in the past. If that is the case, it will be addressed.

Thank you for your consideration.

[+bertuz]

I have the same problem. I've just wrote to Geocaching HQ Support and they told me "You may need to log out of your Geocaching.com account, clear your browser's cookies and cache, then log back into your account. We also suggest trying a different browser.". 

 

Obviously, this doesn't work at all. I'm using updated Chrome.

[strange but untrue]

Ah, well done gerritvanwoerkom, looks like that's the answer (it worked for me anyway), so at least we have a workaround now while we wait for the robots to fix.

[+gerritvanwoerkom]

4 hours ago, Bl4ckH4wkGER said:

Regarding your comment above - we are not trying to do anything and your unfounded allegations are not appreciated. Not every single cookie on the internet, even of the advertising variety, is out to get you.

A few months ago there was a similar issue with the messaging system. That's what made me a bit suspicious. If you read my comments as an allegation, I apologize for that. It was merely meant as a question.

Let's not discuss wat cookies do and how harmfull they are. I live in the EU and we have simple rules on cookies. I, as a simple user, do not know exactly what these cookies do, but I do know that they can collect data, which can be used for commercial purposes and I don't want that!

Hopefully you will be able to correct the issue soon. Please let me know if I can be of any help :-)

[+koeniglich]

5 hours ago, Bl4ckH4wkGER said:

Regarding your comment above - we are not trying to do anything and your unfounded allegations are not appreciated. Not every single cookie on the internet, even of the advertising variety, is out to get you.

Google, the biggest advertising company on the planet, is trying to follow everyone around the internet by thousands of different methods, and Recaptcha is one of them. (Why else would they have acquired it for around $25m?)

 

Recaptcha actively punishes users who try to evade tracking by making the captchas much more annoying and sometimes impossible to solve (the tiles just keep loading forever, slooowly). Plus, unlike Adsense and Google Analytics, Recaptcha can't really be blocked unless you don't care about whatever is behind the captcha. I don't know what "out to get you" means to you, but this does to me. Having to label data for Waymo's self-driving cars for free isn't a great experience either.

 

I really wish Geocaching.com used a different captcha service. Or, at least, more cache owners opted for an external checker instead.

[+gerritvanwoerkom]

7 hours ago, Bl4ckH4wkGER said:

Regarding your comment above - we are not trying to do anything and your unfounded allegations are not appreciated. Not every single cookie on the internet, even of the advertising variety, is out to get you.

This is not very reassuring: https://complianz.io/google-recaptcha-and-the-gdpr-a-possible-conflict/

 

Furthermore I've let Cookiebot.com perform a compliance test on geocaching.com. The result:

 

 The domain geocaching.com has been analyzed by Cookiebot to determine if it is compliant with EU regulations on the use of cookies and online tracking.
Your website is: Partly compliant

 

I believe there's some work to be done on this!

[+Rhodo Dendron]

Remove all geocaching.com cookies.

 

Then log in again and allow all cookies (functional, statistics, advertisement...).

Edited February 16, 2022 by Rhodo Dendron

[+Eric van Graveheart]

I had the same problem...

 

to solve it, it was NOT necessary to remove all geocaching-cookies and it was NOT necessary to log out or in again.

 

The only thing I had to do, was to go into settings -> cookies and there add the advertisement-cookies on top my previous preferences (I had all other types set before).

 

Kind regards,

Eric

[+gerritvanwoerkom]

1 hour ago, Rhodo Dendron said:

Then log in again and allow all cookies (functional, statistics, advertisement...).

That's not a solution, but rather subjecting to the allmighty Google... It's exactly what they want us to do: be good, accept cookies and thereby allowing them to use our private data for their commercial purposes. Anyway, we have to be able to use all the site's functionality without having to accept not necessary cookies!

[+gerritvanwoerkom]

It looks like the issue has been solved. I have the solution checker back without unwanted cookies :-)

Thanks!

[+Bl4ckH4wkGER]

This should now be fixed.

[+Birdie.NL]

The cookie problem occurs again - just essential and preferential cookies should be enough to have a working Recaptcha.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Birdie.NL

[+trekkerdmc]

I am having the same issue here lately. I've tried some of the suggestions in the thread but still no luck...I am using Windows 10 and Chrome browser.

 

Good thing they got rid of benchmarking so the site runs better... smh

Edited January 13, 2023 by trekkerdmc

[+janrei_]

There was a problem with the checker recently. Although I am not aware of an official word from HQ about it, the checker is currently working for me. So it might be worth clearing the cache/cookies in your browser and trying again.

[+Wacka]

I had the same problem with a recaptcha  at the electric company's web site when I was paying a bill last week. Had to call the utility and pay it by speaking to person.  Using a Ma Book Air with most recent OS.

[+trekkerdmc]

Recaptcha seems to be up and running again with no shenanigans on my part! Woot!