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Google sometimes blocks me from searching using Firefox, saying it’s “suspicious activity” and sending me into captcha hell that always rejects my results after

Google sometimes blocks me from searching using Firefox, saying it’s “suspicious activity” and sending me into captcha hell that always rejects my results after several screens for no reason. It’s incredibly transparent as to what they’re doing. That Google became the most anti-consumer company out there is pretty disgraceful.

chimen 5y ago
fake your browser header to a chrome variant.
- syncbehind 5y ago
  That doesn't get rid of the problem, it only prolongs it.
- eru 5y ago
  The header isn't the only thing that identifies a browser. A faked header might look even more suspicious to their algorithm?
entropie 5y ago
> Google sometimes blocks me from searching using Firefox, saying it’s “suspicious activity” and sending me into captcha hell that always rejects my results after several screens for no reason. That happend to me only when using tor.
- kome 5y ago
  that happens to me all the time, i have no idea why. i'm using firefox.
- option_greek 5y ago
  Use private mode exclusively. You will start getting into the captcha hell in a day or two.
  - srg0 5y ago
    I configured Firefox to delete all cookies on exit, except few whitelisted sites. So most of the time I have to accept Google privacy policy if I search there. Other than that, I never got into the captcha hell when trying to do a Google Search. There are some sites I can't login at all unless I change the browser. SoundCloud is one of them.
    - option_greek 5y ago
      Could be that IP Address/ISP reputation is also a factor for the variation in results.
Gigachad 5y ago
Any reason as to why they might be doing that? VPN? "resist fingerprint" setting? School/public wifi network? Usually when they do that its because you are on the same network that a lot of abuse has come from.
chefandy 5y ago
I use google constantly— sometimes hundreds of times per day— both logged in and out, almost exclusively in Firefox or Firefox developer edition and I've never encountered this. I'd bank on it being a network thing— VPN, overcrowded proxy, etc.
- bjoli 5y ago
  I get it ln firefox without a VPN with my own IP owner by a reputable ISP. On a pixel phone with google DNS. On a VPN I do not get it, so the last couple of weeks I have been making heavy use of my mullvad account. Edit: however. I only store cookies for fastmail and hacker news and do not allow JS on many sites.
- paulryanrogers 5y ago
  The beauty of AI is that it's likely no human can say precisely why two similar users might get a different classification.
  - cbsmith 5y ago
    ...and the beauty of the Internet is that there's really no way to be sure people are being genuine...
    - eitland 5y ago
      Long time Firefox user and HNer here. I've at least been "captchaed" in Firefox. While being logged in with my Gmail account from 2005.
      - cbsmith 5y ago
        I've been "captchaed" with Chrome, so I'm not sure the anecdotes amount to much.
        eitland 5y ago
        That's interesting and useful to know and I decide to believe you. BTW: Yes, I absolutely noticed that you said this above: > ...and the beauty of the Internet is that there's really no way to be sure people are being genuine... My point is, unless the claims of the others are outrageous or we have something very specific to point at, I don't think voicing these kind of thoughts do much good.
inopinatus 5y ago
Hanlon's razor applies here, though.
- colordrops 5y ago
  No it doesn't, rockefeller's razor applies - don't attribute to stupidity what could be adequately explained by profit motive.
  - inopinatus 5y ago
    There is no such razor.
vanviegen 5y ago
Sounds like your browser (or a plugin) might be blocking some cookie or connection that Google uses for security?
20after4 5y ago
Is it possible that your requests are coming from an IP address that google has flagged for previous abuse? I think that the "suspicious activity" captcha hell is triggered by a high request volume from multiple not-logged-in agents on the same IP. At least that's been my experience in the past.
- kayxspre 5y ago
  Doesn't have to be not logged-in. Years ago I use Chrome (with myself logged into Google) to search for very specific queries, so I have to use multiple operators (double quotes, "site", "filetype") in one search to narrow the result. I was hit with CAPTCHA as soon as I browse to page 2 of the result. This happens many times, so I have to do this kind of search at different times to make sure it doesn't see me a heavy traffic at any point.
heavyset_go 5y ago
In the same vein, check out what Bing did when I searched for "Firefox" with Edge[1]. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28517187 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28517187
rotten 5y ago
We used to have this happen at an office I worked in where the SEO team was scraping google search rankings by running thousands of queries with different search keywords. Google was blocking the IP address rather than our browsers.

chimen 5y ago

fake your browser header to a chrome variant.

syncbehind 5y ago
That doesn't get rid of the problem, it only prolongs it.
eru 5y ago
The header isn't the only thing that identifies a browser. A faked header might look even more suspicious to their algorithm?

entropie 5y ago

> Google sometimes blocks me from searching using Firefox, saying it’s “suspicious activity” and sending me into captcha hell that always rejects my results after several screens for no reason. That happend to me only when using tor.

kome 5y ago
that happens to me all the time, i have no idea why. i'm using firefox.
option_greek 5y ago
Use private mode exclusively. You will start getting into the captcha hell in a day or two.
- srg0 5y ago
  I configured Firefox to delete all cookies on exit, except few whitelisted sites. So most of the time I have to accept Google privacy policy if I search there. Other than that, I never got into the captcha hell when trying to do a Google Search. There are some sites I can't login at all unless I change the browser. SoundCloud is one of them.
  - option_greek 5y ago
    Could be that IP Address/ISP reputation is also a factor for the variation in results.

Gigachad 5y ago

Any reason as to why they might be doing that? VPN? "resist fingerprint" setting? School/public wifi network? Usually when they do that its because you are on the same network that a lot of abuse has come from.

chefandy 5y ago

I use google constantly— sometimes hundreds of times per day— both logged in and out, almost exclusively in Firefox or Firefox developer edition and I've never encountered this. I'd bank on it being a network thing— VPN, overcrowded proxy, etc.

bjoli 5y ago
I get it ln firefox without a VPN with my own IP owner by a reputable ISP. On a pixel phone with google DNS. On a VPN I do not get it, so the last couple of weeks I have been making heavy use of my mullvad account. Edit: however. I only store cookies for fastmail and hacker news and do not allow JS on many sites.
paulryanrogers 5y ago
The beauty of AI is that it's likely no human can say precisely why two similar users might get a different classification.
- cbsmith 5y ago
  ...and the beauty of the Internet is that there's really no way to be sure people are being genuine...
  - eitland 5y ago
    Long time Firefox user and HNer here. I've at least been "captchaed" in Firefox. While being logged in with my Gmail account from 2005.
    - cbsmith 5y ago
      I've been "captchaed" with Chrome, so I'm not sure the anecdotes amount to much.
      - eitland 5y ago
        That's interesting and useful to know and I decide to believe you. BTW: Yes, I absolutely noticed that you said this above: > ...and the beauty of the Internet is that there's really no way to be sure people are being genuine... My point is, unless the claims of the others are outrageous or we have something very specific to point at, I don't think voicing these kind of thoughts do much good.

inopinatus 5y ago

Hanlon's razor applies here, though.

colordrops 5y ago
No it doesn't, rockefeller's razor applies - don't attribute to stupidity what could be adequately explained by profit motive.
- inopinatus 5y ago
  There is no such razor.

vanviegen 5y ago

Sounds like your browser (or a plugin) might be blocking some cookie or connection that Google uses for security?

20after4 5y ago

Is it possible that your requests are coming from an IP address that google has flagged for previous abuse? I think that the "suspicious activity" captcha hell is triggered by a high request volume from multiple not-logged-in agents on the same IP. At least that's been my experience in the past.

kayxspre 5y ago
Doesn't have to be not logged-in. Years ago I use Chrome (with myself logged into Google) to search for very specific queries, so I have to use multiple operators (double quotes, "site", "filetype") in one search to narrow the result. I was hit with CAPTCHA as soon as I browse to page 2 of the result. This happens many times, so I have to do this kind of search at different times to make sure it doesn't see me a heavy traffic at any point.

heavyset_go 5y ago

In the same vein, check out what Bing did when I searched for "Firefox" with Edge[1]. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28517187 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28517187

rotten 5y ago

We used to have this happen at an office I worked in where the SEO team was scraping google search rankings by running thousands of queries with different search keywords. Google was blocking the IP address rather than our browsers.