Click here to Skip to main content
15,867,686 members
Articles / Web Development / ASP.NET

Captcha Image using C# in ASP.NET

Rate me:
Please Sign up or sign in to vote.
4.91/5 (32 votes)
22 Mar 2011CPOL2 min read 235.8K   49   48
Captcha Image using C# in ASP.NET

What is Captcha Image?

Source: DotNet Stuff

169371/done.JPG

If both match, then displays the above message:

169371/notvalid.JPG

If both don't match, then display the above message.

In the web, whenever you register on any site, normally they ask at the end of page for entering Image code/Challenge Image/Image verification code, etc. This type of image is called Captcha Image.

What is the Use of Captcha?

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captcha)

Captcha is a type of challenge-response test used in computing to ensure that the response is not generated by a computer. The process usually involves one computer (a server) asking a user to complete a simple test which the computer is able to generate and grade. Because other computers are unable to solve the CAPTCHA, any user entering a correct solution is presumed to be human.

A best technique to restrict automatic form submissions when developing a web page is to add some kind of verification. As per my knowledge, image verification is the best way, it’s also called Captcha image. In this process, dynamically we are creating an image with random string, either string, number or alphanumeric and displaying it on the web page. After that, at the time of form submission, the user is asked to enter the same code in the text box as shown in that image. Once the form is submitted, then we can compare both auto generated value and entered by user because there is no other good way to protect your webworms from spammers (auto submission).

How Can We Do That?

Here is the detailed explanation with code snippets.

This is the default.aspx (partially):

ASP.NET
<asp:Label ID="lblmsg" runat="server" Font-Bold="True" 
	ForeColor="Red" Text=""></asp:Label>
         <br />
    </div>
    <asp:TextBox ID="txtimgcode" 
    runat="server"></asp:TextBox>
    <br />
    <asp:Image ID="Image1" 
    runat="server" ImageUrl="~/CImage.aspx"/>
    <br />
    <asp:Button ID="Button1" runat="server" 
    onclick="Button1_Click" Text="Button" />

In the above code, there are three control Label controls to display message whether entered code is matched or not, TextBox to take input from user and Image box to hold an image autogenerated by CImage.aspx page. Before that, we will see default.aspx.cs page code:

C#
protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        if (this.txtimgcode.Text == this.Session["CaptchaImageText"].ToString())
        {
            lblmsg.Text = "Excellent.......";
        }
        else
        {
            lblmsg.Text = "image code is not valid.";
        }
        this.txtimgcode.Text = "";
    }

In button’s click event, we are just checking entered value with stored value in session. And we display the appropriate message on the screen.

CImage.aspx Page

Remove all the code except the first line.

The main code is here which is calling a method to generate random number string and passes it to the class file which will generate image with the same string and return it as a JPEG format.

Here are the details of the code:

C#
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
public partial class CImage : System.Web.UI.Page
{
    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        // Create a random code and store it in the Session object.
        this.Session["CaptchaImageText"] = GenerateRandomCode();
        // Create a CAPTCHA image using the text stored in the Session object.
        RandomImage ci = new RandomImage(this.Session
			["CaptchaImageText"].ToString(), 300, 75);
        // Change the response headers to output a JPEG image.
        this.Response.Clear();
        this.Response.ContentType = "image/jpeg";
        // Write the image to the response stream in JPEG format.
        ci.Image.Save(this.Response.OutputStream, ImageFormat.Jpeg);
        // Dispose of the CAPTCHA image object.
        ci.Dispose();
    }
   
    // Function to generate random string with Random class.
    private string GenerateRandomCode()
    {
        Random r = new Random();
        string s = "";
        for (int j = 0; j < 5;j++)
        {
            int i = r.Next(3);
            int ch;
            switch (i)
            {
                case 1:
                    ch = r.Next(0, 9);
                    s = s + ch.ToString();
                    break;
                case 2:
                    ch = r.Next(65, 90);
                    s = s + Convert.ToChar(ch).ToString();
                    break;
                case 3:
                    ch = r.Next(97, 122);
                    s = s + Convert.ToChar(ch).ToString();
                    break;
                default:
                    ch = r.Next(97, 122);
                    s = s + Convert.ToChar(ch).ToString();
                    break;
            }
            r.NextDouble();
            r.Next(100, 1999);
        }
        return s;
    }
}

And finally, the code for RandomImage class which generates Image with the help of BitMap class.

C#
//Extra name space
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Drawing2D;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.Drawing.Text;
public class RandomImage
{
//Default Constructor 
      public RandomImage(){}
//property
      public string Text
        {
            get { return this.text; }
        }
    public Bitmap Image
    {
        get { return this.image; }
    }
    public int Width
    {
        get { return this.width; }
    }
    public int Height
    {
        get { return this.height; }
    }
//Private variable
    private string text;
    private int width;
    private int height;
    private Bitmap image;
    private Random random = new Random();
    //Methods declaration
    public RandomImage(string s, int width, int height)
    {
          this.text = s;
          this.SetDimensions(width, height);
          this.GenerateImage();
    }
    public void Dispose()
    {
        GC.SuppressFinalize(this);
        this.Dispose(true);
    }
    protected virtual void Dispose(bool disposing)
    {
        if (disposing)
            this.image.Dispose();
    }
    private void SetDimensions(int width, int height)
    {
          if (width <= 0)
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("width", width, 
                    "Argument out of range, must be greater than zero.");
          if (height <= 0)
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("height", height, 
                    "Argument out of range, must be greater than zero.");
          this.width = width;
          this.height = height;
    }
    private void GenerateImage()
    {
          Bitmap bitmap = new Bitmap
			(this.width, this.height, PixelFormat.Format32bppArgb);
          Graphics g = Graphics.FromImage(bitmap);
          g.SmoothingMode = SmoothingMode.AntiAlias;
          Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(0, 0, this.width, this.height);
          HatchBrush hatchBrush = new HatchBrush(HatchStyle.SmallConfetti,
              Color.LightGray, Color.White);
          g.FillRectangle(hatchBrush, rect);
          SizeF size;
          float fontSize = rect.Height + 1;
        Font font;
        
          do
          {
                fontSize--;
            font = new Font(FontFamily.GenericSansSerif, fontSize, FontStyle.Bold);
                size = g.MeasureString(this.text, font);
          } while (size.Width > rect.Width);
          StringFormat format = new StringFormat();
          format.Alignment = StringAlignment.Center;
          format.LineAlignment = StringAlignment.Center;
          GraphicsPath path = new GraphicsPath();
          //path.AddString(this.text, font.FontFamily, (int) font.Style, 
          //    font.Size, rect, format);
        path.AddString(this.text, font.FontFamily, (int)font.Style, 75, rect, format);
          float v = 4F;
          PointF[] points =
          {
                new PointF(this.random.Next(rect.Width) / v, this.random.Next(
                   rect.Height) / v),
                new PointF(rect.Width - this.random.Next(rect.Width) / v, 
                    this.random.Next(rect.Height) / v),
                new PointF(this.random.Next(rect.Width) / v, 
                    rect.Height - this.random.Next(rect.Height) / v),
                new PointF(rect.Width - this.random.Next(rect.Width) / v,
                    rect.Height - this.random.Next(rect.Height) / v)
          };
          Matrix matrix = new Matrix();
          matrix.Translate(0F, 0F);
          path.Warp(points, rect, matrix, WarpMode.Perspective, 0F);
          hatchBrush = new HatchBrush(HatchStyle.Percent10, Color.Black, Color.SkyBlue);
          g.FillPath(hatchBrush, path);
          int m = Math.Max(rect.Width, rect.Height);
          for (int i = 0; i < (int) (rect.Width * rect.Height / 30F); i++)
          {
                int x = this.random.Next(rect.Width);
                int y = this.random.Next(rect.Height);
                int w = this.random.Next(m / 50);
                int h = this.random.Next(m / 50);
                g.FillEllipse(hatchBrush, x, y, w, h);
          }
          font.Dispose();
          hatchBrush.Dispose();
          g.Dispose();
          this.image = bitmap;
    }
}

Happy coding...

This article was originally posted at http://myvsdotnetstuff.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Software Developer Working in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
India India

I am working as a Software Engineer in Ahmedabad, Gujrat, India.

I have 12+ Years of Experience in Microsoft Technology Like Asp.Net 4.0,
C#,MVC,EntityFramework, Javascript, Crystal Reports, JQuery etc.

Find out more on :




Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionRe: Refresh Button Pin
aspkiddy7-Oct-15 6:51
aspkiddy7-Oct-15 6:51 
QuestionChange the precision size Pin
Alexandre Bencz17-Jun-13 5:15
Alexandre Bencz17-Jun-13 5:15 
AnswerRe: Change the precision size Pin
Member 101865912-Aug-13 21:38
Member 101865912-Aug-13 21:38 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Oshtri Deka23-May-13 20:28
professionalOshtri Deka23-May-13 20:28 
QuestionCaptcha Generation Pin
Member 983287831-Mar-13 0:06
Member 983287831-Mar-13 0:06 
GeneralExcellent article Pin
kanipakam123422-Mar-13 12:41
kanipakam123422-Mar-13 12:41 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
3mara12-Feb-13 0:35
3mara12-Feb-13 0:35 
QuestionRegenerate Captha Pin
gaga blues16-Sep-12 0:42
gaga blues16-Sep-12 0:42 
Hello. I just want to ask, how am I going to regenerate the captha? If the client cant read the current captcha, there is a link for getting another captcha but I dont know the code for the link. Please help
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
gaga blues16-Sep-12 0:03
gaga blues16-Sep-12 0:03 
Questionjust roks Pin
omkarpardeshi12327-Aug-12 8:57
omkarpardeshi12327-Aug-12 8:57 
Questiontnx Pin
jiji266315-Aug-12 15:15
jiji266315-Aug-12 15:15 
Questioncan see image local not deployed Pin
Member 875979726-Jul-12 4:19
Member 875979726-Jul-12 4:19 
Questiontank you Pin
maryam madadi28-Jun-12 4:59
maryam madadi28-Jun-12 4:59 
QuestionRefresh image Pin
moranmono9-Apr-12 23:27
moranmono9-Apr-12 23:27 
GeneralChange font color in the randomimage Pin
Eitan.Aviran26-Apr-11 22:01
Eitan.Aviran26-Apr-11 22:01 
GeneralRe: Change font color in the randomimage Pin
Tarun Dudhatra27-Apr-11 7:56
Tarun Dudhatra27-Apr-11 7:56 
QuestionI am still unable to see an image Pin
mlbrown23-Mar-11 6:30
mlbrown23-Mar-11 6:30 
AnswerRe: I am still unable to see an image Pin
Tarun Dudhatra23-Mar-11 19:54
Tarun Dudhatra23-Mar-11 19:54 
GeneralOK let me try to insert code to download Pin
Tarun Dudhatra22-Mar-11 2:30
Tarun Dudhatra22-Mar-11 2:30 
QuestionCan you provide the Code or Project Download ? Pin
mikelopilato22-Mar-11 1:27
mikelopilato22-Mar-11 1:27 
AnswerRe: Can you provide the Code or Project Download ? Pin
Tarun Dudhatra22-Mar-11 3:24
Tarun Dudhatra22-Mar-11 3:24 
QuestionHello Pin
account291221-Mar-11 21:20
account291221-Mar-11 21:20 
AnswerRe: Hello Pin
Tarun Dudhatra22-Mar-11 3:22
Tarun Dudhatra22-Mar-11 3:22 

General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Praise Praise    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.