35. A method of preventing unauthorized automated access to a server coupled to a data communication network, said method comprising: defining a configurable difficulty factor, said difficulty factor representing a level of difficulty in computerized character recognition; generating a random set of characters; altering each of the characters individually to inhibit computerized character recognition; concatenating the altered characters into a character string; generating an original image, said original image including the character string, wherein each of the characters of said character string have a particular coloring; performing an operation to the original image, said operation altering the original image according to the defined difficulty factor to further alter the character string and to further inhibit computerized character recognition, said operation adding random arcs to the original image, at least one of said random arcs altering the particular coloring of a segment of at least one of the characters of the character string at least one of said random arcs linking a plurality of the characters; generating a resulting image from the altered original image, said resulting image to be rendered to a user as a test; delivering the resulting image to a client for rendering to a user as a test, said user requesting access to the server via the client, said client also being coupled to the data communication network; receiving a response to the test from the user via the client; and granting access to the server via the client if the received response verifies the user.
35. A method of preventing unauthorized automated access to a server coupled to a data communication network, said method comprising: defining a configurable difficulty factor, said difficulty factor representing a level of difficulty in computerized character recognition; generating a random set of characters; altering each of the characters individually to inhibit computerized character recognition; concatenating the altered characters into a character string; generating an original image, said original image including the character string, wherein each of the characters of said character string have a particular coloring; performing an operation to the original image, said operation altering the original image according to the defined difficulty factor to further alter the character string and to further inhibit computerized character recognition, said operation adding random arcs to the original image, at least one of said random arcs altering the particular coloring of a segment of at least one of the characters of the character string at least one of said random arcs linking a plurality of the characters; generating a resulting image from the altered original image, said resulting image to be rendered to a user as a test; delivering the resulting image to a client for rendering to a user as a test, said user requesting access to the server via the client, said client also being coupled to the data communication network; receiving a response to the test from the user via the client; and granting access to the server via the client if the received response verifies the user. 38. The method of claim 35 wherein performing an operation to the original image includes applying a thickness and thinning random algorithm to the character string, said algorithm altering the particular coloring of a segment of at least one character of the character string to vary line thickness of said segment of said at least one character.