Captcha on homepage breaks auto update feature

tfnab

Apparently there is a need to keep bots away from the Notepad++ homepage. Being greeted by this screen as a normal user is something I find totally acceptable:
Screenshot: address bar showing notepad-plus-plus.org URL, page says "Verifying that you are not a robot"

Unfortunately this is also in effect for the update check URL https://notepad-plus-plus.org/update/getDownloadUrl.php, leading to this when I click the “?” menu, then “Update Notepad++”:
Error "Xml Exception": It's not a valid GUP xml.

I suspect this means auto updates do no longer trigger. (And yes I am aware that auto-updates won’t happen for 8.6.3 and 8.6.4)

It appears the captcha, once verified, whitelists IP addresses, so navigating to the homepage on the same machine (or even IPv4 network with NAT) will restore functionality, but limiting the auto update to people who also browse the homepage somehow defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

What would be the best way to address this? I know maintainers don’t follow the “General discussion” board, at the same time this bug is in no way related to any release, hence shouldn’t be posted under “Announcements” :-|

PeterJones

@tfnab ,

The hosting provider that @donho uses for notepad-plus-plus.org will occasionally institute a captcha when they feel traffic patterns change. Notably, this happened last May.

I have re-opened that issue and pinged @donho, who will hopefully be able to contact the provider and get it resolved.

PeterJones

Update: captcha appears to be gone (for now), so updater should work again.

Unfortunately, the host is within its rights to fight DDoS attacks as they see fit, and captcha is one of their weapons. So if DDoS comes back, captcha probably will, too.

tfnab

@PeterJones Thank you. I was searching this board only. I didn’t think of GitHub issues, else I guess I might have stumbled across that issue. Good to know that when it happens it should be temporary.