Whilst searching using Google as your search engine you may be blocked and receive a message from Google stating “Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network” and requesting you to type a CAPTCHA confirmation code into a box before continuing.

Clicking on the “Why did this happen?” link says that “This page appears when Google automatically detects requests coming from your computer network which appear to be in violation of the Terms of Service.” which is a pretty stark warning although little further information is provided so what can you do about it?

If you work in an office, or a site with a shared internet connection, then you should raise this with your system administrator immediately as there may be a rogue machine in operation on your network. Google are unlikely to take kindly to automated traffic schemes so don’t delay in addressing the problem.

You can also check your computer for any spyware or other risks – there are a bunch of tools and utilities out there that can help with this and a number are recommended by Google in their article “Unusual traffic from your computer network” – if the problem persists you should contact Google using the link provided.

Has this happened to you? How has it been resolved? As I find more information I will post it here.