Authenticating a user via a customized image-based challenge

A computer program product for authenticating a user via a customized image-based challenge, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to:

• receive an access request from a user requesting access to content;
• generate a list of items recommended for the user, based on computer-based historic user behavior data for a plurality of users;
• generate a customized image-based challenge comprising a test question to be answered by the user and a plurality of selectable images including images of each of a first set of items including shared characteristics and images of a second set of items, wherein the second set of items do not include the shared characteristic and the test question is based on the shared characteristic;
• provide the customized image-based challenge to a user computer device of the user;
• receive a user selection of one of a plurality of secondary icons in the customized image-based challenge associated with the plurality of selectable images, wherein the plurality of secondary icons enable the user to obtain information regarding the one or more of the first set of items or the second set of items for a purpose other than answering the test question;
• and
• in response to enabling the user computer device to access the content based on receiving a correct answer to the customized image-based challenge, display to the user the information regarding the one or more of the first set of items or the second set of items based on the user selection of the one of a plurality of secondary icons,
• wherein the customized image-based challenge further comprises, for each item in the customized image-based challenge, one or more of the group consisting of:
• an item description, a sales price, and special offers.

A system for authenticating a user via a customized image-based challenge, comprising:

• a CPU, a computer readable memory and a computer readable storage medium associated with a computing device;
• program instructions to receive an access request from a user requesting access to content;
• program instructions to generate a list of items recommended for the user in response to the access request based on computer-based user behavior data, wherein the computing device chooses from images of items in the list of items when generating customized image-based challenges;
• program instructions to filter the list of items recommended for the user based on a type of the content to be accessed by the user, thereby generating a filtered list of items;
• program instructions to determine shared characteristics of a subset of the filtered list of items recommended for the user, thereby generating a first set of items associated with the shared characteristic;
• program instructions to generate, based on the filtered list of items recommended for the user, a customized image-based challenge including a test question to be answered by the user and a plurality of selectable images, wherein the plurality of selectable images comprise the first set of items associated with the shared characteristic, and a second set of items not associated with the shared characteristic, and wherein an answer to the test question is based on the shared characteristic;
• and
• program instructions to provide the customized image-based challenge to a user computer device of the user,
• wherein the program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory,
• wherein the customized image-based challenge further comprises, for each item in the customized image-based challenge, one or more of the group consisting of:
• an item description, a sales price, and special offers.