protected function pass($mac, $macHash)
    {
        $time = time();
        $hash = $this->getTextHash($mac);
        $pass = $this->passFromSession($macHash, $hash, $time);

        // if captcha info was NOT stored in session
        if ($pass === null) {
            $pass = $this->passFromDb((int) $macHash, $hash, $time);
        }

        return (bool) $pass;
    }