Graphical Passwords

Newcastle University researchers are developing Graphical Password using pictures that will also be easier for people with language difficulties such as dyslexia. Hard to remember passwords that will be use as a artwork such combinations of alphanumeric characters is not a problem anymore. The technology is similar to fingerprinting or retina scanning. Graphical passwords are far harder, or even impossible, for machines to hack using brute-force attacks. The more complex your drawing of an object is, the more secure your device is. The system is called Background Draw a Secret, and it could hit smartphones fairly soon with add-on software.

The computer remembers the number of "pen" strokes used, where the image was started and the order in which they were made. Dr Jeff Yan, a computer science lecturer, and PhD student Paul Dunphy have developed emerging Draw a Secret (DAS) technology and applied it to a background image. The improved software is known as BDAS - Background Draw a Secret, which makes it easier for the user to remember where to start drawing on the screen. Dr Yan said: "Many people find it difficult to remember a password so choose words that are easy to remember and therefore more susceptible to hackers. Most of us have forgotten a pin number or a password at least once, that main reason was, it is intended to make them so easy to guess. However, the human mind has a much greater capacity for remembering images, and it's certainly true that a picture is worth a thousand words in this instance." Technorati Profile

Tags: DVD Auction, Wii and PS3 Video Games