Graphical Passwords Replace Conventional Passwords and PINs

Here’s an interesting innovation. Instead of having to remember your complex alphanumeric password, you may soon have the opportunity to simply draw a picture on your PDA’s touchscreen. The concept of Graphical Passwords is being developed by researchers at Newcastle University, and it not only records the picture that you draw, but also how you draw it.

Integral to the entire password is the image itself, naturally, as well as the number of pen strokes used, where the image was started, and the order in which they were made. The net result is a very secure password that only the original user would be able to remember. To help cue those memories, a background image can be applied on which you can draw your password. Dr. Jeff Yan and Paul Dunphy call this Background Draw a Secret (BDAS).

The technology is largely being developed for people with language difficulties, but I could totally see an application for the masses as well. How many of us have forgotten our online passwords, huh?