GRAPHICAL
Password Authentication System
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Graphical Password System
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Do Yourself Tests:
False Rejection Rate - FRR
Brute Force Attack
Shoulder Surfing Attack
Graphical Time Analysis
Text Password Time
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History
Security has been an issue from the inception of computer systems and experts have related security issues with usability. Secured systems must be usable to maintain intended security. Password Authentication Systems have either been usable and not secure, or secure and not usable. Increasing either tends to complicate the other.
Text Passwords
Text passwords are widely used but suffer from poor usability, reducing its security. A typical 8 character password created using a standard keyboard contains 95 ASCII symbols per character. This could theoretically create a password that has 95^8 possible values. However most people tend to create a password that utilizes only a small fraction of this space. As a result many passwords are made from dictionary words, names of familiar places and people and familiar dates making it easier for an attacker to guess the password of a user.
As of 2010, the largest English dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary contains about only 615,000 entries and with a bit of information about the user, the possible passwords would be less than 1,000,000. There have been several proposed improvements to text passwords. Some of these have become usability guides.
1. Use uppercase and lowercase letters in the password.
2. Use a password of at least six characters.
3. Avoid common literary names.
4. Mix up two or more separate words.
5. Create an acronym from an uncommon phrase.
6. Avoid passwords that contain your login ID.
7. Use numbers in the password.
8. Avoid abbreviations of common phrases or acronyms.
9. Drop letters from a familiar phrase.
10. Use homonyms or deliberate misspellings.
None of these restrictions have managed to really solve the problem. It is widely accepted that users choose the minimum requirements the must make in order to use a system. So even with these enhancements, text passwords still remain insecure.
Graphical Passwords
Graphical password Systems have emerged as a possible alternative for traditional passwords. Studies have revealed that the human capacity of recalling Visual information is much better than texual only. This has inspired research todays Graphical Passwords in both HCI (Human Computer Interaction) and Security communities.
Graphical passwords reduce drawbacks like
1. Dependency on personal information.
2. Reuse for multiple accounts.
3. Dictionary Attacks
4. Brute Force Attacks
5. Spyware Attacks
Graphical passwords are more usable but problem like shoulder surfing lowers its security. Shoulder surfing refers to someone watching over the user's shoulder as the user enters a password, thereby capturing the password. Research is under way to propose a scheme that can effectively overcome this problem, for Graphical passwords definetly have the capability to revolutionize the password systems.