Survey of Various Graphical Password Techniques and Their Schemes

Abstract

User authentication mostly relies on using the text password methods for its simplicity; however, it is often predictable and vulnerable to some common attacks. To overcome the shortcomings of the text password, alternative authentication methods have been introduced, including graphical password authentication methods. The graphical password technique depends on users choosing a series of images, patterns, or drawing something to be the password. Although the graphical password technique helps users to remember their passwords better, this technique is also vulnerable to some attacks. This paper provides a summary of authentication methods and a survey for several graphical password techniques, where these techniques are categorized into three categories: Recognition-based technique, Recall-based technique, and Hybrid technique. In addition, a study of the schemes of each technique and a summary of the attacks against this technique were presented. This paper can help researchers to design more secure graphical password schemes based on the results of this study, which helps in designing new schemes with more usability and security features.