Traditional Alphanumeric Passwords Research Articles

A Graphical Password Authentication System

Graphical passwords provide a promising alternative to traditional alphanumeric passwords. They are attractive since people usually remember pictures better than words.In this extended abstract, we propose a simple graphical password authentication system. We describe its operation with some examples, and highlight important aspects of the system.

Graphical Password Authentication

Abstract: A graphical password authentication is a form of authentication where users select a picture, image, or sequence as their password. Graphical passwords are an alternative to alphanumeric passwords in which users click on graphical images rather than typing alphanumeric characters to authenticate their identity. This method has gained popularity due to its ease of use and ability to provide better security than traditional alphanumeric passwords. This research paper provides a comprehensive study of graphical password authentication, including its history, types, advantages and disadvantages, security concerns, and future developments. The paper also includes a review of related research on graphical password authentication and its effectiveness in different settings.

Detection of DIAG and LINE Patterns in PassPoints Graphical Passwords Based on the Maximum Angles of Their Delaunay Triangles.

An alternative authentication method to traditional alphanumeric passwords is graphical password authentication, also known as graphical authentication, for which one of the most valuable cued-recall techniques is PassPoints. This technique stands out for its security and usability. However, it can be violated if the user follows a predefined pattern when selecting the five points in an image as their passwords, such as the DIAG and LINE patterns. Dictionary attacks can be built using these two patterns to compromise graphical passwords. So far, no reports have been found in the state of the art about any test capable of detecting graphical passwords with DIAG or LINE patterns in PassPoints. Studies carried out in other scenarios have shown the effectiveness of the characteristics of Delaunay triangulations in extracting information about the dependence between the points. In this work, graphical passwords formed by five randomly selected points on an image are compared with passwords whose points contain patterns of the DIAG or LINE type. The comparison is based on building for each password its Delaunay triangulation and calculating the mean value of the maximum angles of the triangles obtained; such a mean value is denoted by amadt. It is experimentally shown that in passwords containing DIAG and LINE patterns, the value of amadt is higher than the one obtained in passwords formed by random dots. From this result, it is proposed to use this amadt value as a statistic to build a test of means. This result constitutes the work’s main contribution: The proposal of a spatial randomness test to detect weak graphic passwords that contain DIAG and LINE type patterns. The importance and novelty of this result become evident when two aspects are taken into account: First, these weak passwords can be exploited by attackers to improve the effectiveness of their attacks; second, there are no prior criteria to detect this type of weak password. The practical application of said test contributes to increasing PassPoints security without substantially affecting its efficiency.

Leveraging 3D Benefits for Authentication

Devices with 3D capabilities are quickly gaining in popularity. In this paper, we propose to bring authentication into the third dimension. We define the concept of a 3D authentication scheme based on physical and psychological advantages of 3D. We implement an example of 3D authentication: 3DPass, to demonstrate the superiority of the 3D approach. Our security analysis of 3DPass demonstrates that 3DPass can exceed the password space of an 8 character alphanumeric password with just 6 choices. Our user study finds that 3DPass has superior memorability versus traditional alphanumeric passwords: 98% vs 83% recall rates after one week. We find that passwords in our scheme can be entered in 21 seconds on average when used with the Oculus Rift. We find that using the Oculus Rift improves entry time compared to a traditional 2D display, despite having no impact on presence (the feeling of “being there”) or user preference.

Secure Usable Authentication Using Strong Pass text Passwords

Traditional alphanumeric passwords used for remote user authentication does not offer both usability and security. Graphical passwords were proposed as an alternative to these textual passwords for improving usability and security. This paper proposes a remote user authentication scheme, which extends the existing pass text scheme. The usability and security of the proposed scheme is analyzed. Using Morea tool the Usability of the proposed scheme is investigated. Index Terms—Authentication, Graphical passwords, Pass Text passwords, Usability.

Investigating User Behavior for Authentication Methods

A wide variety of authentication mechanisms have been designed to ensure information security. Individuals with cognitive disabilities depend on computers and the Internet for a variety of tasks and, therefore, use authentication applications on an everyday basis. However, although there have been numerous studies investigating password usage by neurotypical users, there have been no research studies conducted to examine the use of authentication methods by individuals with cognitive disabilities. In this article, we systematically investigate how individuals with cognitive disabilities, specifically Down syndrome (DS), interact with various user authentication mechanisms. This research provides the first benchmark data on the performance of individuals with DS when using multiple authentication methods. It confirms that individuals with DS are capable of using the traditional alphanumeric passwords with reasonable efficiency. The passwords created by individuals with DS are of similar strength to those created by neurotypical people. Graphic passwords are not as effective as traditional alphanumeric and mnemonic passwords regarding efficiency, and are less preferred by the participants. Based on the findings of the study, we propose design guidelines that aim to assist both practitioners and researchers in designing and developing effective authentication applications that fit the specific needs of individuals with DS.

Cognitive Approaches to Password Memorability – the Possible Role of Story-Based Passwords

The inverse relation between memorability of a password and the strength of a password presents a unique optimization opportunity for cognitive approaches. While graphical passwords have received most of the attention to date, the use of verbal material to create memorable passwords presents some distinct advantages that might make story-based passwords a serious contender in the race to the ultimate “cognitive” password system. In a first pilot study with 385 participants we investigated the memory for different story elements for short (10 min) and long (1 week) retention intervals. Even a non-optimized story yields better long-term performance than traditional alphanumeric passwords and is comparable to the lower end of graphical password systems.

The Effect of Baroque Music on the Passpoints Graphical Password

Graphical passwords have been demonstrated to be the possible alternatives to traditional alphanumeric passwords. However, they still tend to follow predictable patterns that are easier to attack. The crux of the problem is users’ memory limitations. Users are the weakest link in password authentication mechanism. It shows that baroque music has positive effects on human memorizing and learning. We introduce baroque music to the PassPoints graphical password scheme and conduct a laboratory study in this paper. Results shown that there is no statistic difference between the music group and the control group without music in shortterm recall experiments, both had high recall success rates. But in long-term recall, the music group performed signifi- cantly better. We also found that the music group tended to set significantly more complicated passwords, which are usually more resistant to dictionary and other guess attacks. But compared with the control group, the music group took more time to log in both in short-term and long-term tests. Besides, it appears that background music does not work in terms of hotspots.