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Password Authentication for Surface Technology

This is a completed project.

Increasingly, personal computers are equipped with touch surfaces as their primary interaction device: smartphones, tablets, and an increasing number of laptop and desktop computers. The first step in using these devices is to authenticate: provide evidence of identity to gain access to the services and resources. For the most part this is done with traditional passwords or PINS.  These are awkward, especially on small mobile devices. Some alternatives are offered, such at Google’s Pattern Unlock, and Microsoft’s Picture Password.  These are based on Graphical Passwords, where there is evidence of a picture superiority effect that increases memorability. We are exploring how to leverage this effect but also how to use multitouch and gestures in passwords. We suggest there are advantages for mobile use and also concealment of password entry, and are developing and evaluating prototypes.

Prototype Recgonition Multitouch Password Scheme (Shazada):