New technology aimed at people who struggle to remember passwords and personal identification numbers has been unveiled.
The software has been developed for the latest mobile phones and handheld computers which uses pictures instead of letters and numbers for security codes.
The idea could be expanded into other areas, as the images will be harder than text passwords to copy by fraudsters, and easier to remember.
Researchers at Newcastle University were showcasing their Background Draw-a-Secret (BDAS) technology on a range of gadgets including i-phones, laptops and PDAs at the Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition in London.
The “graphical passwords” are drawn over a background, such as a photo of a flower, a map, a playing card or the night sky. The computer remembers the number of “pen” strokes used, where the image was started and the order in which they were made.
The system allows users to create passwords which are much more complex than the traditional numeric or alphabetical versions.
