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Pictorial Passwords

Posted by michael on from the no-pr0n-allowed dept.

Stone Rhino writes: "No longer do you need to remember passwords. Now, thanks to graduate students at Berkeley you merely need to pick out the right pieces of abstract art. There is a story on it at the New York Times. However, there is a problem with it that I see: 5 images from a set of 25 means 53,130 potential combinations. This would be much easier to crack by brute force than a standard alphanumeric password with its billions of possibilities and millions of likely choices." Maybe you have to get the sequence of images correct? If so there are some six million combinations, still weaker than a optimum password but probably stronger than the passwords most people choose (usually their significant other's name). There's another article on passwords in that same NYT edition.

8 of 331 comments (clear)

  1. login required by virtual_mps · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    These links to stories that can't be read are rather annoying. Isn't there enough news that can be read without an obnoxious registration procedure? (For the record, yes I have registered a couple of times. And forgotten the password. It just ain't worth doing again. I still haven't managed to kill the emails I get from the last registration.)

  2. FUCK KATY ALLEN! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    If you don't then drink diesel!

    1. Re:FUCK KATY ALLEN! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
      Isn't she a bit too young to be fucked roughly from behind?

      Well, here's some more for you old pervert.

  3. I like it ! BOOBS everywhere by CDWert · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I agree with the article poster on combination issues, sooooooo, what about a drawing addition, it shows you a piece of abstract art and you draw (ala Graffiti style) your interpretation......

    Oh wait , thats no good, all the guys will be drawing boobs and all the girls cats......Hmm Ok weve got our combinations down to 2, what not that is reached this level of sophistication and security MS will buy the patent for sure......

    Seriouly keep working on it guys it could be cool.

    --
    Sig went tro...aahemmm.....fishing........
  4. (o o) by Slashdolt · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    We can already do boobs, ya boob.

  5. Re:Reg. Bypassed URLs for those articles: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    For the love of God, Moderators, mod this guy up as informative. When a guy makes this kind of effort to whore for karma, it should be rewarded.

    Thank you.

  6. Sounds Like by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Reminds me of the silly Johnny Numonic movie where he lost the pictures and had all the stuff stuck in his head. I would hate that if it happened to me. He had to get a dolphin to hack his brain, lame movie.

  7. Re:From a Tech Support view by sulli · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    ... which is why the OSDN toolbar remains in common use, despite slashdot users' grousing about it!

    --

    sulli
    RTFJ.