Analyzing User Choice in Graphical Passwords

Abstract

In ubiquitous textual password schemes, users choose passwords that contain predictable characteristics that are roughly equated with what users find easy to recall. This motivates us to examine user choice in graphical passwords to determine whether predictable characteristics exist that may reduce the entropy of the password space. We present an informal user study of the scheme proposed by Jermyn et al. (1999), and the results, both in context of the study’s goals and a separate analysis of the results performed at a later date. Our results support that user drawings contain the predictable characteristics relating to symmetry, number of composite strokes, and centering within the grid. Our results also highlight a usability challenge with the DAS scheme.

Type
Publication
Technical Report TR-04-01