Pass Face - The New Authentication Tool

Submitted by Y. G. Prasuna (CSE III/IV)

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Security is the prime necessity of any Internet browser. We live in a password-ridden age in which many of our daily activities depend on passwords. We use passwords for opening our email inbox, getting into the Intranet, logging in to our favorite web sites etc. Remembering these passwords based on strings of alphanumeric or alphabetic characters is an added task to our already flooded mind. To lighten this burden most of us take recourse to some trick such as selecting easily recallable passwords strings, keeping the same passwords for all the accounts etc. Though such actions facilitate better management of the password, they make us vulnerable to password hackers, which would cause threat to security.

Remembering something is considered as an analytical activity. The solution to this would be an alternative service that would not demand any memorizing power from us. One such alternate authentication tool is a "Pass-face".

All of us have an innate capability to instantaneously recognize images. It is widely accepted that man has a remarkable ability to recognize human faces. Pass face is a face based entry pass. It is not a string of characters, but instead, is a string of face images. Using this authentication tool, we can select an image combination and whenever we try to access a service, based on this method, the system will show a set of faces from which the pass faces corresponding to our password string can be selected.

One such webserver, which provides this innovative tool, is Realuser.com that hosts a free passface service. To access the service provided by the site you need to sign up at the site http://www.realserver.com after which the system will present you with a string of five faces, which will form your passface.

An interesting feature of the service is that it let's your access other sites and services automatically. To achieve this, one can add the target sites link into Realuser.com's database through the "My Links" option. By accessing the "My Links" button you will get access to Realuser.com's autolog in service's interface. You can add a site by clicking on the Add Link button and providing some site related information. This way you can add all your favorite links to the Service Database and they can be accessed from anywhere at any time. Another interesting feature of the service is that it can be used to automatically log on to sites that demand password authentication so that you don't need to always remember the passwords.

Real User's Passface personal authentication solution combines a comprehensive set of benefits that, in most other systems, are mutually exclusive

Security

• Passfaces provide consistent, high-assurance personal authentication;
• Passfaces are difficult to pass on or inadvertently disclose by the user.

Reliability

• Passfaces are unforgettable.
• Passfaces can't be left at home.
• No additional hardware to break down or complex software to maintain.

Usability

• The Passface system is easy to use and requires minimal user training
• Passfaces are portable and work on any device with a graphical user interface including - PCs, PDAs, ATMs and Interactive TVs
• The Passface system works for everyone - independent of language, age or education
• Passfaces are fun

Scalability

• The Passface system requires no user hardware or client software installation
• Server software is easily deployable in most systems and simple to maintain
• One low-end server supports 500K users
• Passface users require minimal support.

For additional information and to use this tool you can refer to the link http://www.realuser.com/published/scinecebehindpassfaces.pdf

This page last modified on 26/02/2002
Contact: karthik_abhiram@yahoo.com

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