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Toss Out Your Passwords - Bring On Passfaces(TM) Instead!
By Mark Merkow, CCP, CISSP
April 1, 1999

The Benefits of Passfaces

  • Users will continue to recognize their Passfaces even after long periods of non-use, thereby reducing or eliminating password reset requests to your help desk.
  • Passfaces can''t be written down nor shared with other people.
  • Challenges always appear in random order, reducing the possibility that someone looking over your shoulder could ''learn'' your chosen set of Passfaces.
  • Passfaces are more of a ''friendly'' way to implement security measures.
  • Passfaces require no new hardware and only minimal changes to existing authentication engines.
A Sample Session With Passfaces

Let''s now take a look at how Passfaces operate using the contest entry form on the ID Arts Web site. A complete demonstration, including enrollment and logging-in is also available at ID Arts at www.id-arts.com/product/try.htm.

Figure 1 below shows the three Passfaces that we''re asked to recognize on subsequent challenge screens. This form is shown to aid in ''memorizing'' the images first.


Figure 1
User Initial Learning

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