A simple password is easy to remember but can also be easy to guess. Secure passwords are easy to forget. IBM has a nice idea for making an easy password hard to cheat (US 2004/143767). When the password is first set up, it is keyed in with a characteristic rhythm – like slow, slow, quick, quick, slow for B-A-R-R-Y. The PC learns the rhythm as well as the word. When the password is next entered it works only if both the word and the keying rhythm are correct. For those without a natural sense of rhythm the learning process can be set for a wider tolerance. The same system could also be adapted to draw money out of cash machines.
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