IT and Society: Windows 8 to let you use a picture as your password

Windows 8 will offer a unique approach to logging in by letting users use their photos as a password. Since traditional passwords can be hard to remember and use, Microsoft wanted to develop a different log-in method, especially one that would be widely used on touch-screen devices.

Microsoft Building Windows 8 official blog reads that using a photo as your password can make things simple to remember as well as secure. The new method will be available for testing in Windows 8 beta due to come out in February and will consist of two components.

First, you can use one of your own photos to ensure that it is distinctive and therefore more secure and memorable. That photo would then appear on the lock screen of phone or other device and you will need to offer the photo’s copy to log in. Second, you highlight or draw on certain parts of the large photo with your finger (or mouse if you're a PC user). Those gestures then serve as an actual log-in as Windows interprets them to give you access to the device.

In field tests conducted with Windows users, Microsoft learned that people typically preferred one of three gestures: tapping on a section of the photo to indicate a location, connecting or highlighting different areas of the photo, or enclosing areas. When trying more free-form gestures, the testers found the process slower and more difficult.

According to Microsoft, a new picture-log-in feature is rather safe as it enables users to highlight or draw free areas to indicate a location – circles, triangles, squares, irregular shapes etc.

Like much of Windows 8, the new photo password feature is designed more for touchscreen devices than for computers and laptops. Many PC and laptop users are expected to remain loyal to traditional passwords.