Efficiency and Device Versatility of Graphical and Textual Passwords Completed Research Paper

We present the design, execution, and results of a user study of entry speed and error rate of a variety of password schemes used on a variety of computing platforms. A standard text-based password, a personal identification number (PIN), and three different graphical password systems were designed and deployed for use and evaluation on each of a desktop computer, a touchscreen tablet, and a touchscreen phone. We demonstrate cases on the mobile devices in which the graphical approaches exhibited faster rates of entry than the complementary textual password approach. We make a case for the study of the device versatility of authentication mechanisms and discuss potential improvements to graphical approaches to achieve greater levels of efficiency.