And the chances are that companies will jump at the chance to use it. The research team tested the Deja Vu prototype by offering 25 abstract pictures as an authentication challenge. The team then compared the results to how well the same users remembers PINs and passwords. In fact, Deja Vu reflects a new wave of image-based authentication systems that let you prove your identity in new and surprising ways, from asking you to pick a photo of a face you recognise to mixing drinks in a virtual reality cocktail lounge. What they all have in common is the aim of drawing on the human brain's astonishing ability to remember images.
Weak passwords make easy pickings for hackers.
There are two reasons. Perrig, who is completing his PhD in computer science at Carnegie-Mellon University, invented the prototype for Deja Vu with Berkeley PhD student Dawn Song. Dhamija wrote the prototype Web interface software and ran the user study. They rely on precise recall. In other words, if you can only remember three out the four numbers in your PIN, that ATM won't be doling out cash to you.