Patent ID: 7725712

Claim:
A method of authenticating a user for access to a device, service, application, function, or system, comprising: using a processor of an authentication system for creating an authentication key in the form of a user formula selected from a set of variables and operations provided by the authentication system and for storing the user formula in the authentication system; utilizing a display to present the user with an arrangement of cells generated by the authentication system, each cell having a variable and one or more values assigned to the variable within the cell; using the processor to detect a first result calculated by identifying, for each variable in the user formula, a matching variable in one of the cells, applying one of the one or more values within the cell to the variable in the user formula, and performing the operations of the user formula; interspersing one or more dummy characters among the characters of the first result; and conveying the first result with the dummy characters to the authentication system, wherein the authentication system authenticates the user if a second result of a separate and independent calculation of the user formula calculated by the authentication system is found in the first result with the dummy characters and the dummy characters satisfy a set of specified restrictions.