14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is playing around with your psyche, in order to create a password solution capable of offering advanced protection to end users. For this, the Redmond company has debuted InkblotPasswords. The project is a result of work done under the umbrella of Microsoft research, and at this point in time, it is nothing more than a simple demonstration set up for test-driving and research purposes. The research project is essentially designed to create "high-entropy passwords". Elaborate passwords are usually synonymous with a consistent effort on behalf of the user. Just remembering complex items is a chore, and users opt instead for weak alternatives or a single password to secure a variety of access points. Microsoft's InkblotPasswords is set up to resolve this issue. InkblotPasswords is, of course, based on the Rorschach inkblot test.
"Inkblot passwords help users create a secure, personal password that is easy to remember. The user is presented with a sequence of random inkblots. Each should remind the user of a word -- a butterfly or a pumpkin, for example. For each image, the user then types the first and last letters of the word that came to mind -- such as by for butterfly or pn for pumpkin", Microsoft revealed. "A century of psychological literature indicates that inkblot associations are intimately personal, and our own user studies verify that users almost always describe the same inkblots quite differently. Such personalization leads to passwords with high entropy, that is, passwords that are difficult to attack by guessing, whether by knowing the target of the attack or by using a dictionary".
InkblotPasswords is up and running, if you want to experience the project yourselves. The introduction is focused on another Microsoft Research project: Asira or Animal Species Image Recognition for Restricting Access. Still, while InkblotPasswords is ultimately destined to provide more secure passwords, the Redmond company is offering no guarantees. "It is for demonstration and research purposes only. You are welcome to try it out, but we make absolutely no promise that our implementation will protect your password. Don't use your account here to protect any data you care about, from money to your reputation. We also make no promise that the site will continue running. Should the service prove successful, Microsoft may consider offering the service as a commercial product or service. For now, consider it an unreliable, insecure service run by a couple research coneheads in their spare time, and trust it accordingly", Microsoft added.