14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Hello is truly an advanced authentication technology that employs biometric systems to protect your Windows 10 device and make it possible to log in as seamlessly as possible, and Microsoft is continuously looking into ways to expand its capabilities.
One way to do that could be by allowing users to sign in to their devices with their signatures, as a recent patent shows (via MSPU).
Obviously, it all comes down to the Surface Pen, which is getting upgrades with every new Surface generation and is becoming a more advanced accessory. With a Surface Pen, or any other stylus that’s supposed by this technology, users would be required to simply provide their signature to be granted access to the desktop or to perform certain tasks like installing apps.
Two-factor authentication
Of course, because copying someone’s signature is not really hard to do, Microsoft wants to use this system as a two-factor authentication system, so the Surface Pen itself would play the role of a secure token that can be used with the device, most likely after being paired prior to the authentication.
“A method for securing operation of a computing device operated with a stylus includes recognizing a pre-defined gesture performed by a stylus on a touch screen, the pre-defined gesture defined as a user command to lock an item displayed on the touch screen, determining a location of the gesture, determining identity of the stylus, locking an item displayed at the location determined, and recording identity of the stylus,” the patent description explains.
Microsoft says that such a technology could be used for a wide variety of tasks requiring authentication, like making system modifications, accessing certain features, or even logging in to the computer.
While this is just a patent for the time being, there’s no doubt that Microsoft is looking into more ways to expand Windows Hello, so the next Surface Pen could indeed get more capabilities. Upgraded Surface models are likely to launch in the fall with a new version of the Pen as well.