WO1996042075A1

WO1996042075A1 - System for generating a password

Info

Publication number: WO1996042075A1
Application number: PCT/EP1996/002562
Authority: WO
Inventors: Frits Hans Michael Traugott
Original assignee: Frits Hans Michael Traugott
Priority date: 1995-06-13
Filing date: 1996-06-12
Publication date: 1996-12-27
Also published as: AU6302996A; NL1000548C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for generating a password, provided with a carrier having a number of characters arranged thereon and a mask for placing on the carrier. The mask has a display window and the carrier and/or the mask is provided with reference marks for mutual positioning of the carrier and the mask. By placing the mask in a particular manner on the carrier a set of characters becomes visible in the display window which can function as password. The characters can be ordered on the carrier in the form of a matrix, wherein the characters are moreover ordered in meaningful groups. In addition, the mask can have a plurality of display windows with mutually differing dimensions.

Description

System for generating a password

The invention relates to a system for generating a password. Understood herein by password is a group of characters, such as numbers, letters and punctuation marks, which are recognised by a system as identification of a user to be admitted.

Passwords are being used to an increasing extent in everyday life. Envisaged here are the passwords which are required to gain access to for instance a computer at the place of work, or a data network. Much use is also made of passwords in electronic payment services, generally in the form of four or more digit PIN codes. In addition, passwords are often used in systems for monitoring the entrance to buildings, vehicles and the like. Since people come into daily contact with a large number of the above mentioned systems, a large number of passwords must be remembered. The passwords can in any case not be written down, since the very function of the password would thereby be lost. Users are moreover often required to regularly change their password, particularly in the case of computer systems and data networks, in order to limit as far as possible the risk of non-authorized users making use of the system.

Because the average user must remember a large number of passwords, each of which moreover often contains a large number of characters, there is a tendency to choose passwords with a personal touch, such as names of friends and family, important dates and the like. This involves the danger that the password can be discovered relatively simply by someone gaining some familiarity with the personal circumstances of the user. It is therefore desirable that passwords form as far as possible meaningless combinations of numbers, letters and other characters. This has the drawback however of an increasing risk of the user forgetting his password, whereby much loss of time can occur and, in the worst case, particular data stored by a user is no longer accessible and is lost.

The invention therefore has for its object to provide a system with which passwords can be generated in simple manner which on the one hand have no individual meaning and are therefore difficult for outsiders to discover, but which on the other hand are relatively easy for the user to remember or retrieve. This is achieved according to the invention with a system provided with at least one carrier having a number of characters arranged thereon and at least one mask for placing on the carrier and having at least one display window. With such a system a password can be generated simply by placing the mask on a particular chosen position on the carrier and by choosing the characters then visible in the display window as password. Only the position of the mask on the carrier herein need be remembered in order to be able to retrieve the password at all times.

Preferred embodiments of the system according to the invention are described in the dependent claims 2- 11.

The invention also relates to a carrier and a mask which are intended for use in a system as described above. The invention will now be elucidated on the basis of an example, wherein reference is made to the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1,2 and 3 show schematically three possible embodiments of a carrier printed with characters; Fig. 4 shows schematically a mask; and

Fig. 5 shows the mask of fig.4 on the carrier of fig. l.

A carrier 1 (fig. 1,2,3) is provided with a plurality of characters, for instance letters 2, numbers 8 and punctuation marks 9, arranged thereon in a matrix 3. The characters can therein be ordered in meaningful groups 4, for instance forming makes and types of cars (fig. 1) or names of large companies (fig. 2) . Other possibilities recognizable to a large number of users, such as for instance well-known artists, place names and the like are also conceivable. Deriving a password on carrier 1 is simplified by ordering the characters in such recognizable, meaningful groups. When carrier 1 is exclusively intended for generating passwords consisting only of numbers, such as a PIN code, arrangement in meaningful groups is of course less easily possible (fig. 3) . The carrier 1 is further provided with reference marks 5,6 for mutual positioning of the carrier and the mask. These reference marks are formed in the example shown by a row of numbers 5 along the top edge of the matrix 3 and a column of letters 6 along the side edge of the matrix. Any position in matrix 3 can hereby be fixed by a simple combination of one letter and a two- digit number. In order to simplify positioning still further, a column or diagonal 7 in the matrix 3 itself can also be filled with the sequential numbers of the rows of the matrix, which themselves otherwise function as number characters 8. Because most users must be able to retrieve a large number of passwords of different structure, the system will usually comprise a number of carriers, for instance a carrier with only numbers (fig. 3) , with numbers and letters (fig. 2) and with numbers, letters and other characters (fig. 1) . Herein the meanings of the characters groups 4 per carrier may correspond.

The mask 10 (fig. 4) , which is formed from an at least partly translucent or transparent material, is provided with a part 11 which is made non-transparent and in which one or more display windows are left clear. It is otherwise also conceivable of course that only the display windows 12 are framed and the mask 10 is further entirely transparent. The mask further has reference marks for positioning thereof on the carrier 1 in the form of vertical dotted lines 13 and horizontal dotted lines 14. Further arranged on the mask 10 are a number of auxiliary reference marks 15 with which the position of mask 10 on carrier 1 (portrait, landscape, turned over and the like) can be seen at a glance. The display windows 12 have different dimensions, so that passwords of differing length can be generated therewith. In addition, the display windows define an irregular or asymmetrical pattern in mask 10. This pattern makes it possible to retrieve passwords on the basis of an easily recognizable word picture, wherein the word picture is not formed by the structure of the password itself but rather by its position in the part 11 made opaque. Thus a password can for instance be formed by all characters on a diagonal, to be read from the centre to the edge. Very many variations are of course possible, which can however be remembered easily in that the mask 10 in fact gives a form to the password.

During use the mask 10 is placed on the carrier 1 (fig. 5) such that the co-acting sets of reference marks 5,13 and 6,14 determine a position. In the embodiment shown the right-hand vertical reference line 13 is for instance situated in column "16", while the upper horizontal reference line 14 is located on row "L" . A great variety of possible passwords is now visible in display window 12. If for instance the above stated example is selected of a diagonal to be read from the centre (position 06) to the edge (position L15) , the password then reads "RTE:1B" . This is at first sight a completely random group of characters which in practice cannot be discovered by an unauthorized user and which, due to the clear word picture, is simple for the authorized user to retrieve by remembering only the combination "L16". Because each user will in practice have a number of different carriers 1 at his disposal, a password will not easily be "cracked" by an unauthorized user even if he could discover the position code and had the carriers available.

Because the carriers 1 can be embodied in credit card format, they are easy for the user to carry. The mask 10 can be embodied in the same format as the carriers 1, wherein a positioning row or column 5,6 must then be arranged on each carrier 1 along all edges of the matrix 3. Almost 300,000 passwords of 9 characters or more can be accommodated in the matrix of the format shown. When a user therefore has a number of carriers, the number of passwords at his disposal increases accordingly.

Instead of the above described embodiments with transparent display windows, it is also possible to embody these windows as real openings in the mask. When the characters are then arranged on the carrier in braille, the system can also be used as password generator by visually handicapped people. The dimensions will then have to be somewhat larger than credit card format.

The dimensions of the carrier can for instance be chosen such that it can also be used as decorative pad for a computer mouse. Another possibility is that the carrier(s) form(s) a part of a holder for storing the mask.

The above described and shown system for generating passwords is simple in use, cannot be "cracked" by unauthorized users and is moreover inexpensive. In addition, the carrier and/or mask lend themselves well to arrangement thereon of for instance advertising messages and the like, while it is also possible to use for instance a magnetic card or a chip card as carrier l, so that the password can be kept in safe manner together with the pass or card to which it belongs.

Claims

I. System for generating a password, provided with at least one carrier having a number of characters arranged thereon and at least one mask for placing on the carrier and having at least one display window.

2. System as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that at least the carrier and/or the mask is provided with reference marks for mutual positioning of the carrier and the mask.

3. System as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the characters are ordered on the carrier in the form of at least one matrix.

4. System as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the characters are ordered in meaningful groups.

5. System as claimed in claim 4, characterized by a plurality of carriers, each of which is provided with character groups with corresponding meanings.

6. System as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the mask has a plurality of display windows.

7. System as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the display windows have mutually differing dimensions.

8. System as claimed in claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the display windows define an asymmetrical pattern in the mask.

9. System as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the mask can be turned over.

10. System as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the mask is manufactured from an at least partially translucent or transparent material.

II. System as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that at least the carrier has practically the dimensions of a credit card.

12. System as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the carrier forms part of a holder for storing the mask.

13. System as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the display window is formed by an opening in the mask and the characters are arranged in braille on the carrier.

14. Carrier evidently intended for use in the system as claimed in any of the foregoing claims.

15. Mask evidently intended for use in the system as claimed in any of the claims 1-13.