Dynahand is a new password authentication program that uses your own handwriting for logging in to websites.  Dynahand would simplify logging in by having the user recognize their own handwriting, eliminating the need for remembering long passwords or biometric devices.  The system works by having the user recognize their own digits that they have previously entered.

University of Glasgow researchers are also working on graphical systems, which they say could help dyslexic children and other people who have trouble with strings of characters.

Dynahand is of benefit to older people and people with learning difficulties precisely because it eliminates the need to remember more, long passwords and the transposing of numbers.  However, it still eliminates the blind, people without hands, and those who never write the same way twice.

Passwords can be secure, but the problem is that people don’t use them properly, often creating the same password for multiple accounts, using weak, and hackable, passwords, and/or leaving their password taped under their keyboards.  Dynahand eliminates this by using digits, as they are harder to recognize by outsiders.  It can even be set so that you must recognize your digits several times before being able to login, creating extra sets of security.

Still, it’s not entirely secure.  An attacker might be able to match the handwriting styles from one login to the next. This is why banks are reluctant to use such a system.

Though Dynahand may not be advisable for sensitive information, such as bank accounts or health records, it sure will find favors with those wary of the computer and its passwords. The main hurdle in getting Dynahand commercial is the creation of new accounts, which is tedious, time-consuming job, says computer scientist Karen Renaud of University of Glasgow, who worked on Dynahand.

Since banks prefer systems that are “something you are and something you know,” Dynahand could be used in conjunction with other security systems already in use.

While Dynahand may not be secure enough for sensitive information, it should be useful, and handy, for social sites.  That still doesn’t mean it’s secure.  If your account on a social site is hacked, it will be destructive to you.  Someone pretending to be you, even online, can destroy your life, online and offline.

It’s a nice idea worth keeping an eye on. However, handwriting samples are all still over the planet (at work, in the garbage, writing checks, knowing your relative’s handwriting, credit card receipts at the restaurant/supermarket), making it easy to steal a sample to study for “future use.”  For now, I’ll stick with the zillion passwords that I currently have.