Just now I had to jigle the mouse back and forth to wake my computer up from its screensaver. Being a safety-conscience person, my computer will only wake up to a password. While I was logging in, I thought that maybe a simple gesture or pattern of movements with the mouse might be easier, faster, and safer than memorizing a password, at least for tasks which require only a little bit of security.

With drawing tablets, it would even be possible to simply sign your name to acess a computer. This gesture, signature, "electronic handshake," or whatever you want to call it, could also be added to other security measures such as passwords or biometrics. The only downsite is that some people might try to watch you and "forge" your gesture, just as some poeple try to decipher passwords by watching someone typing.
-- discontinuuity, Feb 05 2007

Halfbakery: "Enter your password" (2003) _22Enter_20your_20password_22
Like this? (See also, krelnik's link.) [jutta, Feb 06 2007]

"proximity screensaver" (2004) ScreenSaver_20proximity_20feature
[sweet, Apr 18 2007]

The digitiser tablet I use came with signature verification software to do (something similar to) this. I haven't used it, so I don't know if it's exactly what you want. I suspect you could use any stroke arrangement you wanted, rather than restricting yourself to a signature. I think my tablet computer has it also (I don't use the security features on that, either).
-- neutrinos_shadow, Feb 06 2007


I had suspected that this might've been baked already, but I hadn't heard of anything like it.
-- discontinuuity, Feb 06 2007


How about an actual secret handshake? You could give it an animatronic arm.
-- GutPunchLullabies, Apr 18 2007


Hei, you're stealing my clients, go away! <link>
-- sweet, Apr 18 2007



random, halfbakery