Microsoft reveals new ‘picture unlock’ facility at CES

Microsoft reveals new ‘picture unlock’ facility at CESSoftware giant, Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer Steve Ballmer has released its new ‘picture unlock’ facility at the ongoing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The picture unlock’ facility will allow users to touch the right parts of a picture in order to unlock their smartphone and tablet devices without the use of traditional passwords. A user will be able to choose a photo and perform certain gestures in the right order of taps, lines, and circles in order to log in.

Some are raising questions on the safety of the system but as many users reply on simple predictable passwords, the gesture based system could prove to be more secure than passwords. The company admits that smudges on the screen or recording devices could allow others to determine the gestures but said that the risks are very low.

Analysts say that the system is not secure enough as the gestures on a screen of a tablet can be recorded from a distance by anyone. Company officials have said on the Building Windows 8 blog that there are some ways to break the security under the system but the presence of a vast number of password combinations could make the system more secure than the password system used in most devices.

Microsoft had released a video last month showing program manager Zach Pace logging in to a tablet with a family photo by various gestures on the picture. The demonstration also shows an option to switch to regular password login.

Meanwhile, Intel displayed its new gesture-controlled ultrabook range at the world’s biggest consumer electronics show. The new devices will come with tilt sensors and touch-free credit card readers, while Intel indicated that 75 laptop models are under development for the year. Intel announced at the press event of the CES 2012 that it will launch one the biggest marketing campaign in nearly a decade to promote the ultrabook format in April.