Windows 8 to feature image sign-on system

Using Windows 8 devices could involve signing on by tapping, circling or touching images.

Microsoft has revealed details of a login system for the next version of Windows based around pictures a user stores on a touchscreen device.

Only when parts of an image are tapped or touched in the right order will a user be able to access a device.

Experts said it might stop people using weak passwords but could lead to other loopholes that are harder to solve.

Microsoft aired the idea of using images to sign on to a device via a blog written by engineers working on Windows 8 - the next version of the Windows operating system expected to be released in late 2012.

Windows 8 is designed for touchscreen devices such as tablets and the novel sign-on systems makes use of the sensitive displays they are likely to sport.

The familiar process of getting to use a desktop PC or laptop by typing in a password made of up lower and upper case letters as well as numbers was felt to be too "cumbersome" for tablets, wrote Microsoft engineer Zach Pace on the blog.

The replacement system proposed by Microsoft employs a picture chosen by a user from their collection of images on a device.

:story: Full story: BBC News