As we know, computers cannot distinguish between one human being and the next like a security guard. When using computer systems, a potential hacker need only guess a password and username in order to gain access to what could be a wealth of private information.
With the growing number of systems requiring this kind of access, people tend to use the same words which are often easy to guess – e.g. spouse name or pet name, favourite football team etc.

If a password is easy to remember, it can be quite easy to crack for potential hackers.
In addition, when people do use more complex characters in their password such as a combination of numbers and letters, they are difficult to remember and have to be written down which almost defeats the whole purpose of a password being secret!

In order to combat this problem, it is possible to allow enhancement of password security through the following simple methods:

A) Biometrics
This technology involves recognising the identity of a person through unique physical attributes such as a fingerprint or an eye scan. Over recent years this has become less dear with devices such as fingerprint recognisable USB memory sticks being commonplace. This tends to be a more reliable method of security since it is definitely more unique.

B) Smartcards
Smartcards can provide access to a computer or a room or a building by using a form of scanning the card in order to gain entry. This option can add even more cost savings because the card can be used for a variety of purposes such as virtual money in the office canteen.*
*United Quest Technology has access to a very economical way to implement such a system using software developed in India which is already in use through the UK.

C) Password Tokens
These devices usually come in the form of a key ring which can be kept separately to the laptop or computer. These key rings generate a unique number or password every time the user access the system. These are random and therefore access will be completely denied unless the internal system password generation matches the key ring password generation. This is the least expensive method of enhancing password security but will eventually die out as biometric systems become more accessible and less expensive.

UQ Technology can aid in understanding and deploying effective IT security.

Email technology@unitedquest.net to find out more.