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People and Computers XIX — The Bigger Picture pp 167–182Cite as

A Visuo-Biometric Authentication Mechanism for Older Users

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Abstract

The Web is an invaluable resource for users of all ages, but it especially offers facilities which can make a huge difference to the lives of elderly users, many of whom have to contend with limited mobility and frequent illness. Whereas there is some understanding of the issues that pertain to designing websites for this group of users, the issue of specialized Web authentication has not received much attention. Web authentication is often treated as a one-size-fits-all problem with ubiquitous use of the password, and indeed authentication is seldom tailored to the needs of either the site or the target users. Sites are seldom subjected to a risk analysis before an authentication mechanism is chosen. This paper proposes a technique for matching the risk levels of a website to the security rating of an authentication mechanism and presents an authentication mechanism that is tailored to the needs of elderly users for protecting sites with a low risk rating. Usage data from a field test of this mechanism is reported, which show that the mechanism is indeed feasible and meets older users’ needs.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8RZ, UK

    Karen Renaud

Authors
  1. Karen Renaud
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computing, Napier University, Edinburgh, UK

    Tom McEwan MSc, PgCert, MBCS, CITP, Ceng, ILTM (SEDA-accredited teacher in HE) & David Benyon BSc, MSc, PhD (SEDA-accredited teacher in HE) & 

  2. Department of Information Technology/HCI, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Jan Gulliksen MSc, PhD

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© 2006 Springer-Verlag London Limited

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Renaud, K. (2006). A Visuo-Biometric Authentication Mechanism for Older Users. In: McEwan, T., Gulliksen, J., Benyon, D. (eds) People and Computers XIX — The Bigger Picture. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-249-7_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-249-7_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-84628-192-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84628-249-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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