Re:Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?
by jdaley on Wednesday July 17, 2013 @08:24AM
(#6057229)
If a passerby hears you say "cypher mode A Y R cypher mode" to unlock your computer, they might not figure out that your password is CAT, but they will figure out that "cypher mode A Y R cypher mode" unlocks the computer.
Re:Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?
by wissler on Wednesday July 17, 2013 @02:15PM
(#6059223)
Obviously you'd pick a better phrase than "cipher mode".
But you make a good point. I think this approach can still work though.
- Rotate the cipher based on the current day/time, or rotate it based on the previous use.
- You could prime the next password each time you successfully login. So e.g. every time you login, you offer 3 additional letters in "clear mode", but then have to give them back in cipher mode.
I think I'd go with the last one.
The worst part about all this is that it requires custom programming.
- Figure out how to add a text filter between DragonDictate and your system.
- Program the filter to look for a special sequence, e.g. "cipher_mode"
- When in cipher mode, feed characters through a simple cipher. E.g. A -> C, B -> D, etc. No passerby is going to be able to figure out what you're doing.
- When the filter sees "cipher_mode" again then it stops filtering.