Keyboard Layout Mismatch Authentication via Parallel Hash Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
User authentication failures occur due to mismatches between the user's perceived keyboard layout and the actual layout used by the computer, leading to incorrect password entry and authentication failures, especially when the declared keyboard differs from the real keyboard.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that generate additional passwords by applying alternative keyboard layout definitions to the user's input, allowing the authentication process to correct for keyboard layout mismatches by sending multiple hashed passwords to the server for verification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the system uses a single declared keyboard layout for authentication, then the authentication process is simple and fast, but authentication fails when there is a mismatch between the user's perceived keyboard layout and the actual layout
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication process is segmented into multiple parallel attempts, where each attempt corresponds to a different keyboard layout. The system divides the authentication task into separate verification paths (one for each keyboard layout) and processes them concurrently, improving reliability without significantly increasing overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-generating multiple hashed passwords corresponding to different keyboard layouts before the actual authentication attempt. This preparation allows the system to handle keyboard layout mismatches proactively, ensuring that when authentication occurs, the correct hashed password is already available for verification.
2Reliability
If the system generates multiple additional passwords for alternative keyboard layouts, then authentication reliability improves, but the processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary computation by pre-calculating and storing hashed passwords for multiple keyboard layouts before authentication is needed. This advance preparation eliminates the need for time-consuming real-time computation during authentication, as the system only needs to verify which pre-computed hash matches the user's input rather than generating all hashes on-demand.
Solution Approach 2:
The system generates more hashed passwords than strictly necessary (one for each supported keyboard layout), which ensures comprehensive coverage of possible keyboard mismatches. While this appears excessive, it actually optimizes performance by allowing parallel verification and avoiding iterative trial-and-error authentication attempts.
3Ease of operation
If the user types password based on their perceived keyboard layout, then the user experience is natural and intuitive, but authentication fails when the perceived layout differs from the actual layout
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary layer in the form of a translation mechanism that maps characters from the user's perceived keyboard layout to the actual keyboard layout. This intermediary translates the user's natural input (based on their mental model of the keyboard) into the correct format expected by the authentication system, bridging the gap between user perception and system reality without requiring the user to change their typing behavior.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of performing user authentication including the steps of receiving a password comprising a sequence of characters, accessing one or more alternative keyboard layout definitions, generating one or more additional passwords from applying the alternative keyboard layout definitions to the sequence of characters, and using the received password and the additional passwords in the user authentication process.