On Jun 25, 2009, at 4:54 AM, Joshua Porter wrote:
One very important issue that Nielsen seems to be glossing over is that one password is often used for many accounts...and so when someone steals a single password they are often getting the keys to the kingdom, so to speak.
True. A previous poster mentioned the AirPort/Wireless Network box's use of the "show password" checkbox, and...
As a designer I prefer to keep control in the user's hands at all times (while also providing feedback when they want it), and so I'm using the "show password" technique or the iPhone-like technique in recent projects.
There is a substantial difference between web input forms and these two contexts that I'm not sure has been addressed yet:
1. iPhone: input method yields a high number of unintentional keypresses, especially for new users unfamiliar with the keyboard. The solution is to display the most recent character of input in the password field for something like 500ms to give the user visual feedback and confirmation of desired behavior. There is a small tradeoff of security for usability, but the reduced screensize of the iPhone probably makes it less likely to be read over the shoulder, especially if the user keeps the device close.
2. Wireless passwords: while the input method is standard, the password is a non-standard, monster of a string. Users frequently key in 40-character hex strings. The need to compare the password given to them, whether on paper or in email, is vital to getting it correct, and the "show password" toggle affords this. (If you've ever dealt with one of these you probably remember getting it wrong 50% of the time, or someone reciting it to you character by character to verify it). Another tradeoff of security for usability, but in this context the user is given a choice to evaluate the risk.
So yes, I agree that there are problems with the bullet masking of type="password" fields, but it serves a necessary evil for many contexts. When we have optic nerve implants this will all be moot. Until then, I need to block prying eyes in a Starbucks from any possibility of seeing a user's banking password, and unfortunately that means preventing the user from toggling visibility with a checkbox...because he or she might not be fully cognizant of the risk involved. If security is compromised, the blame is still on us as the designers of the system.
So far one of the best error-prevention methods I've seen is the use of a caps lock symbol in the OS X login window to alert the user his/ her capslock is active.
What other methods have folks on the list explored? I wonder if one could take advantage of the contrast and color shift of displays outside the optimal viewing angle to display the password to the user but reduce its visibility from outside, say, a 15 degree angle.
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