User authentication is the act of verifying the identity of a person who wishes to connect to a computer or a network. This can be done in several ways, but most commonly is through a user name and password.
For more complex, or sensitive systems, you may be asked to use two (or more) factor authentication.
Passwords are the most common method of protection, but they can easily be hacked, stolen, etc because people use the same passwords over and over, and often use simple, easy to guess passwords.
Some systems use single use passwords which get reset each time a person logs in – generally it is initiated by a text, or similar method, so the user has to have a known device to be safe.
Systems should encrypt passwords using a one-way hash and a seed to further encrypt the passwords.
A dictionary attack is a list of known, commonly used passwords which people use. They are often made up of 10,000’s or even millions of common passwords. The attacker can simply start going through the list of known common passwords in an attempt to guess the password.
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Biometrics are user authentication methods that measure, record, and analyze unique physical or behavioral characteristics of a person. Each method has advantages and drawbacks in terms of accuracy, cost, convenience to the user, and a number of other attributes.
However, as has been found out, biometrics are often easily fooled. For example, a facial recognition for your phone can be “faked” with a color photograph in many cases. Or your fingerprint can be faked with some basic tools by lifting a print, it doesn’t even have to be attached to a living finger.
User Authentication was originally found on Access 2 Learn
