User Authentication—Passwords,Biometrics and Alternatives

Abstract

Computer users regularly enter a username and password to access a local device or remote account. Authentication is the process of using supporting evidence to corroborate an asserted identity. In contrast, identification (recognition) establishes an identity from available information without an explicit identity having been asserted—such as picking out known criminals in a crowd, or finding who matches a given fingerprint; each crowd face is checked against a list of database faces for a potential match, or a given fingerprint is tested against a database of fingerprints.