

Android’s Login Is Cool, But Is It Secure? - qhoxie
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/12/androids-login-is-cool-but-is-it-secure/

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rcoder
Right, 'cause Arrington definitely knows security theory better than Google
engineers do.

In short: there are far more than 10000 possible patterns (the max for a
4-digit numeric unlock code) available with the Android login screen. I
haven't looked deeply enough to insure that there isn't some minor error, but
the analysis here looks fairly convincing:

<http://beust.com/weblog/archives/000497.html>

So, we get a 40-fold increase in the key space, plus an easy spatial mnemonic?
Sounds like an improvement in both security _and_ usability to me.

Sorry, Mikey, stick to business plans and rumors. Leave the security to the
pros.

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timcederman
What the? Did you even read the article?

It's actually quite a basic problem with the unlock screen and shows why
ethnographic research is so important -- real world scenarios are very
different to the lab. I can often see the smear of where I unlock my iPhone.
It is not a stretch by any means to imagine you could see the unlock pattern
quite easily on the G1.

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davidw
Is it accurate to call this a login? Or is it just an unlock screen thing? I
can't tell from the video.

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apgwoz
It's just the unlock screen.

