An authentication mechanism may be used to control access to user accounts at Internet websites and other network resources. A common authentication mechanism is one that relies on the provision of a username and password. As the number of user accounts for a person increases, so does the number of username/password combinations that the person needs to remember. For example, the person may use different username/password combinations for an account at a social networking site, an online electronic mail account, an online banking account, an online data and file storage account, and a virtual private network account.
Management of multiple account credentials can be problematic, so people tend to adopt habits that reduce the security of their protected information. For example, the same password may be chosen for multiple accounts, or easy-to-remember passwords that are also easy to guess may be chosen. In another example, people may write down the username/password combinations in an unencrypted file on a computer or on a piece of paper stored near the computer. Even if the username/password combinations are stored securely, the accounts may be vulnerable if the computer used to access the accounts is stolen or otherwise compromised.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity.