Android users reveal from the statistics what kind of shape is selected by unlocking "pattern lock"

"Pattern lock" is often used together with PIN code and password as unlock method of Android smartphone. However, from the analysis result based on the statistical data of the pattern lock, the pattern lock shape which is easy for each sex, the pattern lock shape which is easy to select for everyone, the length of the pattern lock which the reason is unknown but easy to avoid, the pattern lock It is known that there is a feature in the way of being chosen.

New data uncovers the surprising predictability of Android lock patterns | Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/08/new-data-uncovers-the-surprising-predictability-of-android-lock-patterns/

Marte Rogue of the Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology has worked on "Statistical Analysis of Pattern Rock" as a research theme of the master's thesis and investigated and analyzed about 4,000 Android pattern locks (ALP).

· Start point (starting point)
According to the survey results, 44% of people found pattern locking starting from the upper left of the screen. Furthermore, 77% of people found that they started from one of the four corners.


· Number of nodes
The number (type) of pattern locks varies greatly depending on the "number of nodes" which is the number of points through which the pattern passes. For example, in the case of 4 nodes, there are 1624 patterns, while in 7 nodes there are 72,012 patterns, as the number of nodes increases, the type increases greatly, generally increasing the security. According to Rogue, the average number of nodes of pattern lock users is 5.


Mr. Rogue examined each type of pattern lock setting for Android users assuming three scenes "shopping site", "online banking", "smartphone lock screen". The upper graph drawn in the following image is the number of nodes of each scene-specific pattern lock of men, the lower graph is female. Pattern locks with 4 nodes are the most common in both men and women, and it is strange that pattern locks with 8 nodes are likely to be avoided. Mr. Rogue can not find a certain reason as to why the pattern of eight nodes is more unpopular than the more complicated pattern of nine nodes.


This is a graph showing the average value of the number of pattern lock nodes for each scene in men and women. From here it can be seen that men tend to set up a more complex number of nodes, ie more complex pattern locks than females.


Pattern shape
Not only the number of nodes but also the complexity of the pattern shape are important factors that make it difficult to decipher the pattern lock. When expressing the pattern lock by indicating the nine points from the upper left by 1, 2, 3, 4 as numbers, the pattern at the upper left of the lower image is "147852369" and the pattern at the lower right is "1269853" , "1269853" with the number of nodes is more likely to be a more complicated pattern shape at the point where the line crosses than "147852369" with 9 nodes.


Mr. Rogue examined the tendencies of men and women by digitizing the complexity of the pattern shape as a special score, and found that the women tended to prefer a simple shape that the lines did not cross compared to men is.

· Alphabet shape
According to Mr. Rogue's survey, the number of people who use "alphabet" for pattern shape is surprisingly large, and it is found that more than 10% of people use it in statistics. Rogue pointed out that the alphabet adopted in the pattern is often the initial of familiar people such as myself and children, and the risk of unlocking by malicious persons having information such as name is considerably higher It is.