Security → A new way to steal passwords?

I looked through last several pages of posts did not see this mentioned here previously:

An alarming new way to steal your passwords
»finance.yahoo.com/news/a ··· c_trk=ma

Researchers at Syracuse University have demonstrated that hackers can guess PINs by analyzing video of people tapping on their smartphone screens -- even when the screen itself isn’t visible. Software used to analyze such video relies on “spatio-temporal dynamics” to gauge the distance from the fingers to the phone’s screen, and then approximate which characters the fingers tap on a keypad. “It’s like lip reading,” says Vir Phoha, an engineering and computer science professor at Syracuse and co-author of a paper on the technology. “Based on hand movement and the known geometry of the phone, we can see which keys are pressed.”

Crystal ball says key pad randomizer coming to a smart phone near you (in your hand).

It's essentially shoulder surfing gone high-tech.

There are already lock screens you can get for android that do just that.

One way to steel a pattern lock is to breath on a screen someties if the person has used the same one for months there is a permanent "smudge" on the screen with the pattern visible. plastic screen protectors make it that much easier as they get damaged very easy

Gorilla glass screen and wiped every day with ROR and microfiber. I don't like fingerprints.

Ok so glass screen wiped every day... I wipe y kindle screen all the tie but i still have arks that are now a perm deal on my screen fro my thumbs when playing ps one games and psp games. Gorilla glass is just glass. It scratches and takes permanent arks just like any other screen.

Gah speaking of messed up devices this laptops m key is about toast...

You are heavy handed. My kid could shake a 9ft concert grand. Only keyboard she didn't destroy was old IBM clicker with fKeys on side. It was passe when I bought it and it lasted her for at least 8 years.

There is scratch remover polish for glass and plastic. Used it on bike helmets.

Not so much really. I work in a repair shop. Many screws and other bits of junk fall in between the keys. Not to mention i type as much in a month as most do in a year. A large part of my job is research type stuff finding fixxes etc for various foul ups.

I never did like having to type passwords or PINs in public.

Random order keypads are always a good idea, but don't really help if the screen is visible to the camera or a person with a quick eye and good memory (grew up playing Simon too much maybe?).