Three-Level Password Approach in Granting User Access to Shared Folders

Abstract

An established file sharing infrastructure can be a huge convenience for organizations to allow members of all levels within an organization to collaborate and share data. While allowing multiple access to files and folders, the privacy and secrecy of files that reside in the shared space become something of a tradeoff among users. It has now become a major challenge to set folder exclusive access to certain users when shared media is accessible to all. Thus, this study proposed a method to lock a specific shared folder that can only be accessed by utilizing a three-level password approach. The proposed method required users to provide textual password at the first level, then employing a color combination picker at the second level and finally utilizing a picture password in third level. The knowledge of the passwords for each level can only be known by exclusive users in order to acquire access to the protected folder. This enhanced method will ensure the access right would only be granted to users with exclusive rights. Consequently, hard to guess password challenge has the added benefit of hindering illicit folder access attempt.