[Doofy]

I'm not buying this.

Paedophiles could be tracked down by the way the use a keyboard while online | Mail Online

Paedophiles using the internet to target youngsters could be tracked down - by the way they use a keyboard.
Researchers are investigating ways to use technology which can determine a typist's age, sex and culture within ten keystrokes by monitoring their speed and rhythm.
Professor Roy Maxion, associate professor at Newcastle University, has been carrying out the research in the U.S.

Former Northumbria Police Detective Inspector Phil Butler said the technique could useful for tracking down fraudsters and paedophiles.

The murder of Darlington teenager Ashleigh Hall last year by predator Peter Chapman, whom she met on Facebook, has raised fresh calls for extra security to protect young people on the internet.

Mr Butler, who heads Newcastle University's CyberCrime and Computer Security department, said: 'Professor Maxion takes 50 people at a time and hooks their fingers up to electronic sensors. 'He then videos, monitors and records their typing patterns, speeds and rhythms with a very accurate clock. 'He can now identify anyone using a keyboard within a 95 per cent accuracy within 10 keystrokes.

'As soon as you type ten numbers of letters he can work out your sex, your culture, your age and whether you have any hand injuries.
'In general women's typing tends to flow more and is a little quicker. You'd expect men's typing to be a little more heavy-handed and apparently that's the case.

Does it take into account differing hand sizes, differing professions (guitarist vs boxer), different keyboard sizes and types?

[Laminar]

They can tell that you're typing with only one hand?

[-Q-]

I'm with you: this sounds like monumental BS. I'm sure I type differently when I'm typing an email vs. chat vs. a FB update vs. writing a professional document. Along with how I type when I'm in a train of thought versus trying to figure out the right word usage or phrasing.

[Eug]

Monumental BS is probably accurate. I'd believe this even less than handwriting analysis, and I don't believe that either.

[Eriamjh]

If by "identify them" he means compare your typing patterns to those already recorded when we knew who you were, this is no better than DNA for an unknown person.

What good is it if you don't have the profile in the database?

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Eriamjh 

If by "identify them" he means compare your typing patterns to those already recorded when we knew who you were, this is no better than DNA for an unknown person.

What good is it if you don't have the profile in the database?

Even so, is an individual's typing pattern always the same? Do you type on that Apple Pro Keyboard in the same manner that you type on that new slim thingy, or on that MBP while you're on the head? Do you type the same way when you're stone cold sober as you do when you've knocked a few back? What about the difference between when you're typing while on the phone or not on the phone?

Who's funding this research? And can't they fund me to look into some breast-related research instead?

[Oneota]

It sounds to me like they can't identify that you're a pedophile by the way you type, but rather can just determine whether or not you're actually the 14-year-old girl you claim to be.

So a line up of 15 men all typing won't show the 1 pedophile among them, but if they figure out that you're a 35-year-old man based on your typing, but what you're saying appears to be from a young girl, then alarm bells should be going off.

Either way, not sure I buy it.

[Big Mac]

I agree, my B.S. meter is beeping. Even if typing patterns could reliably detect the age of a person (a highly suspect claim), such a metric would only be useful if the suspect's typing were monitored live so that the actual text were shown as it got typed, like iChat can be set to.

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

Who's funding this research? And can't they fund me to look into some breast-related research instead?

When your grant comes through, I'll gladly assist you in this important endeavor.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Judging by the title of this thread I could very well see how it could be hard for a kid to fiddle and type at the same time.

[The Final Dakar]

I dunno, I think it's believable that besson types differently than the rest of us.

[olePigeon]

They're going to have their work cut out for them at a Boy's Choir or Church Youth Group.

[aberdeenwriter]

Look at the ad that showed up at the top of this thread.



It's a sick joke.

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by -Q- 

When your grant comes through, I'll gladly assist you in this important endeavor.

Me too!