[EROS-Arch] Re: [E-Lang] Interaction Design for End-User Security

[Pascal J. Bourguignon]

> At 05:01 PM Friday 3/16/01, Ka-Ping Yee wrote:
> >As i'm sure you all realize, the user interface is critical since
> >it communicates intent, and it is only from an interpretation of
> >that intent that a meaningful definition of security is possible.
> >
> >Miriam Walker and i worked together on a paper last semester to
> >describe and apply a set of design principles for usable security.
> >Mark has encouraged me to post it here for review.  Here it is:
> >
> >    http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~pingster/sec/project/
> >
> >We're very interested in your thoughts on the topic and look
> >forward to your comments on the paper.


I would add it's needed to  discriminate icons as well as windows. The
applications must not  be able to change the  decoration of the window
set by the  system. But in the same way, application  must not be able
to control  the whole  icon.  Icons could  contain two  parts (perhaps
partialy overlaping), one used by  the system to discriminate the type
of underlying  object (the one  represented by the icon),  and another
left free to the application.


     +---------------+------------------+
     | system area   :                  |
     |               :                  |
     |     +---------|------------------+
     |     |         |                  |
     |     |         |                  |
     |     |         |                  |
     +.....----------+                  |
     |     |                            |
     |     |                            |
     |     |                            |
     |     |                            |
     |     |                            |
     |     |                            |
     |     |     application area       |
     +-----+----------------------------+


In current GUIs,  it's all too easy to masquerade  an application as a
document  or folder  by  changing the  icon,  either the  user of  the
application itself.


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