Vidoop's engineers (led by a CTO who is ex-Microsoft) have developed software that finally improves upon the leaky "user name + password" method, replacing it with a process of image recognition based on a grid of pictures displayed on the screen.

But here's the really clever part: Vidoop will monetize the process by selling the images in the grid to advertisers for product placement. Instead of seeing a generic car in the image grid, consumers might see a Ford (F) Mustang, or a Prius (TM) . Instead of a cuppa Joe, they might see a tall Starbucks (SBUX)....

Here is how it works: When you register on a new site, you're asked to pick three categories. Suppose you choose cars, planes and beverages. When you log in, Vidoop's image grid pops up with a display of 12 images, pulled at random from Vidoop's database. You never see the same combination of images twice - but there will always be a car, a plane and a drink.

Inside each image is a letter or number, also randomized. The letters and numbers displayed in the car, drink and plane act as a pass code for that single login. Since images and characters are chosen at random, no two logins are ever the same. This curbs the riskiest kind of hacking, says Sontag: "It is impossible to keystroke-record this," Sontag says.