Systems and methods to authenticate a user using. Techniques for authenticating a user focus less on what the user enters, and more on how the user enters it. Different user specific factors are recognized, such as the speed with which a pattern, drawing or the like is produced, pressure applied, or the area of contact. In some embodiments, the user is able to produce the PIN using several different techniques. Some methods of the present invention utilize actions that the user is familiar with executing, or naturally performs on a regular basis. Furthermore, some methods of the present invention consist of embodiments wherein mathematical operations or device motions are used during the PIN authentication process.