The present invention is directed to a system and method for authenticating a user of a device or computer system using a graphical password. In an exemplary embodiment, a user is presented with a plurality of graphical images on a display screen of an access device, such as a handheld smart phone. Each graphical image includes one or more associated attributes. The user sequential selects graphical images and a password is generated based on the combination of attributes of the selected images. The generated password is compared with a stored password to authenticate the user and grant access to the device. In another aspect, the graphical password includes time, motion, and/or keyboard input attributes such that the password is multidimensional.