We create them, try to remember them. And, of course, always typing them in.
I can hear you now. No one likes passwords.
As we know, your whole mood can change when an application you're using suddenly logs you out. Faced with the potential risk of lost work and having to go through the login process again, hoping you can pick up where you left off.
It's frustrating for everyone.
Finally, the tech giants have joined forces to kill off the password and give us some very welcome news from Microsoft, Apple, and Google. These tech giants have joined forces to kill off the password (or at least as we know it)
Fortunately, they plan to roll out "no-password" logins across their platforms over the coming year, using an established standard set by the FIDO (Fast IDentification Online) Alliance - which sets the worldwide standards for passwordless authentication.
That's a bit of a mouthful… so some people call this a passkey. A lot easier to remember.
While a passkey works similarly to multi-factor authentication (where you use a separate device to prove it's you), less effort is required.
It's straightforward. To log in to something, you'll use your phone to prove it's you.
Your computer can use Bluetooth to verify you have sat nearby. Because Bluetooth only works a short distance, this should help with stopping many phishing scams.
Then it'll send a verification message to your phone.
You'll unlock your phone in the usual way, with your face, fingerprint, or PIN.
And just like magic, You're logged in and ready to go.
Passkeys rely on something called public-key cryptography. For example, a key pair is made between the website\service and your phone when you register with an application\website.
These are a long series of numbers that are connected in some way. But you'll never see them, and you certainly won't want to remember them. So instead, your phone verifies that the pair matches when you unlock it in the usual way.
You don't have to worry about losing your phone because it's not enough to have your device… someone has to be able to unlock it as well.
These passkeys are backed up in the cloud, so you can simply transfer over your information if you get a new device. In the same way, it's now easy to set up a new phone to be just like your old device.
These passkeys are not only more straightforward for you but should keep your data safer.
There is no password for cybercriminals to steal. And your phone needs to be close to your computer to log in. So yes, It's not foolproof, but it's better than the current situation with passwords and multi-factor authentication.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on this one. Are you excited to say goodbye to traditional passwords? Drop us an email to let us know.
#Microsoft #Apple #Google #NoMorePasswords
