Let's get rid of usernames and passwords for good
Summary: Username and password combinations are old, outdated, confusing and often taken over by other tools. Can the next-generation inspire a solution to this?
Usernames and passwords annoy me. Expert advice says to have a different username and password for various services, but the amount of subscriptions, email accounts, social networks and other sites we subscribe to can run into the dozens, if not hundreds.
Password managers help, and single sign-on solutions for an array of sites are useful, and devices like smart cards and biometric devices save us remembering a whole array of combinations. But what if you're away from your primary computer? You still need to remember all of the sequences and mishmashes of letters and numbers whether you like it or not.
Facebook Connect has helped me out greatly. On my home computer, I never sign out because there's just no point as nobody else lives with me (thank God), and on my office computer, I always lock my screen so again, no need to log out. With this, it means I can not only sign in straight away to supporting services but it means I can cut down on the number of user names and passwords I need.
Perhaps it is time we worked on a new system. No longer should be need to push the "forgot your password?" link, or have to look up a long list of passwords in the filing cabinet, or even have to rely on a browser to take the workload for us. There needs to be a solution.
OpenID has the right idea, but it works in a similar way to university federation services and doesn't really share any unique factor. Even CBS Interactive sites like ZDNet, TechRepublic, and BNET have a good idea by sharing the same login details across sites so you don't need to re-register. But again, this isn't enough.
I'd like something to change but simply don't see a system being implemented which wouldn't cost about a zillion dollars. For now, this thirty-year solution may have to stick with the byline of "if it ain't broken, don't fix it". Then again, Google thought e-mail was broken when it brought out Wave...
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Talkback
Common sense & best practices
Second, these sites are used by fools who have no idea of the ramification of putting their private life's history to be sold and exploited.
Lastly, if I want to speak to someone or communicate it is NOT by chat/email or other electronic means. I will do it in person or by phone.
People have lost all art of communication and writing, what happened to hand-writing a letter, email is for work or other purposes not to live by and the silly social networking sites.
All of it is nothing more than a Trojan horse with fools laying down their guard to later be invaded by. Plus you cannot erase the data from these sites because YOU do not own it any longer!
;)
What happened to the art of a hand written letter.
Things evolve.
My 3rd grader is busy learning the dying "art of cursive" while she SHOULD be learning how to type at school.
Instead, I am teaching her that useful "art" while keeping holding my tongue on the archaic usage of cursive writing.
I have to disagree
I have only a few of these types of letters, but they are very precious to me.
Just saying....
Agree with your disagreeing
shoebox of my late mother's photos which I see every now and then.
Some of them almost 100 years old. When I die, my children have tens of
thousands of inaccessible photos on my dead computers hard disk.
Typing in 3rd grade?
re: hand written letter...I feel sorry for your kid...
Do you think it'd be alright if she at least learned how to sign her own name? You know- in case she ever wants to buy a house or a car?
Time to let go
writing in grade 3/4 (I think). The only thing
I've used it for since then is my signature,
which is really just 3 large letters and some
scribbles between them. Would have I been able
to come up with a signature without cursive
writing? Yup, no problem.
Personally I hate cursive writing. Everyone's
looks different and many (if not most) peoples'
writing is difficult to read. I can't count the
number of times I've had to ask my father what
the $%&& a certain word means. If he had taken
a tiny little bit longer and printed it legibly
I wouldn't have run into a problem.
Schools really need to stop teaching cursive
writng, printing is much more useful & clear
and typing is far far more useful in today's
world. As time goes on there are more and more
things kids need to be taught and something has
got to be cut. Why not make it that useless
waste of time that most kids hate doing anyway.
Heck, I was never even taught how to type; I
just picked it up. I'm sure if my school had
been teaching me typing instead, I'd be able to
type much faster and make fewer typing errors.
It might be too late for me, but stop wasting
these kids' time with something they'll never
use.
Agree 100%
Username and passwords are the only....
My own ability to secure my data makes it more secure than any other form of security. Strong passwords with failed login policies make my network as secure as it can be.
Secure your data any way you want. Just expect it to be hacked.
What you know or have...
Physical and cyber locks are only secure against honest people. Oceans
11 is an example how determined thieves can bypass physical systems.
The same is true of skilled and determined hackers getting into almost
any system. Money is a powerful motivator. That's why banks get
robbed and computers get broken into. A crook can steal thousands
with a gun, but nowadays can steal millions with a computer. Robbing a
bank can get the crook of bullet, but using a computer is much safer.
Expect your data to be hacked...
RE: Let's get rid of usernames and passwords for good
-Bruce Schneier
Let's get rid of usernames and passwords .... they are too difficult for me
So because you are too dumb to remember a username and password, we should all have to suffer the consequences of bad security, data leaks, loss of privacy, etc.???
Oh, please spare us from idiocy. Show me a single, low cost solution that can do better than a good username and password ... then we talk.
RE: Let's get rid of usernames and passwords for good
BTW... User Names and Passwords work just fine.
RE: Let's get rid of usernames and passwords for good
Let's get real. We're already down the slippery slope.
Anyone who thinks they have any real privacy or anonymity
left is just deluding themselves. That goes for any so-
called online "security", as well. "Security is no more real
online than it is offline.
So let's do away with the the notions of privacy and
anonymity. The world online will know you as you.
So, let's be who we really are and realize there are
consequences to that... just as there are in the "real" world.
And let's make identity theft a capital crime. At the very
least, it will help cull the gene pool by getting rid of
"stupid" smart people.
RE: Let's get rid of usernames and passwords for good
Allen
ZDNet First
Passwords etc.
The whole point...
What you seem to be wanting is exactly the opposite, some single identifier (whether "smart card" or thumbprint or cornia print or voice print or whatever) that is used to access everything. If somebody figures out how to replicate that, then they are you.
Over the years, I have come to feel insecure about the equivalents of those we already use, i.e. Social Security Number, mother's maiden name, high school I graduated from, etc.. IT seems that every site I need a password to access also wants me to answer a slew of "security questions" so I can use these to gain access if I forget my password. The problem is, if I give those answers to all of these sites to store in their databases and be stolen, then they really aren't secure any longer.
So, I disagree with the idea of getting rid of user names and passwords because my ability to change these things on a whim is the only real security I have. Too difficult? Do you leave your house open because it is too difficult to unlock the door when you get home? Do you leave your car running because it is too difficult to start it when you want to go somewhere? The biggest product of technology seems to be that it makes what used to be considered a simple task, now seem "too difficult" to perform.
And by the way, linux_kernel. You are an idiot. I see you have a feedback entry in every blog, and not a single one even relates to the story you are giving the feedback on. Get a life!
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