The article I read quoted Winston Churchill who said, “democracy
is the worst form of government ever tried — except for all the others.” The
same could be said of computer passwords. They were fine, because it was the
top option. However, most people use passwords that are not secure at all.
Passwords like “password” or your name or birthday aren’t secure passwords. The best thing we can do is two or three step
authentication. Passwords are fine, but we need something more to be secure. Fingerprint
readers, biometric scanners, facial recognition, and yubico keys are all good
examples of security measures. Many computers come with a fingerprint reader
but they are not popular with many brands because of the difficulty of setting
up fingerprints that are accepted. The yubico key is a usb device that detects
the electrical energy of your body when touching its surface, to prove that you
are a human and not a software robot. We need to do a better job of protecting
our online activity. What do you think is the best new technology for better
security?
There are several tools that I have seen banks use that give an extra layer of protection. One bank makes you answer a security question any time you are on a computer that you have not saved as a personal computer. Another bank requires a 4 digit PIN every time you enter the website. These are just a few tools that I believe are helping keep my accounts a little more secure.
ReplyDeleteThe USB key sounds cool, yet expensive, so I do not think many individuals would actually buy it. So my favorite security tool is a new thing Facebook started doing, and I have it set up on my own account as well. I had a problem with someone (x-boyfriend) logging on to my account and trying to "hack" my Facebook. So I didn't want to change my password because I knew I would forget it. So they have this new security that every time you log into Facebook on any device, it sends a code to your personal cell phone that you must enter to be able to log on to Facebook. So now I know I someone is trying to log into my Facebook because it sends a code to my phone. But they can't get on my account because they do not have the security code which is on my phone.
ReplyDeleteYou provided various password protectors such as the fingerprint sensor and facial recognition, but there is also the protection of 'masking.' For instance, whenever I fill out my email address on a Web site. My Do Not Track me extension on Google Chrome provides me two options: (1) enter my email address as normal or (2) enter my email address and click mask. When I click mask, it provides a temporary email account through Do Not Track me that screens spam mail. Typically, I use this masking method when using a site that may be distrustful.
ReplyDeleteApple will be using a similar method with their Apply Pay mobile payment system launching later this month.
I like the lady in the video's idea of using phrases or song lyrics for different accounts so that you don't use the same password and username for all accounts. I also like the idea of using your phone as a security key although, if this was done for every password we use on a daily basis it could get extremely old. Some technologies seem cool like facial recognition or fingerprints, they are just to far out of reach for the average company or application to install. This may be beside the point but, I recently saw an app that keeps track of all your passwords so you don't loose or forget them anymore. You also might not have to put them in accessible places like the lady in the video mentioned also. Could definitely be something worth looking into considering how often our securities become compromised these days. We need something better than what we use now though!
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how many different usernames and passwords that I have and cannot keep track of. I do not know how in a few years people will be able create a new username because they will all be taken. I think the best way and something that we will see in the near future is fingerprint recognitions.
ReplyDelete