Microsoft Has Finally Solved A Massive Problem With Windows 10

Passwords are the biggest problem facing most of us in online security. Let's be honest here you have a password you use on more than one site. Maybe you have a set of passwords that increase the complexity based on how much you care if the service is hacked. For example, your bank password should be, and probably is much safer than your Netflix account.

But Microsoft wants to make those worries disappear with Windows 10, and for me this is the most significant feature in the OS. In fact, it is actually two functions - one called Windows Hello, and another called Passport. Hello aims to let you connect with biometric data, but it is a bit more complicated than that, and should offer a good enough security in itself.

With Hello you can ask your computer to recognize your face, but it's not the usual webcam logi The main reason for this is a good idea, and why it meets the greatest problem of security in the world, is that you no need to remember lots of passwords, you have a master password that can be traditional or biometric and it keeps your private key securely.

Your private key means that you can send encrypted messages on the server, ensuring transfer data safely, but it also means that the server can positively identify the user as you. Unless you let someone have your private key, this system is much safer.

That does not mean it's flawless, but when the number one problem of account security is that people use bad passwords everywhere, it makes things much safer. You are not prompted to remember anything, and at least in theory - to connect to a site that uses this system would be simple and fast.

Sure, it requires every effort and that will take a long time. But the steps to move away from using a password to connect to a site, and risking pirate being able to intercept this login or simply by brute force password lamentable, finally taken.

No business that is easy to spoof. Instead, it will be tied to a specific hardware that uses an infrared camera, and allows Windows to make a detailed map of your face in 3D. The idea is, you can not just spoof brandishing a photo of yourself. which was a problem for other facial recognition systems.

Of course, other biometric data can be used also as a fingerprint scanner for example. But what you use to connect to your computer is not the important thing here is to use the built-in security hardware in a computer to connect safely in an online account.

It is logging to websites that calls the function "Passport". You may remember the name of a few years back, it was mainly single sign name on the Microsoft service that has recently become recognized as "Microsoft" that you can use in Windows, Xbox, email and Skype.

Microsoft is clear about this, however, your computer does not send your password or data related to your biometric data. Instead, the computer authenticates you locally and sends a public key that connects you. Hackers access the public key can not be used for anything else, it is useless. It is known as "asymmetric cryptography" or "public key cryptography" and there is nothing new, but using it as a way to identify you to websites is a great idea.