Can hardware help kill the password? Google thinks so
To help the Internet move on from usernames and passwords, Google wants to put a ring on it.
Jared Newman | 20 Jan | Read more
To help the Internet move on from usernames and passwords, Google wants to put a ring on it.
Jared Newman | 20 Jan | Read more
While passwords security is not ironclad, experts say they need to be in the mix with device-assisted authentication as an additional layer
Antone Gonsalves | 19 Jan | Read more
When you select a password, you might choose to store it in a password manager, write it down, or commit it to memory (see “How to remember passwords” for some advice). Sometimes, however, things go wrong: You find yourself without access to your password manager, you lose the paper on which you recorded your passwords, or you forget a password you thought you memorized. Or maybe someone tries to break into one of your accounts, and after a few unsuccessful attempts at entering your password, the site locks out further access until you can confirm your identity.
Joe Kissell | 29 Nov | Read more
At the risk of repeating myself (see “What you don’t know about passwords might hurt you”), the best way to ensure that you never forget your passwords is to offload the task of remembering to a password manager such as 1Password (; $40). For most passwords, most people, and most of the time, that’s the only trick you’ll need. However, no matter what tools you use, you’ll have to memorize at least a few passwords. Because those are among your most important, you don’t want to trade security for memorability. Here a few tips that can help you make sure your brain doesn’t betray you.
Joe Kissell | 28 Nov | Read more
I don’t mean to alarm you, but—well, actually I do. Your password strategy, if you have one at all, might be seriously out of date. In recent months, several well-publicized attacks on major online services exposed users’ passwords. For example, in June 2012, more than six million LinkedIn passwords were stolen and posted online. Just over a month later, over 450,000 Yahoo passwords were leaked. Apart from the direct damage that can come from having one’s password made public, these security breaches revealed that vast numbers of people follow dangerous password practices that can result in far worse problems.
Joe Kissell | 27 Nov | Read more
Microsoft has disabled the option for users to reset their Skype passwords after security experts uncovered a serious flaw in the software that allowed anyone who knows your email address to hack your Skype account.
Daniel Ionescu | 14 Nov | Read more
With 'Jesus' and '123456' topping SplashData's annual list of worst passwords, onus on IT to require stonger passwords, says expert
Antone Gonsalves | 25 Oct | Read more
Although the tech world is always changing, one thing remains the same: A lot of people use terrible passwords.
Jared Newman | 25 Oct | Read more
Fresh from attacking the CIA's CIO.gov website with a denial of service (DOS) attack, hacker group LulzSec has struck again with a leaked list of 62,000 email addresses and passwords, including some harvested from Australian organisations.
Hamish Barwick | 17 Jun | Read more
A survey commissioned by online payments company, PayPal Australia, has revealed that some Australians don't know the number of websites holding their personal information and many are using the same passwords across multiple accounts, much to the alarm of security experts.
Hamish Barwick | 30 May | Read more
E-mail addresses and password details for 200,000 registered users of Gawker Media websites are now circulating on peer-to-peer networks after a weekend hack attack. The company warned users to change their passwords -- including on other sites, if they use the same passwords elsewhere.
Jeremy Kirk | 14 Dec | Read more
Russian password-cracking company Elcomsoft has released new software that can in some instances figure out the password used to encrypt backed-up iPhone data.
Jeremy Kirk | 06 Aug | Read more
Hackers broke into a server used by the Apache Software Foundation to keep track of software bugs.
Robert McMillan | 15 Apr | Read more
Twitter required some users to reset their passwords on Tuesday after discovering that their log-in information may have been harvested via security-compromised torrent Web sites, the company said.
Juan Carlos Perez | 04 Feb | Read more
For US$34, a new cloud-based hacking service can crack a WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) network password in just 20 minutes, its creator says.
Robert McMillan | 08 Dec | Read more