With Apple’s iOS 8’s Touch ID, your fingerprint can become the master password

“Passwords stink,” Brian X. Chen reports for The New York Times. “Not only are passwords weak protection against break-ins, they are also tough to memorize when complex, and a pain to reset when you forget them.”

“But when I set up my new iPhone 6 earlier this week, I took a glimpse into a future without passwords. It was replaced with something no one could easily replicate, and something that was with me at all times: my fingerprint,” Chen reports. “By following a few steps, I was able to set up my iPhone to log into websites I regularly use with a touch of my finger. No more passwords. I was relieved when I effortlessly logged in to my bank, my Facebook profile and my Amazon account.”

“One caveat: Setting up the device to accept fingerprints for entering passwords was not very simple. It required installing the free third-party app 1Password on my iPhone,” Chen reports. “Then I had to follow some steps to create a shortcut to 1Password that could be accessed inside Apple’s Safari web browser.”

Read more in the full article here.

22 Comments

  1. Definitely a good idea, especially on iPhones where the keyboard is small and it is easy to make an error.
    Pretty sure the Apple will soon employ this approach with password autofill via touch ID.
    It also occurred to me that a TouchID sensor would be good on a Mac laptop. You could use it for opening locked screens and verifying passwords and approving app installations.

    1. You used to be able to get a fingerprint reader for the Mac that held passwords- made by AuthenTec.

      Apple bought the company, stripped the Patents, transferred the key people, sold off some aspects of the business and then shut it down. This all happened just before the launch of Mavericks which just happened to break support for the Eikon fingerprint scanners used by the software.

      The Touch ID in the iPhone is based upon those patents and the people transferred from AuthenTec. Mac users got shafted and Tim Cook owes us a software patch or built in support for USB fingerprint scanners.

        1. I just don’t understand what you trolls get out of trolling, unless some one is paying you more than minimum wage. It’s obvious that you speak American English, so I would tend to think you are the one who needs to get laid.

        2. Darwin doesn’t deserve that abuse. The comment was factual and reasonable in tone. Plus the guy is registered which is not typical troll behavior.
          To respond to his comment. I would say it is common that acquisitions result in earlier products being discontinued. That Apple used the tech to build Touch ID is very cool. Hopefully the feature will appear on macs but I doubt older pros its will be supported.

        3. Yes on this one I agree with D E it’s not unusual to do what Apple did here and equally one has to ask why Apple have not implemented this ability. I can only presume its so they can make a big thing of it when it suits them and when they introduce touch onto the Mac range.

        4. I would imagine that an American citizen who served 8 years on active duty in the Army and held a collection of high clearances would be able to speak the language. What puzzles me is why you have nothing better to do than troll. Did I run over your dog or something?

      1. you will have to open 1Password with the actual password the first time, then it should be 30 days before it will ask again.

        I don’t have any apps that are 1Password enabled yet, I honestly don’t know if there is a list of those that do yet.

        After you setup the safari extension you just use the share button in Safari, select 1Password and it *should* open 1Password.

        Granted I have been to the Agilebits forums to figure out why my 1Password wouldn’t open with touch ID (had to change the settings to what is listed in the link I posted) And I found that there are others that have/had issues with the new 1Password version not working exactly as it should.
        https://discussions.agilebits.com/categories/1password-ios

        I would assume that there will be some bugs/issues that will be fixed. I don’t know everything about 1Password, used it for years and love it though.

  2. I can’t wait. I wish my iMac had a fingerprint sensor. I’ve got passwords up the wazoo and no password manager. I absolutely can’t wait for Apple Pay to become the new standard. It seems like such an exciting time ahead with my dreams of seeing NFC terminals everywhere. Some fast food retailers could have a special line just for NFC users to handle faster payments. I’m in my 60’s and Apple Pay really seems rather fascinating to me.

    1. You actually do have a password manager, Keychain which is built into OS X. Personally, I would recommend 1Password both with iOS and with OS X. It offers additional functionality and ease of use beyond Keychain.

      I don’t see how anyone could get by without using a password manager these days.

    1. Perhaps, but only a coordinated attack by a an agency dedicated to get THAT ONE PHONE and it would take multiple people AND separate the person from their phone for an extended period of time.

      Sure it can be fooled, but the work to do it isn’t worth the effort unless you’re a government agency.

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