With a new iCloud Keychain “passkey” feature that was previewed at WWDC 2021, Apple is working toward a future without passwords.
In a WWDC developer session called “Move beyond passwords,” Apple teased a new feature called “passkeys in iCloud keychain.” The feature is available for testing in iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, but isn’t yet ready for a full release.
Essentially, passkeys are pairs of private and public keys based on the WebAuthn standard. They work basically like a hardware security key, but are stored securely in iCloud Keychain.
This means users won’t need to carry hardware keys with them — their iPhone, iPad, or Mac will contain the passkeys. More than that, passkeys will be synced across various devices, meaning they’re recoverable even if a user loses all of their devices.
MacDailyNews Take: As those who provide tech support to parents and in-laws, anything secure and private that kills passwords is A-OK with us!
Apple—advancing the security and mental well-being of its users. Passwords make me crazy.
You know, I don’t mind passwords. What I mind is that every website has different requirements for their passwords. 6 digits, maybe 8. Use a number, use a capital letter, use a character, but not a dash. And don’t you dare use a slash. Except at that site, where a slash is OK but an asterisk is not. Oh, and no repeating characters. Honestly, could there not just be a standard?
Create your own standard – for example: “Pirate” + website name + 9@
Bingo, a site specific password that’s easy to remember.
Pirate+disney+9@Bingo is your Disney password. Replace it with Netflix etc
I do something like this. But it does seem every now and then, my little formula fails to meet some new rogue requirement. Like, no @ symbol.
That’s fine unless your on a website that constantly asks to change passwords every month. Passwords are a pain in the ass!
Simply ass a “1” at the end and increment it.
I have so many passwords I wish I had a computer to keep track of them.
– It would have to be something handheld with no networking whatsoever – that is the only way to make anything hack-proof. Putting your passwords in the cloud sounds like the opposite of safe.
Passwords are easy to remember. Use a phrase instead of a bunch of random characters.
Example: Trumpsuckshugedonkeydicks100times anight!
Better yet, liberalsAreCalledLibturdsBecauseTheHaveShitForBrains