FIDO puts the bite on password problems

FOR many of us, organising let alone remembering passwords is a task too far.

FOR many of us, organising let alone remembering passwords is a task too far. We meticulously complete tax returns, compile shopping lists, and prepare family budgets, but the mundanity of jotting down passwords in an ­orderly way seems beyond us.

Given 123456 is the most common password, followed by “password”, originality isn’t a strong suit either.

As for storing them, do you too have friends who keep their passwords scrawled on numerous bits of scrap paper scattered around the house? Or do they keep their passwords in their head, only to forget which letters are in upper or lower case?

The good news is that passwords are really on the way out. If you own an Apple iPhone or recent Samsung phone, you may ­already be using your fingerprint to unlock your phone rather than a PIN. It’s a form of biometric identification — face and iris recognition being others.

The alarming increase in internet hacking, including recently of banks, means it’s been in everyone’s interest to move beyond passwords.

That’s why some of the world’s biggest and most powerful companies are co-operating to get rid of them. Known as the FIDO (Fast ID Online) alliance, firms such as Microsoft, Google, MasterCard, Samsung, Lenovo, Visa and the Bank of America are sounding the password’s death knell.

In arguably the most significant development to date, Microsoft this month announced it would introduce a FIDO ­prescribed replacement for passwords in the upcoming Windows 10. A version of it is available in the Windows 10 technical preview available for testing.

One of the password replacement methods is called two-factor authentication. You respond to a phone call after initially logging into your computer with a fingerprint. Or you might insert a dongle into a USB port as part of stage two.

There are many variations. Including the technology in Windows 10 will mainstream and accelerate the move away from passwords.

In the meantime, there is little excuse for keeping passwords on scrap paper or in your head. Password-safe apps such as LastPass and 1Password let you store all your passwords in an ­encrypted list.

You create and remember only one, hopefully reasonably complex password to access the password list. Both programs let you maintain a common list of passwords across phones, tablets and computers. Just don’t use 123456 as the master password!