Newsletter Archives

• Microsoft adopts passkeys in Windows 11 — death to passwords!

  Posted on November 20, 2023 at 02:44 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  When Microsoft enhanced Windows 11 in a September 2023 update to support “passkeys” — a more secure form of authentication — it signaled the beginning of the end for insecure and hard-to-remember passwords.

  To create a passkey, you simply use whatever method unlocks your devices: a character-based PIN, your face, a fingerprint, or what have you. You then visit any website or other remote service that’s passkey-compatible. The server exchanges with your device an “authentication token.” This uniquely identifies you and the device you are using to sign in.

  The token is a private/public key pair. Your PIN, photo, or fingerprint is never sent across the network, where it could be intercepted by man-in-the-middle attacks.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.47.0, 2023-11-20).

  Public Defender FIDO, FIDO2, Newsletters, Passkeys, Passwords, PINs, W3C, Windows Hello

• The Windows 10/11 Hello PIN works, but change is coming

  Posted on November 13, 2023 at 02:45 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.46 • 2023-11-13

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  A new Microsoft sign-in method — designed to replace today’s relatively insecure usernames and passwords — was introduced to Windows 10 in July 2015.

  The technology is called Windows Hello. It involves your entering a PIN, which can be up to 127 characters long including numbers, letters, and symbols. This PIN is associated with a device of yours: a smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop computer, etc. Once you use your PIN with a Microsoft Account, an Active Directory, or other services that recognize the technique, you never have to enter a username or password on that connection again.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.46.0, 2023-11-13).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender KB5030310, Newsletters, Passkeys, Passwords, PINs, Windows Hello

• Microsoft says forget your passwords!

  Posted on September 27, 2021 at 02:40 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  In a major push, Microsoft is advocating moving away from passwords and instead using different authentication methods.

  The headline: “The passwordless future is here for your Microsoft account.” Is it?

  Here’s what Microsoft has to say in its security blog about a move away from passwords.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.37.0 (2021-09-27).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, On Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Multifactor Authentication, Passwords, Patch Lady Posts, PINs, Security