Google to Cancel Passwords

Passwords for mailboxes and user accounts are often the most vulnerable point (users forget complicated passwords and simple ones are very easy to crack). To solve this issue, Google has developed a new method of identifying a user without a password. It is different from the current two-factor authentication method, which is now often used by various systems, including Google: after entering a password on the computer, a special confirmation code is sent to the user’s phone. Now, users do not need to memorize passwords, just have a mobile phone within easy reach.

Rumors that Google specialists are working on a new way to identify users, abolishing passwords, appeared in 2013. Now the company has officially announced launching of the testing method. "We asked a small group of users to help us test the new way to enter their Google accounts without passwords," – reported Google’s press service, adding that days of passwords such as ‘pizza’, ‘password’ and ‘123456’ (the most popular versions) are numbered now. Log into your Google account from any device, simply enter your email address in the query string, and then your mobile phone will receive the question: "Are you trying to enter from another device?" Clicking "Yes", the user confirms the login attempt and is able to enter the system without fumbling with the password. In some cases, the system may ask to fill out CAPTCHA.

The new mode is available on Android and iOS mobile devices. If the mobile isn’t readily available, one still can log in using password.

In October, Yahoo launched a similar process of user identification, named Account Key.

source: cnbc.com