Windows 8 Will Save Passwords in the Cloud
A tireless Steven Sinofsky, the man in charge of Windows 8, keeps posting information about Windows 8 by the slice.
The latest piece details Microsoft's idea how to better protect your PC with passwords stored in the cloud as well as an infrastructure that will not lock you out when you either forget your password or someone else takes over your PC.
The solution is an approach with a password-manager-style credential manager which will enable users to store passwords for Windows in a similar way browsers do today. Just like IE10 will store account names and passwords for visited websites, Metro apps can use a direct API to store and retrieve credentials for that app. Windows 8 itself will support a sign-on via a Windows Live ID, which stores passwords in the cloud and synchronizes those passwords in an environment that is defined as "Trusted PCs" by the user.
While there may always be questions over the security of "the cloud," Microsoft said that Windows Live ID passwords can make your password management much more convenient. For example, if you forget your local password you may be out of luck and will have to start from scratch (or use a password cracking tool). The cloud approach, however, allows a user to reset a password from another PC. If your password has been stolen, you can recover your account access via secondary authentication data, such as a mobile phone number. Also, Microsoft said, users will be able to sign in to their Windows, as the software caches the your last “known good” sign-in password.
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Wolfgang Gruener is an experienced professional in digital strategy and content, specializing in web strategy, content architecture, user experience, and applying AI in content operations within the insurtech industry. His previous roles include Director, Digital Strategy and Content Experience at American Eagle, Managing Editor at TG Daily, and contributing to publications like Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware.
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amdfangirl And what happens when hackers manage to hack this gold-mine of banking details, facebook logins, twitter accounts, yahoo accounts, gmail, youtube?Reply
Or something like Google docs with confidential information...
The world's biggest phishing campaign?
Cloud: Be careful who you trust with your data.
Only a matter before the cloud crashes into reality. -
killabanks windows 8 is looking like another vista / ME more and more everyday... i tried the dev preview and man is the future bad ... how can you do this M$ come on.....Reply -
Lutfij flash back to PSN hack and what sony had to do to recover it, dunno if they did. now i'll leave my passwords in your hands? noo thank you mr MS.Reply
a cloud is what it is, a lofty idea in peoples minds. all in all unreachable. -
-Fran- Since I don't apply in the "dumb people who forget their passwords", I hope there's an opt-out for such a feature and keep it old style.Reply
Cheers! -
southernshark I like the option as long as its not required. I mean would I put my bank pw onthere? Nope. But what about my Tom's hardware pw????!?? Sure right.Reply -
southernshark And for those of u worried about this...I mean let me ask you a question.... do you save your bank or stock trading PW on yr laptop or PC? Cause I sure as hell don't. I only save PWs for sites like Tom's where I would not lose sleep if they were hacked, nor would I imagine someone wanting to hack them.Reply -
dickcheney southernsharkAnd for those of u worried about this...I mean let me ask you a question.... do you save your bank or stock trading PW on yr laptop or PC? Cause I sure as hell don't. I only save PWs for sites like Tom's where I would not lose sleep if they were hacked, nor would I imagine someone wanting to hack them.Reply
Ever tried Trucrypt? -
stingstang Sweet! Now if I ever lose my password, I can just hack on to their network and get it back!Reply