Let’s face it, remembering all of your passwords can be tough. That’s why many of us, MacTrast staff included, use password managers like 1Password (Mac and iOS). But now, Yahoo would like you to take a different approach to login security, no password at all!
The company introduced a new on-demand login feature that sends users a specialized code to their mobile devices to gain access. The code is generated only for that account; since it changes each time you log in, the method is secure.
A hacker would also have to be in possession of your smartphone to gain access to the code, and if a hacker has your smartphone, you’ve got a whole lot of security related stuff to worry about!
While Twitter, Google, and other online services have offered something similar – two-factor authentication – for awhile, it requires a messaged passcode and your account password to login. Yahoo get’s rid of the remembered password altogether, you just need the on-demand passcode.
Last year, Yahoo announced that it was the target of a hacking attack that stole usernames and passwords from its email users, so the service probably felt they had to make a move to ensure no further attempts would be successful.
We tried out the new service. It is simple to setup, and we found that Yahoo sends the one-time login code to our smartphone within a matter of seconds, just about as long as it usually took to remember the old password.
Time will tell if Yahoo’s new on-demand passcode service will prove both successful and secure, but if you’d like to find out more about how to use the service, visit the Yahoo website.
