Windows 10 will finally drop in 'summer' says Microsoft Microsoft has announced that Windows 10 will launch in "summer" this year. The news emerged from an event in China, so it seems safe to assume Redmond means the northern hemisphere's summer between June and August. Executive veep for Windows Terry Myerson says Windows 10 "will launch in 190 countries and 111 languages". We' …
From the linked MS twaddle: I’d like to introduce you to Windows Hello – biometric authentication which can provide instant access to your Windows 10 devices. With Windows Hello, you’ll be able to just show your face, or touch your finger, to new devices running Windows 10 and be immediately recognized. And not only is Windows Hello more convenient than typing a password—it’s more secure!
Your face and other biometric measurements should replace your UID, not your password. Your face should intuitively be recognized as a representation of who you are, which should not be enough to gain access to any system. It is not more secure than a password, but it is tons more convenient... right up until that time you get punched in the face and have your fingers stomped on for putting out such a load of BS. I didn't see anywhere that there was a backup method for authentication. It looks as though once you are out, you are out, at least until you can regrow the missing parts just like the originals.
I am a security stalwart and fully acknowledge that biometric authentication is flawed in many ways but I still want it and I will definitely use it for many things.
Fundamentally, your windows log-on and your phone's lock screen are not security features. They're there to deter your colleagues from hijacking your PC while you're making tea and to make it difficult for the people sharing your pub table to read your girl-friends messages on your phone. They're trivially easy to bypass. Similarly, I don't care too much about 99% of my online accounts - only email and banking matter. For all the non-critical scenarios, being relieved of the need to type passwords (particularly on mobiles) will be a huge benefit.
I don't even have a lock screen on my phone because it's in a cover that prevents "arse-calling" and I consider the hassle of the pin-pad to be more significant than the security it would provide.,
" I didn't see anywhere that there was a backup method for authentication. It looks as though once you are out, you are out, at least until you can regrow the missing parts just like the originals."
Juts because the article focuses on the new feature and doesn't mention the ability to use passwords as an alternative authentication doesn't mean it's not there. If it integrates with AD, Azure or otherwise it will have to allow for passwords.
As for the second part, how is it any different from forgetting your password today?
Agreed, this is AKA as "Lock-in" I foresee that if you want to use one of MS's services sooner or later you will have to use this system. And it will be deliberately incompatible to any other similar systems out there. OOXML anyone?
'We’re really excited about taking another step with Windows 10 to make computing more personal, and more secure, with Windows Hello and “Passport”.'
I bet they are, you just can't get away from these characters can you?
A wrist worn device that incorporates a heart monitor, gps and uses blue tooth to sync with your phone. It may also have some phone functions, but I think the emphasis is on tracking you doing a daily run while measuring your heart rate. It doesn't try to look like a watch - hence the name Band, I guess.
Band is a tech showcase for the background health analytics MS want to push. It's a beta product really. The idea was that they'll happily licence the tech to other manufacturers. Problem is that no one else has taken them up on their offer. And that MS have a surprise hit on their hands and can't make them quick enough to keep even their own stores stocked.
I'll wait for gen 2.
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I remember when new Windows announcements used to excite us. Then we began dreading them. Now nobody even cares.
That's why there's so many changes in the ETA. At first it's "It wont be ready for ages", now it's "just a few months!" - either their ability to estimate time-scales is poor, or they're trying to drum up excitement by first making us wait, then impressing us by "speeding it up".
So, the New SpamWareSpyWare OS is almost upon us...
I especially do not welcome our new Tech Overloards....
The Tech Preview Runs like a Dream though, and there is a lot to like but there's much hiding
behind all those stacks....
The day is coming when some people will realize that they've tricked us back into logging on to
terminal servers with zero privacy, but we call it the Cloud now and the Terminals "easy access Face recognition HoloLenses whatever the shmuck"....
This Generation has traded-in Ownership and Privacy for Convenience, let's see how this pans out as I move my setup to Iceland....thirty years in, from Technologist to budding Luddite...ah life....
The biometric stuff is all very sci-fi and clever sounding... but what happens when Windows breaks and Joe Public has to take his PC to one of us to get it fixed? "I should have it ready for you tomorrow afternoon but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave several body parts with me in the meantime so I can get logged in."
I'm sure they've thought of that as well. I'm also sure that any alternative authentication route they come up with will be practically unworkable in real life scenarios and most likely involve yet another Microsoft Account for Joe Public to set up once and then lose all the relevant details for.
How clever is the face recognition? Apart from the 'my twin send that offensive e-mail, not me' scenario, how easy would it be to fool the camera with a photo? It's not an iris scanner, it doesn't measure heartbeat, (or does it). So a photo (even on a screen) that you hold up to the camera may be good enough.
I'd like to think it wouldn't work - but....well, I'm a sceptic - what can I say
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