passwords

Perhaps they're still mourning Judi Dench's death in "Skyfall."

Perhaps they're remembering the words uttered in that movie that there are no secrets anymore.

It seems, though, that in some corners of British intelligence, password protection needs a little, well, protection.

A gentleman called Dan Farrall was rather stunned, you see, when he applied for a job at the U.K.'s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

Among many other (secret) things, GCHQ exists to protect Kingdomites from cyberattacks. How odd, then, that it seems rather open about passwords.

Farrall, a university student, describes on his blog … Read more

Generally each account on an OS X system is protected with a password; however, the security of a system can be compromised by the use of an insecure password. For example, common passwords like "12345," "password," or "letmein," or short passwords may be easily guessed. Sometimes account holders on a multiuser system may even use a blank password, which can easily let anyone into their accounts. By default OS X will warn users of such practices and recommend strong passwords be used, but ultimately does not prevent users from setting whatever password they want.… Read more

A new exploit lets anyone who knows your birthday and e-mail address reset your Apple ID password, according to a new report.

The exploit, described by The Verge though not posted publicly, makes use of a special URL that gets around the need for a security question, a security measure Apple put in place on all Apple ID accounts last April.

The reported exploit does not work on accounts with two-step verification enabled, which Apple introduced yesterday, and does away with the security question in favor of sending a four-digit PIN code to a cell phone that needs to be … Read more

At first glance, it is not immediately apparent what Secure Temple does. The app is created without interface in mind. It lacks clear directions, has multiple unmarked menus, and doesn't even describe what the function of the app is supposed to be (unless you read the description in the App Store). That alone is enough to frustrate and chase away most users. However, behind the obtuse design and stark menus there is a tool that can be extremely useful for anyone that creates and stores large volumes of passwords, secret keys and other number strings on their iPhone or … Read more

I feel like I might be the only person in the world who loves the poor Chromebook Pixel. It's just so misunderstood, with its ridiculously high price, its tiny 32GB hard drive, and its odd 3:2 screen resolution. But the design is just so gorgeous (drink), and the touch screen is so exciting, and the Chrome OS is so simple and Web-based! Perhaps you'll fall in love like I did ... or be wildly skeptical like Jeff Cannata. Check out this week's Unboxing, and find out.

On the other hand, Jeff is delighted by the idea of … Read more

Google is finally adding a full password sync feature to Chrome.

Currently in beta, Chrome 26 is due to receive the new sync feature over the coming days, according to the Chrome team's latest blog.

The password sync will work only with devices running Chrome version 26 or higher. But that includes both the desktop and mobile editions. Chrome users will be able to keep their Web site passwords in sync across their computers, smartphones, and tablets. The Chrome mobile browser supports Android and Apple's iOS.

Chrome already offers a way to save and sync your passwords, but … Read more

PasswordBox keeps all of your online passwords in one convenient location accessible from any computer. This application is slowly becoming a preferred tool around the office known for decreasing log-in time increasing time spent on Facebook and Tumblr.

The installation file will you set you up with the PasswordBox add-ons for popular browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and IE. It runs from within the browser environment and works the same way across the board. PasswordBox is still in beta, and the setup is one way to make an account.

Essentially a vault for all of your online passwords, PasswordBox … Read more

I hate to use the term "sexy" to describe a gadget, but if the myIDkey isn't "sexy," at least it's "damn fine." It takes the concept of a USB drive that protects all your passwords and does it up right with voice-activated search, biometric fingerprint identification, and Bluetooth.

Making a USB password protection device sound exciting? That's pretty hot.

I'm not the only person who thinks myIDkey is worth a look. It just launched its Kickstarter project and already has pulled in more than $87,000 (and rising fast) toward its $150,000 goal. A $99 pledge gets you a myIDkey with two different protective sleeves.… Read more

Passware Inc. is a forensics security company that develops investigation software kits to reveal passwords on seized computers. Last year it released a version of its kit that allows an investigator to reveal the passwords of Apple's FileVault encryption technology, along with those for similar technologies such as TrueCrypt, PGP Disk, and BitLocker. Recently the kit has gained more features and now has the ability to snoop through a system's hibernation file for Google and Facebook account passwords.

The Passware snooping technology works by accessing a system's memory either through a port that has direct memory access (… Read more