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Microsoft working with RSA on secure Windows log-on system

Feb 24, 2004 1:56AM PST

Office computers running the latest Windows operating systems could get a new degree of protection against snoops and intruders from a partnership announced Tuesday by Microsoft Corp. and RSA Security Inc.

Instead of only making users type in passwords to log on to a computer, users of the RSA ``token'' system also enter a random number that appears on their so-called SecureID, a keychain fob or plastic card they carry with them.

The number changes every minute, generated by an algorithm that also resides on a server inside a company's computing center.

The new agreement, announced at RSA's annual security conference in San Francisco, would protect Windows-based computers with the token scheme, whether they are portable or attached to a corporate network.

Currenty, signing onto Windows requires no more than typing a user name and password.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8028692.htm

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