Bill Gates Declares the death of passwords

[bazooka]

You have to use dotnet

Bill Gates has made .Net the way into Microsoft - literally. Smart cards from Axalto have been commissioned as ID passes for all employees around the world, and the cards will be used to gain access to the buildings, as well as to get into software.

"The move towards smart cards is the way forward," said Gates in his keynote at IT Forum, in Copenhagen this morning. "The idea is to have a smart card that connects up in the best way - a .Net based smart card."

Microsoft partner Axalto "has done a super job on this", said Gates. "We will be using their smartcards internally - each employee will use those to get in and out of the buildings as we used to connect to our machines. We're requring them. We will completely replace passwords."

The rest of the article is at http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2627

[tekkieman]

Hey Bill! Why not just shove a microchip up our asses!?!?

[thayne]

Hey Bill! Why not just shove a microchip up our asses!?!?

Like this one? Doesn't go in yer ass though
http://www.greaterthings.com/News/Chip_Implants/

[tekkieman]

Hey Bill! Why not just shove a microchip up our asses!?!?

Like this one? Doesn't go in yer ass though
http://www.greaterthings.com/News/Chip_Implants/

Actually, I really don't have a problem with micro identification, just with Bill.

[thayne]

But you know he'll get your chip ID one way or another...

[adam]

Is it just me or does this seem less secure? All someone has to do is steal your card to access everything you have access to, and knowing most employees they will leave their cards in the drawer next to the pc, so it completely defeats the purpose. I guess maybe they are more concerned with getting compromised from someone on the outside via the internet, so in that regard yeah this would definitely help.

Not sure why he brags about cards for accessing doors though. That's hardly novel, its just another type of key and its no secure then any other. Someone could steal your card just as easily as they could your key. Now when I worked for Nortel they had a great system. Everyone was issued cards that had an LED display with 10 numbers. The numbers changed every 30 seconds and were totally random. All doors had keypads and you had to swipe your card then type in your code before it changed to open the door, so there's no way anyone could memorize the code. If you lost your card or had it stolen you just called this hotline and they deactivated your card so no one could use it. And if you left your card lying around you got fined.

[lordsmurf]

Anybody with experience with "smart" cards knows this is just MS hoopla. Nothing new, not even remotely. Just new to them.

[Cobra]

[thecoalman]

Does has it's merits that I can think of, only one key for many doors. It could be made to work only at certain hours. How aabout the ability of knowing someone is logged onto X computer so they can't access Y computer or door Y.

This in a way is moving towards the microchip iin the person.... I forsee the day you walk into a supermarket, get your stuff and walk out door as a dispenser prints out a reciept for you. Might be more along the lines of chip you wear as opposed to embedded though.

[jimmalenko]

"The move towards smart cards is the way forward," said Gates...

I remember having smart card access into 24 hour computer labs at university 8 years ago. Way forward ???

[bugster]

"The move towards smart cards is the way forward," said Gates...

Like 'smart cards' are anything new. All Gates has done is break existing smart card standards by making them .net compatible. In so doing he has yet again taken a worlwide standard and made it MS proprietary. What a Dick!
:P :P

[yoda313]

Hello,

Whatever happened to biometrics being the latest and greatest???

I want to scan my eyeball like Kirk did in Star Trek 2!!! (and that was 1982 or so!!!)

Kevin

[Capmaster]

We have a pretty good system at work for accessing sensitive things from offsite, like the internal restricted network.

We use a SecureID card made by RSA. It's about the size of a thick credit card. It's got a clock that's synchronized with the mainframe. Every 60 seconds it generates a new number. You must enter your 4-digit PIN number, and the card generates an algorithm based on the number and your PIN, then you use the resulting 6 digit number to access the servers.

I have to use it on the days I telecommute in order to get access to my work desktop PC.

[Dr. DOS]

Hey Bill! Why not just shove a microchip up our asses!?!?

[bazooka]

Hey Bill! Why not just shove a microchip up our asses!?!?

Nah, you might enjoy it. :P

[Hardcoreruss]

I read an article in the paper yesterday about Wal Mart attaching tiny chips to everything it sells.

So once you get to the checkout they can scan everything in your trolley at once, pretty smart.

[bugster]

I read an article in the paper yesterday about Wal Mart attaching tiny chips to everything it sells.

So once you get to the checkout they can scan everything in your trolley at once, pretty smart.

and when you wear those underpants you bought, they will know when you are back in the store too!

[Hardcoreruss]

Yeah, high tech market research

[tekkieman]

Hey Bill! Why not just shove a microchip up our asses!?!?

Nah, you might enjoy it. :P

Maybe, but it's still cheaper in the real world to get it done by anyone other than M$! :P

[Capmaster]

Whoever thought we'd have to check our drawers for spyware?

[yoda313]

Whoever thought we'd have to check our drawers for spyware?

Hello,

Gives a whole new meaning to those "upskirt" pics huh???

Kevin

[Capmaster]

Whoever thought we'd have to check our drawers for spyware?

Hello,

Gives a whole new meaning to those "upskirt" pics huh???

Kevin

And a whole world of possibilities 8)
<recalls the Olsen pic before some overzealous mod deleted it ...oops! that was me :P >

[Goober57]

Maybe this guy's opinion says it best..........

http://igloo.its.unimelb.edu.au/funny/backup/3640No1.jpg

____________________________

[Capmaster]

A Mac user .......

Wait ...no. No. A Windows user

[Doramius]

This is how I boost confidence in security.

"I trust all my employees and have faith they all have a good head on their shoulders. If I lose trust in a person, they lose their head."

FEAR - the most powerful emotion to keep someone in line.
[insert picture of Baldrick]

[Capmaster]

This is how I boost confidence in security.

"I trust all my employees and have faith they all have a good head on their shoulders. If I lose trust in a person, they lose their head."

FEAR - the most powerful emotion to keep someone in line.
[insert picture of Baldrick]

How about a couple pics of BJ_M? His would scare the devil himself into behaving :

[Garibaldi]

Cobra has the right idea:

[yoda313]

Hello,

Whatever happened to biometrics being the latest and greatest???

I want to scan my eyeball like Kirk did in Star Trek 2!!! (and that was 1982 or so!!!)

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3121_7-5577669.html?tag=cnetfd.noflash

(OK, we know what you're thinking: If someone cuts off my finger, will he or she be able to log in to my e-mail? Fortunately, a severed finger will work on most sensors for only a few minutes, after which its electrical properties degrade, which is good to know.)

COOL! NOW that's what I'm talking about!

Anyone see "The Sixth Day"??? Schwazeneeger used a hand from a clone to get through security... how long does it last before it won't read the same???? Sounds like it might work pretty well....

Kevin