Microsoft is apparently considering doing away with passwords in its next operating system, code-named Longhorn. Instead, MS is looking into improving security with two-factor authentication. Going beyond a standard password, two-factor authentication requires users to be in possession of something they know, i.e., a Personal Identification Number (PIN), and something they have, i.e., a token.
According to Detlef Eckert, senior director of MS's Trustworthy Computing initiative:
I believe that the time of password-only authentication is gone. We need to go to two-factor authentication. This is the only way to bring the level of trust business needs.
Microsoft representatives did not go into detail into how the company plans on getting two-factor authentication implemented. Modern technology has made it possible for numerous different items to serve as the token, such as a cellphone, BlackBerry, USB device, etc.
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