Kill the Password: Why a String of Characters Can’t Protect Us Anymore

Mat Honan, who’s digital life was destroyed this summer, on passwords

The age of the password has come to an end; we just haven’t realized it yet. And no one has figured out what will take its place. What we can say for sure is this: Access to our data can no longer hinge on secrets—a string of characters, 10 strings of characters, the answers to 50 questions—that only we’re supposed to know. The Internet doesn’t do secrets. Everyone is a few clicks away from knowing everything.

In the article he explicitly lists why I always enter fake answers to my so called security questions:

Your mother’s maiden name is on Ancestry.com, your high school mascot is on Classmates, your birthday is on Facebook, and so is your best friend’s name—even if it takes a few tries.

Kill the Password: Why a String of Characters Can’t Protect Us Anymore →