In all likelihood, you have two or three go-to passwords that are some mishmash of the year you were born, your favorite superhero and your pet goldish’s name, and you can never remember which one you used for which account. That’s a snapshot of the world we live in, in 2013, and it’s a snapshot Google’s trying to move away from.
Passwords are simply too easy to hack these days—and too frustrating for consumers, who have a hard enough time remembering what channel Dancing With the Stars is on, let alone an array of encrypted alphanumerical logins to access their entire online identity. One alternative Google is working on is an individually manufactured USB key. The other, more fashion-forward alternative is an encrypted ring that would identify users to their computers (or even their phones) just by contact. “We’ll have to have some form of screen unlock, maybe passwords but maybe something else, but the primary authenticator will be a token like this or some equivalent piece of hardware,” said Google vice president of security, Eric Grosse …
