Passwords are slowly becoming extinct as new forms of authentication take over
The troublesome pattern of setting, forgetting, and resetting passwords might soon be a thing of the past
The pattern – for some of us – of setting, forgetting, and resetting passwords might soon be behind us. Passwords are slowly dying out and simpler, more secure forms of authentication that don’t involve remembering a pesky string of numbers and letters are taking over. But will people be able to adapt and change their habits? Plus, learn “fall for.”
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Transcript
Passwords may be dying a slow death
Lesson summary
Hi there everyone, I’m Jeff and this is Plain English lesson number 460. What is plain English anyway? Well, it’s an expression that means to speak clearly and directly , without jargon or unnecessarily complex words. Plain English is also the best tool for you to upgrade your English with current events and trending topics—and that is where you are right now.
You’re locked into the audio lesson, but if you’re listening on an app, you’re only getting part of the lesson. The full and complete lesson is at PlainEnglish.com/460. That’s courtesy of JR, the producer. Thanks JR!
On today’s lesson, we’ll talk about something we all hate but can’t live without: passwords. For years, people have been predicting that the end of the password is coming. There might—might!—be reason for optimism. Let’s find out together in today’s lesson. In the second half, I’ll show you how to use the English phrasal verb “fall for,” and I have a quote of the week for you. Let’s get started.
The slow death of a hated tool: the password
Passwords are as fundamental to the computing era as keyboards and screens. When you log into a new site, when you get a new device, or when you sign up for a new service, the first thing to do is create a username and password. It’s as natural a behavior as breathing in and out.
However, passwords are riddled with problems. For consumers, passwords are difficult to remember. We have dozens or hundreds of them across all the services we use. It’s no surprise, then, that so many of us take shortcuts, like creating easily-guessable passwords and re-using passwords across multiple sites.
If you work for enterprise, like a large company or the government, your employer hates passwords, too. If just one employee is careless with a password, or if just one person falls for a phishing attack, then hackers can gain access to a company’s sensitive data.
And spare a thought for all the online services that make you create a password: they—we—don’t like that either , because we have to put web security in place to guard the passwords of our users. Passwords are also a top reason for “cart abandonment.” That’s when a consumer puts items in a shopping cart, gets to the checkout page, and for some reason doesn’t purchase. One reason is often frustration with having to create an account and password; I’ve abandoned many carts for this very reason. And I’m sure a few of you have abandoned your carts on PlainEnglish.com for that reason, too—I won’t take offense, since I’m just as guilty on other sites.
Some recent developments have started to make passwords both more secure and less painful to use. Let’s take security first. Commercial password managers like LastPass and 1Password are either free or cheap, and they help users generate and store secure, unique passwords for each site. You learned about that in Lesson 326 , just over a year ago.
Second, sites are embracing multi-factor authorization. This is a fancy way of saying, you have to give two pieces of information to gain access to a site. If your password is stolen, a thief needs a second, independent piece of information to access the site. The most secure way to do this is to have an authenticator app that generates a one-time code on your phone. You can also receive a text message or click a one-time link in your e-mail. These aren’t perfect systems, but they do improve security. Don’t just take my word for it. Google moved 150 million users to multi-factor authentication; the company reported a 50 percent drop in hacked accounts just from taking this one step.
Slowly but surely, some platforms and sites are making passwords less painful for us to use. Smartphones have their own password managers built in, and you can use your thumbprint to unlock them easily. You can log into small sites by using your Google or Facebook password, reducing the sheer number of passwords you have. (This is problematic when Facebook is down , though!)
Other sites allow you to log in without a password at all. A while back, we talked about Substack, a new platform for e-mail newsletters . That was in Lesson 434 . Substack is among the companies that lets you log in via a special link they send to your e-mail; you don’t even need a password if you don’t want to use one.
Still, these are only minor improvements around the periphery. On the vast majority of sites, you still have to log in using a username and a password—and people hate passwords. For years, technologists have dreamed of a future without passwords, only to see the dream delayed time and again.
That’s because for all the frustration, passwords do have one benefit that outweighs all the negatives: every computer or smartphone user in the world knows how to use a password. It’s that simple: everyone’s already doing it, and it’s easy to understand.
“Authentication” refers to the process of confirming the identity of a computer user. You can have the best authentication process in the world, but if everyone can’t or won’t use it, then it’s useless. Whatever comes after the password has to be both more secure and easier to use. Otherwise, people won’t change their habits.
This is the dilemma facing the FIDO Alliance, an industry consortium seeking to replace passwords as the primary way to authenticate users. FIDO, which is short for “Fast Identity Online,” was founded in 2012, ten years ago. Its mission is to create simpler and stronger authentication—in other words, to kill the password as the primary way we authenticate ourselves online.
The alliance counts some of the world’s biggest technology companies as members: Apple, Google, and Microsoft represent the major operating systems. Meta (which owns Facebook), Netflix, and Amazon represent consumer sites. Chipmakers Intel and Qualcomm are on board. Financial institutions like banks, money managers, and PayPal are part of FIDO. So are the governments of Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, and the U.K.
The heaviest hitters are all working together, so surely they can figure out a better way to authenticate users, right? Progress has been slow, but there is reason for optimism. Just last month, the alliance announced it had agreed on the broad technology for replacing passwords in the future. The research paper they released included a detailed outline of how this will work. And on Thursday, we’ll explore what, exactly, a password-less future will look like.
2FA on screen
I’m watching “The Flight Attendant” on HBO Max now. I never thought that two-factor authorization would have a starring role in a television drama, but it does in episode 5. No spoilers, but a computer user leaves his password written down on piece of paper next to his computer. But the computer has two-factor authorization enabled…and that’s all I’m going to say.
By the way, did you ever do that? Write your computer password down and leave it next to your computer? I feel like computer users don’t do that anymore. But years ago, this was common in offices. A company would require a super-secure password—like a 20-character-long password, full of numbers and letters and symbols, an un-hackable combination. And so everyone would just write down the un-hackable password on a piece of paper and leave it under their keyboards.
¿Hablas español?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into Spanish. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .
How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
你说中国话？
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Parlez-vous français?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Você fala português?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
日本語は話せますか？
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Parli italiano?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Sen Türkçe konuşmayı biliyor musun?
The transcripts of Plain English lessons are available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation. Turkish translations are available starting at Lesson 278.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Mówisz po polsku?
The transcript of Plain English lessons are available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation. Polish translations are available starting at Lesson 278.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Audio
The fast version of this lesson is available for subscribers of Plain English Plus+.