Everyday Computer User

 The big tech companies are getting together to do something about the insecurity of passwords. The FIDO Alliance--Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and others--and WC3 are pushing to implement passkeys as a replacement for passwords to login to your web accounts. Passkeys use public key-private key cryptography. Your device works with the website or app to create a passkey with a public part, analogous to a lock, and a private part, analogous to a key. You own the key and maintain possession of the private part; it never leaves your device. The credential manager (a.k.a. password manager) on your device manages passkeys once they are set. You only have to remember how to unlock your device. Since this may be a biometric such as facial recognition or your fingerprint, you may not have to remember anything most of the time. If you use a password or a PIN to unlock your device, you will have to remember them (or write them down someplace secure away from your device). Passkeys are mu...

 I'm not a "regular" blogger. What I mean is that even when I had a  regular blog  from 2010 to 2022, I did not post frequently. I also converted my  website  to a simple place to post some notes about what I read or an occasional thought. But I occasionally feel the need to put some of my thoughts or activities down in more detail than the short "blurbs" I post on my website. So I've come back to this blog. It started back in 2020 as a place to share some of the things I've learned about using computers. Hence the title of the blog. As you can read on my  about page , personal computers have been a hobby (and useful in my work and volunteering) for almost 50 years. So I started out to share some of what I've learned. Then life interfered and I got away from posting. Maybe I can stick with it this time. But this blog will not be limited to computer topics despite the name. I chose to leave the name as is because it does describe me. I use a computer ...