 We all hate passwords.
So imagine a world where you don't have to keep track of so many passwords! And where your password can't get stolen. That future is here now, in the form of Passkeys. Many websites now allow you to set up your online account with a passkey as your authentication method, rather than (or as well as) a password and multi-factor authentication. Simply by signing in to a website/app on a device that is trusted by that website, and authenticating using that device (e.g. using Face ID, Touch ID or that device's password/password), you can avoid having to enter a password. But what is a Passkey, how do you set them up, where are they stored, and how can you make sure that you can sign in using that passkey on any device/computer?
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 This issue comes up occasionally when clients consult iTandCoffee about account password/sign-in issues. This might be when they need to re-set their password or perhaps just sign in to a particular account.
The issue they have is that the account sign-in process sends a verification code to their mobile phone number via SMS - but the code is never received. This is even though the mobile number is confirmed to be correct. Where does that verification code go? 15/3/2024 0 Comments Yes, you can autofill your Apple Keychain passwords in Chrome - both on Mac and Windows For many people, Chrome is their preferred Web Browser - even on a Mac.
But, up until recently, this has meant that you couldn't take advantage of the auto-fill capabilities of Keychain - to fill in your account details when signing into while using Chrome. This has recently changed - and you can now access your Keychain passwords in Chrome and Edge on both Mac and Windows. This makes it so much easier to combine your Apple, Google and Microsoft worlds when browsing the web. 1/12/2023 0 Comments Multi-Factor Authentication using Apple's Keychain - for simple authentication using Touch ID or Face ID As a protection against scams and hackers, important online accounts should all be set up with additional security (other than just a password) - something called Multi-factor Authentication (MFA).
An authentication code can be provided by an Authenticator app, one that has been connected to the account (through the account’s settings). Such apps are offered by Microsoft, Google and other providers. The issue with some authenticator apps (e.g. Microsoft’s) is that the authentication is tied to a particular device and, for some types of online account, it is not possible to set up authentication via multiple devices. If the device that normally authenticates is not available, access to your account is not possible. I have been caught out by this in the past, as have other iTandCoffee clients - especially when changing iPhones. This was something I was concerned about before I travelled, worried that if I lost my phone, I would be locked out of various accounts - something I didn’t want to have to deal with while away. So, before travelling, I switched all my multi-factor authentications to use Apple’s Keychain instead of Microsoft's or Google's Authenticator. Keychain offers the same ‘scan a QR code’ setup that other Authentication apps offer. The great thing about using Keychain is that all my Apple devices can provide the authentication codes - not just one. And I only need to provide my Touch ID or Face ID on the devices to see the authentication code magically appear.  A client who visited iTandCoffee last week needed help with her mail password. She wanted to add the account to her new iPhone and iPad, but did not know the password. Her Mac 'knew' the password and allowed her to manage her mail, but she couldn't find a record of that password.
This is a very common problem, especially for mail accounts that have been in use for a long time. If you are not sure of your email account password, your Mac may allow you to look it up - and save you a call to your email provider. If your mail is with the likes of Optus or Telstra, it is certainly a relief to save yourself from such a call! An iTandCoffee Club member was doing some re-setting of important passwords after noticing in the Security Recommendations in Settings -> Passwords that a few of his passwords were weak or had appeared in a data breach.
He then came back to Settings -> Passwords and deleted some old passwords from there - and inadvertently deleted a couple of the important ones. His question for iTandCoffee was whether this would cause any problems with accessing his accounts and whether he needed to again change the passwords for the impacted accounts. 7/10/2022 0 Comments How to check your account passwords and save new ones - and have them sync between devices With the recent concerning news of the Optus data breach, the topic of managing passwords for online accounts inevitably gets discussed - and I have been asked a couple of times this week about how I manage my own passwords.
I store all my account passwords in one place, and they automatically sync across all my devices and auto-fill in my web browser whenever I need them, as long as I can provide my fingerprint, Face ID or device password. And I can look them up any time from any of my devices if I need to know what they are. Here's what I use.  Many Mac users think that, by having a password protecting their access to their Mac, they are making their Mac's contents inaccessible to those who should not have access - for example, if the Mac is stolen.
The truth is that, for the majority of Macs, the password will not prevent such access. Your Mac is still vulnerable to unauthorised access if it falls into evil hands.  I just want to share with you a very sad tale about what can happen if your online account passwords are easy to guess, have perhaps been re-used across multiple sites - and are also not protected by a second layer of protection (called two step verification or multi-factor authentication).
A client of iTandCoffee has recently been the victim of hacking, and has been locked out of a Google account that was essential to running her business.  If you are a Mac user, there are some great new features that have arrived in macOS Monterey - which was released in October 2021.
The picture shown here gives an indication of just some of the changes - and is taken from a video we have recorded for iTandCoffee Club members. |
What's on at iTandCoffee ?Below is our list of videos, classes and other events that are coming up soon.
Videos shown are offered for eligible members of the iTandCoffee Club. If you have questions, why not join fun and informative 'user group' meetings, held once a month. All iTandCoffee classes are run as online classes (using Zoom), which means you can attend from anywhere. |
27 Sycamore St, Camberwell, Victoria Australia
Call +61 444 532 161 or 1300 885 320
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