4 ms·
How is that different from passwords, exactly? Okay, maybe you can remember the passwords for services you use on a daily basis, but I must have a couple of hun
by Turing_Machine 3y ago
How is that different from passwords, exactly? Okay, maybe you can remember the passwords for services you use on a daily basis, but I must have a couple of hundred passwords to deal with, at least. Password managers can help with the data overload, but only at the cost of introducing the same single point of failure as a private key, and arguably a less-secure one.
- reportgunner 3y agoYou can use the "forgot password" dialog for passwords.
- pavlov 3y agoIt’s not different from just a password. That’s why no service uses an unrecoverable password as the only authentication mechanism because it would be a terrible usability and security problem. Ordinary people expect to be able to reset forgotten passwords. And because people are bad at managing passwords, reasonable services try to get them to use 2FA so their accounts wouldn’t get stolen. A service that uses plain private keys has both problems.
- Turing_Machine 3y ago> it would be a terrible usability and security problem. Compared to, say, someone being able to compromise every account you have because you walked away from your desktop or phone while logged into email?
- JetSpiegel 3y agoJust email the private key to yourself, or store in your password manager for hacker types.
- danhor 3y agoIn addition to the other points, "regular users" unfortunately still quite often use only a few passwords, shared between all their services. So only 3-4 passwords (and variations) to remember!