4 ms·
I think the main problem is that there's usually an unfortunate trade off between usability and security, and most of the issues mentioned as dumb ideas here co
by CM30 2y ago
I think the main problem is that there's usually an unfortunate trade off between usability and security, and most of the issues mentioned as dumb ideas here come from trying to make the system less frustrating for your average user at the expense of security.
For example, default allow is terrible for security, and the cause of many issues in Windows... but many users don't like the idea of having to explicitly permit every new program they install. Heck, when Microsoft added that confirmation, many considered it terrible design that made the software way more annoying to use.
'Default Permit', 'Enumerating Badness' and 'Penetrate and Patch ' are all unfortunately defaults because of this. Because people would rather make it easier/more convenient to use their computer/write software than do what would be best for security.
Personally I'd say that passwords in general are probably one of the dumbest ideas in security though. Like, the very definition of a good password likely means something that's hard to remember, hard to enter on devices without a proper keyboard, and generally inconvenient for the user in almost every way. Is it any wonder that most people pick extremely weak passwords, reuse them for most sites and apps, etc?
But there's no real alternative sadly. Sending links to email means that anyone with access to that compromises everything, though password resets usually mean the same thing anyway. Physical devices for authentication mean the user can't log in from places outside of home that they might want to login from, or they have to carry another trinket around everywhere. And virtually everything requires good opsec, which 99.9% of the population don't really give a toss about...
- bpfrh 2y agomeh passwords where a good idea for a long time. The first 10(20?) years there where no devices without a good keyboard. The big problem imho was the idea that passwords had to be complicated and long, e.g. a random, alpanumeric, some special chars and at least 12 characters long, while a better solution would have been a few words. Edit: To be clear I agree with most of your points about passwords, just wanted to point out that we often don't appreciate how much tech changed after the smartphone introduction and that for the environemnt before that (computer/laptops) passwords where a good choice.
- CM30 2y agoThat's a fair point. Originally devices generally had decent keyboards, or didn't need passwords. The rise of not just smartphones, but tablets, online games consoles, smart TVs, smart appliances, etc had a pretty big impact on their usefulness.
- freeone3000 2y agoIt’s that insight that brought forward passkeys, which have elements of SSO and 2FA-only logins. Apple has fully integrated, allowing cloud-sync’d passkeys: on-device for apple devices, 2FA-only if you’ve got an apple device on you. Chrome is also happy to act as a passkey. So’s BitWarden. It can’t be spoofed, can’t be subverted, you choose your provider, and you don’t even have to remember anything because the site can give you the name of the provider you registered with.
- thyrsus 2y agoI recommend using a well respected browser based password manager, protected by a strong password, and having it generate strong passwords that you never think of memorizing. Web sites that disable that with JavaScript on the password field should be liable for damages with added penalties - I'm looking at you, banks.