6 ms·

Automatic unlock of your computer when your phone is near seems like the kind of feature that sounds great on paper but is a nightmare in practice. What happen

by tdicola 12y ago

Automatic unlock of your computer when your phone is near seems like the kind of feature that sounds great on paper but is a nightmare in practice. What happens when someone picks up my phone and walks near my laptop, they suddenly have access to my entire machine?

hrayr 12y ago
I can see this working with 'trusted' areas.. of course it's a bad idea in a coffee shop or office with lots of people you don't trust.. but at home or your own office this can be really time saver.
- mreiland 12y ago
  I just don't see how, if it's a 'trusted area' you don't usually lock your screen (or maybe you do? I imagine most people don't though), which means if you're logging back in, it's because you've been away for a bit. In which case, your machine may also be hibernating, which is slow to being with. So something like automatically unlocking while your phone is around isn't really all that useful. Not to mention, how long does it take to type in a password?
  - fu9ar 12y ago
    It's not about time or anything so logical. It's about wowing tech-illiterate executives with flashy new toys.
- SyncTheory13 12y ago
  You got me thinking... Combine this with something similar to Tasker, so it only works when you're in trusted areas (Office, Home - Not coffee shops, etc...)... This could also increase security if somebody was to somehow steal both your laptop and your phone... On a tangent, I'm really excited about this and hope there's a Windows+Android version on the way (or clone)...
ChikkaChiChi 12y ago
This will most definitely be something administrators have control over, as well as the individual user.
chuckcode 12y ago
What happens when they steal both?
- tdicola 12y ago
  Hopefully nothing if you have a strong enough password. Chrome OS uses full disk encryption so there shouldn't be anything that an attacker with physical access could get to easily. If moving the phone near the computer suddenly unlocks it though you're screwed.
  - IanCal 12y ago
    I thought that was the entire point, to unlock your chromebook automatically when you're close.
- pbreit 12y ago
  Uh...remote lock?
fulafel 12y ago
Once your nemesis has your phone and your laptop, the laptop screensaver password may not be chief among your worries!
SnowProblem 12y ago
What happens is you learn to be more careful with your phone :)
ryanklee 12y ago
The time has come for phones to start recognizing the presence or non-presence of trusted individuals, granting various permissions. I'd carry a tiny wearable for this.
- safeaim 12y ago
  Sounds like a great start for a dystopian sci-fi novel. Just imagine the effect it will have on our social habits when we start avoiding people that our Google Lens HUD marks as non-trusted. It doesn't even need to happen in a malicious way. All you need is the contrast between the people marked "green" and those you haven't added to your trust list. The short movie "Sight" is a great demonstration of our potential near future of augemented reality technology and the effect it might have on our social lives: http://vimeo.com/46304267 http://vimeo.com/46304267
- dublinben 12y ago
  Like a Motorola Skip, or any number of other NFC tags that will do this? http://www.motorola.com/us/accessory-family-page-1/Motorola-Skip/motorola-skip-moto-x.html http://www.motorola.com/us/accessory-family-page-1/Motorola-...
  - ryanklee 12y ago
    To clarify, I meant this as a matter of ubiquity... There are options for this functionality out there, of course, but they've not been adopted much by users.
alaskamiller 12y ago
Someone's already made this six months ago on the iPhone: http://www.knocktounlock.com/ http://www.knocktounlock.com/ I've been using it for the past 6 months and it went from futuristic novelty to now daily use.
heyheyhey 12y ago
It's just a downside to the feature, I guess. Of course, I'd imagine you don't HAVE to enable this if you don't entirely trust it. For me, having a lock screen at work/home is useless and just an annoyance. It's a pain always having to enable it when I leave work/home so this feature is perfect for me.
interpol_p 12y ago
I've been doing this for quite a while now with Knock [1]. It's pretty good, though I have to remember to take my phone with me when I leave my desk at work for an extended period of time. It's nice to be able to walk up to my desk, tap my phone while it's in my pocket and see the computer unlock. [1] http://www.knocktounlock.com http://www.knocktounlock.com
clvrly 12y ago
I suppose this feature will be more useful with an android wear device.
bsimpson 12y ago
Good thing I don't leave my phone and my laptop to charge in the same room…
khc 12y ago
presumably you have to unlock the phone first
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

by tdicola 12y ago

hrayr 12y ago

I can see this working with 'trusted' areas.. of course it's a bad idea in a coffee shop or office with lots of people you don't trust.. but at home or your own office this can be really time saver.

mreiland 12y ago
I just don't see how, if it's a 'trusted area' you don't usually lock your screen (or maybe you do? I imagine most people don't though), which means if you're logging back in, it's because you've been away for a bit. In which case, your machine may also be hibernating, which is slow to being with. So something like automatically unlocking while your phone is around isn't really all that useful. Not to mention, how long does it take to type in a password?
- fu9ar 12y ago
  It's not about time or anything so logical. It's about wowing tech-illiterate executives with flashy new toys.
SyncTheory13 12y ago
You got me thinking... Combine this with something similar to Tasker, so it only works when you're in trusted areas (Office, Home - Not coffee shops, etc...)... This could also increase security if somebody was to somehow steal both your laptop and your phone... On a tangent, I'm really excited about this and hope there's a Windows+Android version on the way (or clone)...

ChikkaChiChi 12y ago

This will most definitely be something administrators have control over, as well as the individual user.

chuckcode 12y ago

What happens when they steal both?

tdicola 12y ago
Hopefully nothing if you have a strong enough password. Chrome OS uses full disk encryption so there shouldn't be anything that an attacker with physical access could get to easily. If moving the phone near the computer suddenly unlocks it though you're screwed.
- IanCal 12y ago
  I thought that was the entire point, to unlock your chromebook automatically when you're close.
pbreit 12y ago
Uh...remote lock?

fulafel 12y ago

Once your nemesis has your phone and your laptop, the laptop screensaver password may not be chief among your worries!

SnowProblem 12y ago

What happens is you learn to be more careful with your phone :)

ryanklee 12y ago

The time has come for phones to start recognizing the presence or non-presence of trusted individuals, granting various permissions. I'd carry a tiny wearable for this.

safeaim 12y ago
Sounds like a great start for a dystopian sci-fi novel. Just imagine the effect it will have on our social habits when we start avoiding people that our Google Lens HUD marks as non-trusted. It doesn't even need to happen in a malicious way. All you need is the contrast between the people marked "green" and those you haven't added to your trust list. The short movie "Sight" is a great demonstration of our potential near future of augemented reality technology and the effect it might have on our social lives: http://vimeo.com/46304267 http://vimeo.com/46304267
dublinben 12y ago
Like a Motorola Skip, or any number of other NFC tags that will do this? http://www.motorola.com/us/accessory-family-page-1/Motorola-Skip/motorola-skip-moto-x.html http://www.motorola.com/us/accessory-family-page-1/Motorola-...
- ryanklee 12y ago
  To clarify, I meant this as a matter of ubiquity... There are options for this functionality out there, of course, but they've not been adopted much by users.

alaskamiller 12y ago

Someone's already made this six months ago on the iPhone: http://www.knocktounlock.com/ http://www.knocktounlock.com/ I've been using it for the past 6 months and it went from futuristic novelty to now daily use.

heyheyhey 12y ago

It's just a downside to the feature, I guess. Of course, I'd imagine you don't HAVE to enable this if you don't entirely trust it. For me, having a lock screen at work/home is useless and just an annoyance. It's a pain always having to enable it when I leave work/home so this feature is perfect for me.

interpol_p 12y ago

I've been doing this for quite a while now with Knock [1]. It's pretty good, though I have to remember to take my phone with me when I leave my desk at work for an extended period of time. It's nice to be able to walk up to my desk, tap my phone while it's in my pocket and see the computer unlock. [1] http://www.knocktounlock.com http://www.knocktounlock.com

clvrly 12y ago

I suppose this feature will be more useful with an android wear device.

bsimpson 12y ago

Good thing I don't leave my phone and my laptop to charge in the same room…

khc 12y ago

presumably you have to unlock the phone first

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]