To protect social media accounts, email, or simply access to your computer, what you generally use is a password. You put a series of numbers, letters and other symbols and it is what allows you to enter. But this is not the only option. In fact, everything indicates that very soon it will have a much safer replacement. These are access keys or authentication keys.
How access keys work
So far what we put is the password to enter an account. If an intruder manages to steal it, we have a problem. You will be able to enter and see our emails, Facebook messages, use the Netflix account… The access keys go one step further. They are an alternative that is increasingly present, but it will be more so in a few years.
Access keys or authentication keys allow you to enter an account through an authenticator. For example it can be another device. If you are going to log into an account on the computer, you would need to use your mobile, which acts as an authenticator, to have permissions and access to that account. It can be the opposite or be any other computer equipment.
But how do we authenticate ourselves? If, for example, you are going to enter the mail protected with an access code on your computer, an option will appear to enter a code that you will receive on your mobile. It can even just be an app on your phone where you give permission to enter.
This is very useful to prevent intruders. If someone wants to enter your account, they will also have to have access to your mobile in order to authenticate. Sometimes we just have to start the phone through a PIN or put the fingerprint. From there we can already have access to the account on the other device.
The best against Phishing
One of the most serious problems today is Phishing attacks. Hackers use methods to steal passwords and it basically consists of scamming the victim into putting the password on a website created for the scam. Since there is now no password to steal, it will be more difficult to access.
This is all still in its early stages and you’re going to be using passwords for quite some time like you are now. But if we think about the future, in a few years it is very likely that access keys or access keys will gradually begin to replace traditional passwords. We may use physical devices as well as software to enable mobile access.
This is going to be very useful to increase the security of any account we use. Especially those that may be more sensitive and are targeted by hackers, such as bank accounts, email or social networks. But so far, the best thing is to avoid Phishing and protect your passwords.
In short, as you can see, this method to protect your accounts is going to be more and more present and little by little it will replace traditional passwords. You will be able to avoid Phishing attacks and other similar threats.
