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What is a passkey, and how is it different from a password?
Passkeys and their speedy encryption are already starting to replace passwords: Here are the big differences
We're all tired of passwords. While the latest password managers make them easier to create and control, they're still a pain and dangerous if stolen. When it comes to security, passwords often feel like a necessary evil.
Google has somehow made website sign-ins even easier
Because signing up for accounts all over the place is hell
Logging into a random site with your Google account? You can forget about jumping into a separate splash page — the company has developed a new set of APIs under one banner called Google Identity Services and have enabled an expedient method to get you authenticated faster.
10 apps with millions of Play Store downloads found stealing Facebook login info
If you've downloaded one of the following, you might want to check your account
Google has a lot of moving parts behind the scenes, trying to keep malware off of the Play Store. But with seven figures of apps posting and updating constantly, even it doesn't have a perfect record. Such is the claim from a security researcher last week, which said they found ten apps with variations on a trojan horse program. The apps are fairly innocuous based on their title and description, but each is designed to scrape a user's phone for Facebook login credentials.
Spotify now has an option to sign up with Google, but you shouldn't use it
The functionality isn't fully baked yet
Spotify has offered deep integration with Facebook for years, including an option to log in with a Facebook account. The service added an Apple ID login option recently (to comply with new iOS policies), and now Spotify is rolling out an option to create an account through Google.
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Whether you're browsing different sites or buying something online, you likely rely on an autofill system to enter your usernames, passwords, addresses, and payment details so you don't have to manually type that data every time. Google already offers this in Chrome, but the interface is changing and adopting a more modern look that's anchored to your keyboard.
Reddit angers some users after forcing them to log in to see content on its mobile site
Can Reddit still call itself “the frontpage of the internet” when it restricts access?
Reddit's mobile website is well-made and fast, but for ages, the platform has been pushing anyone who visited that site to the official app instead, complete with an obnoxious banner that shows up every time you open a Reddit link in your phone's browser. The corporation behind the network apparently still isn't happy with the conversion rates, as some Redditors report that they can't use the mobile site without logging in or downloading the app anymore.
Pokémon Go developer Niantic Labs has announced a partnership with kid-focused web service company SuperAwesome to create a new platform called Niantic Kids Parent Portal. With it, parents can manage accounts for their kids, "review and approve [their] child’s permissions," and control what information about the child is shared.
Many TV networks have their own mobile apps or websites for watching on-demand content, but they almost always require a cable subscription. Most of them use 'TV Everywhere,' which allows people to login with a vast amount of service providers. As a new support document points out, YouTube TV now works with TV Everywhere.
Developers can't really catch a break. If they create a service that requires its own login account and password, users will clamor for an option to sign in using Google, Facebook, Twitter, or any other number of oAuth logins. And if they create a service and decide not to bother with their own accounts but rely on existing oAuth options, then users will raise the demand for a standalone login as was the case with Feedly.
Wow, it's been over three years since we wrote about the official app for Digitally Imported Radio, or as it's known in your URL bar, DI.FM. (Fare thee well, "Android Market.") This app lets you access 65 finely-tuned streaming music stations focusing on electronic music and similar genres. The update to version 1.5 lets you sign in with either Google+ or Facebook. You can still log in with an existing DI account, or create a new one sans social network.
Today at this year's f8, Facebook's global developer conference, the company behind the world's largest social network introduced upcoming changes to its platform for signing users into mobile apps. In the months ahead, people can expect to see a new Anonymous Login option that the company says will allow them to sign in without sharing any of their personal information from Facebook.
As an Android-specific site, you might say we're a bit biased when it comes to some of the non-essential services built into apps. Seeing an app that allows a universal Facebook sign-in option, but not a Google alternative, really gets on our thungas. Case in point: popular magazine-style news reader Flipboard. Before the latest update, you could only access the service by signing into a new account the old-fashioned way or using Facebook.
I'll admit it - I tried to avoid signing into apps using Facebook back when doing so first became a thing. I figured the company already had enough information about me, and I didn't want them getting more. Now I wager that consolidating my information is probably no less safe (or unsafe?) than leaving my contact information scattered across many different servers, each maintained by scattered companies of varying size that may or may not exist this time next year. Now Facebook has provided an updated SDK for developers that again makes it easier for them to integrate their apps with the social network, and I figure why not embrace it?
Google, in a bid toward continued competition with the other social networks, today announced Google+ Sign-In, a unified login that can be utilized across the web, as well as Android and iOS apps to make sign-in and sharing much simpler. Think Facebook connect but, in Google's words, "minus the social spam."
Most remote desktops apps on Android can get pretty pricey. So, when a $2 RDP/VNC-compatible solution comes along, we take notice. Jump Desktop, a comparatively small player in this app category, has knocked 80% off the normal price of $10. Not bad! The service is pretty fully featured, including multi-touch support, the ability to connect via WiFi or 3G, and even SSH tunnel support!