3 main password management services

(Elements comparison table of three main password management services)

There are three main password management services nowadays-1Password, LastPass and KeePass– and their system and function is quite similar to the outcome my Master Project would like to achieve. Therefore it’s very meaningful to study on these three services. As a start I gave a trail with each of them and experienced how they work. Then I collected more online comments and tutorials from others to make a comparison within these three services. As the above table shows there are many different features within the password management services and here are the common elements:

• Master password: To get access to the management system, users need to set a master password and must remember it-the service cannot help you get back the master password any longer because it will not save the password to guarantee users’ security control;
• Password separation: As users get access to the password management service with one master password, there is no need for them to remember password for each online platform. Therefore users can set super strong passwords for each site and the service could help users generate random and strong passwords- it encourages users to set stronger but harder remember passwords;
• Browser plug-in: Most services are based on browser and work as plug-in. In this way when users login or create a new account the plug-in could help automatically generate, remember and fill in accounts information and that saves users’ lots of time;
• Devices sync: Most services support data sync across various devices and systems. It works as cloud storage or data file saved on Dropbox. However, the user experience across devices might be affected by inconsistent interfaces, prices or developers;
• Function: Most services are focusing more on password management. Some of them offer identity or account management as well but just work in the same approach of password management and that don’t fit IDM requirements quite well.

User behavior change on Facebook with time

VentureBeat posted an article about Facebook usage data collected and analyzed by Wolfram Alpha (Facebook Personal Analytics) last week. It’s interesting to find that user life pattern actually changes with time in this case.

For example, friends on Facebook vary with time. The result from Wolfram Alpha says “When you’re younger, most of your friends are your own age, but the range of ages broadens as you get older.”

And people talk different things as they getting older (the two colors represent gender):

Though the report says the data is limited to the small number Facebook users who let Wolfram Alpha use it, it’s very meaningful statistic and evidence of user’s changing needs of online platforms with time- because the online audience and behaviors change, what they want to express and show who they are may vary as well.

Personal- Privacy by design

Personal is a well-designed and quite close case for my project. It’s a service which helps people manage and share personal information. Personal works within the concept of “Privacy by Design”, which may be very helpful for my project.

The following sketch shows how Personal works:

All personal information is saved in Gems, grouped within function and feature categories, and all Gems are collected in data Vault, which provides high security level. Users could choose data to share with others such as family members and work peers. In addition, the data on Personal could be linked to its another product Fill It, which is embedded as a bookmark of browser and helps users fill in online forms and log in automatically with the information kept in Personal account.

The story in Fill It’s video mentions users’ multiple identities online and at the end of the story, it says the benefit of the service is to “Let users to get back to the important things in life” – that supports my project topic a lot.

For security, users want a little more cumbersome mobile payment

Talking about mobile payment, on one side, it fits the trend that more and more people choose mobile devices rather than PCs to interact online, but one the other side, because of the characteristics of mobile devices, more payment companies are trying to cut down the process and steps for easier user-experience(example as Square), and this causes users worry about the security issue of payment with mobile devices.

(Square)

According to recent UK research conducted by the Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG). Improving the perceived security of both smartphones and mobile payments devices is essential to increase consumer adoption levels. This research report also says that 35% of consumers would also be interested in customizing their mobile security based on the amount of the purchase. These consumers would expect and welcome additional security for larger purchases and have simplified process for small amount of

This could be an useful insight for my project. While considering both security & privacy needs and user-friendly experience, maybe help user customize the operation according to different security levels will help solve the balance problem. And it also fits users’ requirement to keep some extend control of identity management.

(This article also make reference to Chinese online article here)

How advertisers track you and what information they collect (infographic)- VentureBeat

While talking with people these two days, most of them mentioned the importance of privacy and several said they are suffering ad invasions such as unable-cancelled ad emails which they don’t want to read any more.

Here is an article about how advertisers track and collect information of you. It shows an infographic of advertisers’ tracking and the process looks quite scary and out of user’s control. It offers some options to stop tracking, but for me even though I know the problem the solution does not look good to practice. Maybe because too technical things are difficult for me to understand. We actually have a Chinese browser(360) who says will protect users from all these cookie problems but still the debate of whether it really protect users or steal their private data in fact never stops. For users the big problem may be how to choose the real useful tool instead of protecting themselves from attacking. And as some other insight, maybe make use of cookies to track users for their own purposes is something else technology could do for user’s benefit.

myIDkey – a fingerprint secure voice-activated USB drive

myIDkey is one “fingerprint secure voice-activated USB drive” and also  one “complete password management system” which combines USB driver, personal computers and smart devices. It looks a good choice to manage our huge amount passwords created for different organization requirements and security protection needs. The idea of using a system but not one single token or online plaffrom to manage our digital identities is quite useful for my IMPRINTS project.

More gestures, less touches- two brilliant technology is coming soon

First is Leap Motion:

“Raise your hands and wave hello to the future.” This fantastic gesture controller- Leap Motion Controller will begin shipping to consumers on May 13. It “senses your individual hand and finger movements so you can interact directly with your computer. ”

Another brilliant one is MYO:

“Using groundbreaking technology, MYO is able to measure electrical activity in your muscles instantly. The result is a seamless way to interact with computers, and a truly magical sense of control.”

These two gesture technologies both focus on gesture control but in different approaches. The other similarity is that they are both coming soon. They have launched the pre-order for customers, which means gesture control is getting close to our real daily life. Seamless interaction with devices is one big need from users, and maybe in the future gesture identity verification will be a new choice of identity management.

EyeVerify – secure your smartphone with your eyes

(Picture and more information from Theverge)

EyeVerify is a new program which applies eye vein biometrics to help users get access to a phone or application. It basically scan user’s eye veins to identify the person through camera on the phone. This technology is said safer than face unlock of Android, “more accurate than facial recognition” and “makes its way into devices at some point in the future then it could be a convenient way to secure a device or a smartphone application”.

OK Glass- liberate our hands

OK Glass is the watchworld to launch Google Glass. After that, lots of amazing things like record videos, send images or search picture resources could be executed.

Above is the video of user experience display with Google Glass which just uploaded today. Even though from the comments we could see many people are worrying and questioning the privacy security issues, I think it’s a good start for Google anyway. The very cool part for Google Glass is that it explores many new ways to interact with smart devices when your hands are free, and in the same time it leads to much more direct interaction with our life. Most functions of it really benefit and rich our life. The interfaces and operation ways of it are also pretty simple, clear and user-friendly.

And at last I really appreciate the translate function it offers, I must need it as 24/7 service 🙂

 

Wearables are poised to disrupt our lives?

(Fjord Kitchen SF: When Will Wearables Go Mainstream?)

Here is an article about Fjord’s brainstroming session on wearables recently. It highlights seven reasons why wearables are poised to disrupt our lives from the conversations. The first one is “The smartphone’s novelty has worn off, and people want new toys.” Quite true, I agree. If the technology and market is ready for wearables, then why don’t we have a try? However, further effects should be considered to keep wearables making our life bigger information and digital identity mess.

After the article above, I move more on Fjord’s websites, here are three more articles about wearables:

1) Making the wearable tech revolution a reality

• As technology meets and to some extent fuses with our bodies, new challenges arise – and many of them are not merely about technology; they are about people.
• “product strategists must embrace a human-centric approach to design — the person is the focus of innovation, not the device.” (Sarah Rotman Epps-Smart Body, Smart World)

2) Fjord Kitchen: When will wearables go mainstream?

3) Fjord Kitchen SF: making wearable tech go big

• More and more people begin to see the value in measuring and understanding their own data;
• Companies creating wearables need to understand how to design products and services that help us to achieve our goals, contributing to our experience rather than distracting us from it.