How Apple and Google will kill the password

Re:How Apple and Google will kill the password by guptaneil on Sunday January 30, 2011 @07:07PM (#2159647)

In theory, the code that your phone is outputting could be cancelled, so even if you tap your phone against a terminal, it gets rejected, just like credit cards today. Plus, the phone would have to be on to use it, so as soon as it gets signal, it would get wiped before it could be used. (Though that brings up a new concern of what you do in normal use if you have no signal.)

Good point on combining what you have with what you know. I did not think of that. But wouldn't the PIN on your phone be as effective as your credit card PIN?

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Re:How Apple and Google will kill the password by beoba on Sunday January 30, 2011 @08:18PM (#2159836)

So at that point you end up with identical functionality to a credit card, except in a gimmicky package that's much more expensive to replace if lost or stolen, and much more valuable to the individual who obtains it. What's nice with a simple card is it has no intrinsic value; it's just a cheap token for authentication.

Sure, something extra you could do with a phone would be wrapping the payment system behind some sort of on-phone authentication before the phone "allows" you to use it, but then that's only as secure as the phone's debug access, so ultimately you end up with a bank-side activation/pin scheme, which puts you back at square one all over again.

To prevent the phone from getting a signal, put it inside a faraday cage (wrap it in aluminum foil).

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