Let's face it: No one likes passwords.
With all the different websites and devices you log in to, it has become almost impossible to keep track of all your passwords.
But what if you could forget about passwords and log in instantly using something else, like your face or fingerprints?
Intel thinks that's a real possibility — and something you can do right away.
"We want to eliminate all passwords from computing," Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's client-computing group, said at the Citi Global Technology Conference held on Tuesday. "I can confidently say today, you can eliminate all your passwords today, if you buy a sixth-generation Core system."
Skaugen was referring to the new sixth-generation Core chips that Intel released last week. Those chips power some of the latest Windows 10 devices that come with some of the new facial-recognition software, like Windows Hello. To enjoy the full functionality of Windows Hello, you also need Intel's RealSense 3D Camera, which looks at multiple angles to detect the photo's depth and heat to determine the user's identity.
"You can do everything from measure blood pressure, blink detection, all these kinds of things ... In fact, in Berlin, one of my funniest demos in my 23 years at Intel is when I brought two identical twins out on-stage and I mixed them up and only one could log in with the PC, and it actually worked," he said.
That's not the first time twins were used to validate how Intel's RealSense Camera works on Windows Hello. Last month, The Australian tested six sets of identical twins of various ethnicities and age ranges to show whether it worked seamlessly. Not a single twin was able to log in using the sibling's log-in photo.
Intel has been pretty vocal about killing the password. Earlier this year, it also released an app called True Key that lets users log in to multiple apps using biometric features, such as the distance between your eyes or different points on your face. Late last year, Intel also acquired a startup called PasswordBox that makes it easy for users to log in to websites and apps without having to type in passwords.
In fact, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich believes these features will even help revive PC sales. During his most recent earnings call, he said, "A lot of the really good features of Windows 10, things like Windows Hello where you have facial log in, and you don't have to use all your passwords, the Start screen and your ability to go through that, the touch usages of gaming, as the new games come to this product — those are going to run with PCs that have the latest features.
"That, combined with products like Skylake over the long haul, I think Windows 10 will be a boost to the PC market."
