Archive for Passwords

Clef: Brennen Byrne

While in going to college for English, Brennen Byrne took a computer science class just for fun, he didn’t realize how much that impacted his future. The first day of class his professor told him that he could create whole entire worlds, businesses, and products just by writing them down. This sparked Byrne’s interest. Later in college he and his freeing came up with an idea to use your phone as a way to identify you. This tuned into what is now called Clef.

Being as our world is so involved in technology, it must be guarded safely in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. The people at Clef are doing just that. Clef is a two-factor authentication that is safer and easier to use then other password or authentication tools. Clef is based in Oakland, California. They are a very small business with few workers; however they are making a lot of people’s lives easier.

Their system is a two-factor authentication which means unlike a regular password there are two steps to get to your information, making it more secure. You just use your phone to swipe in front of the computer screen. Clef also differentiates itself because of its use of Apple Touch ID. The usability of this eliminates the need for having a lot of different passwords crowding your mind. According to Clef’s research their tool will make customers 45% more likely to return.

LaunchKey

Do you ever get tired of remembering all the different passwords you have? Ever feel frustrated with having to come up with a new password for each social media site you join? Well, Geoff Sanders, Devin Egan, and Yo Sub Kwon, the founders of Launch Key, definitely understand your pain. That’s what they created LaunchKey, a smartphone app that replaces all your passwords and  lets users sign into a site with a username alone. The software sends a signal to the user’s smartphone and he or she completes the sign-in by swiping the smartphone screen. download (6)

LaunchKey not only eliminates how many passwords people have to remember, but also helps with security breaches, particularly hacking. And while  there are some smartphone-based solutions that send a code to the phone that you must type in, LaunchKey has improved this because the LaunchKey app realizes you have your phone and sends you a message that is acknowledged with a swipe. And if someone else is trying to sign into your account, you can know that too! Also, it’s not for websites alone,it can actually work with anything that connects to the Internet. As Sanders said, “In theory, you could someday start a car with LaunchKey.”

Sanders, Egan, Yo Sub Kwon, won first place and best design with the LaunchKey concept at the Startup Weekend Las Vegas competition in July 2012. That same week, hackers had posted nearly half a million Yahoo passwords online. The team also got $750,000 in start-up funds from Vegas Tech Fund, founded by Tony Heisch and other Zappos.com execs. The LaunchKey App is now available for free in the Apple App Store and an Android version is coming soon! launchkey-pano_25641