Yahoo is aiming to eradicate one of the most annoying aspects of computing today: the forgotten password scenario.
The company is launching a new password strategy in which it provides users an "on-demand" password sent to a user's cell phone and a fast six-step process.
"Today, we're hoping to make that process less anxiety-inducing by introducing on-demand passwords, which are texted to your mobile phone when you need them. You no longer have to memorize a difficult password to sign in to your account - what a relief!" stated Yahoo in a Tumblr post.
There's just one kicker: you need to know your Yahoo password in order to change the settings in your account and activate the "on demand" opt-in capability.
Once you're logged into Yahoo, click on your name in the top right corner and head to the account info page and once there choose "security" in the left bar nav. To opt in to "on -demand passwords," just click on the slider.
You will have to enter your mobile phone number so that Yahoo can text you a verification code. Enter the code into the Yahoo sign-in box and you're up and running on Yahoo. The password option is available to U.S. users at this point.
Launched on Sunday, March 15, the service is a baby step toward moving away from the password security approach.
"This is the first step to eliminating passwords," said Dylan Casey, Yahoo VP of product management for consumer platforms, during a presentation at the South by Southwest event. "I don't think we as an industry [have] done a good enough job of putting ourselves in the shoes of the people using our products," said Casey.
The new process is being viewed as a "one-step" security authentication approach.
Yahoo is also reportedly working on a new end-to-end encryption process developed with the help of a Google Chrome extension.
Here's a video that helps explain Yahoo's new security strategies:
