Microsoft promises security without passwords

Bill Gates touts Infocards as the future of online authentication

Microsoft's forthcoming Internet Explorer 7 will support the Infocard authentication system as part of the WinFX programming model, Bill Gates revealed in his opening keynote at the RSA Conference in San José.

The software giant is touting the security technology as a replacement for user names and passwords.

Gates said that progress had been made towards a better level of computer security, claiming that 90 per cent of computer users say that spam is no longer a major problem.

"We are making progress but it's a very big challenge to make sure that security is not the thing that is holding us back," he told delegates at the security conference.

"We have an overly complex situation today. We have to have simplicity in mind. If we don't do this right, we won't get the results that we need."

Infocard is Microsoft's next-generation online authentication system, which aims to improve online security while reducing complexity for users.

A major potential benefit is its ability to limit the disclosure of information through the use of a federated identity system. 

Such a system allows software to rely on claims made by other applications instead of requiring users to sign in. Microsoft first unveiled its federated identity plans at Digital ID World last year.

The system essentially provides users with several digital identity cards that will unlock access to a service in a way similar to a smartcard unlocking a door.

Each card holds only the required information, much like a key-card will instruct the door to open without telling who is trying to enter.

When visiting a website, the system will automatically find the appropriate Infocard for that service, preventing the disclosure of unnecessary information.

The Infocard system replaces the need for users to sign with a username and password, and in the process eliminates the need for password resets and reduces the risk of unauthorised entries.

Internet Explorer 7 is currently in beta and is scheduled for release this summer. WinFX is Microsoft's newly devised programming model for Windows Vista and allows developers to build applications that take advantage of the Windows Presentation Foundation and the Windows Communication Foundation.

WinFX's managed code programming model will tighten restrictions on applications and is set to replace the current application programming interfaces.