FIDO Alliance Passkeys - Death Of The Password. Since the beginnings of my computing life, passwords have been the biggest bottleneck in my computer use. As lawyers, we are required to keep our clients' data confidential. But, we need to take advantage of the tech that allows us to store that data in an efficient way. Security keys like passwords became ubiquitous when millions of users started using computers simultaneously. However, long, complicated passwords are difficult to remember, and we have all had the experience of forgetting one that kept us from our data. Methods to make passwords more secure just added layers of complexity. The next great invention, multi-factor authentication, required access to a second device, like a phone, to gain access to our data, which is fine; but cumbersome, and a real pain if the second device isn't readily available. When serving in my second job, which is as Diane's computer guru, I always seem to be in one room with the offending device, while she is God knows where with the authentication device. I have been known to scream out in pain while trying to keep her devices functioning. So, I have been pleasantly surprised by the ease of switching to passkeys, which are simple codes that can be used on devices like Apple or Windows machines, after a more rigorous login procedure has been accomplished. Passkeys are a nod to the public-private key encryption scheme. Both a public and private key combination are established the first time a password authentication scheme is used, and that key can later be used to simplify data access. So, if your Windows installation asks you if you want to set up a passkey for a site, say yes. It will make your life easier, and more secure, in the future.