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Parents have an imac, iphone, and a couple of ipads. They also have all the usual on-line password entry frustrations. I'm trying to ease some of that. Would be great to tie all the devices together, and make it so most of the sites they use regularly don't need passwords entered etc.
The question really is, is icloud keychain the way forward? Or should I be looking elsewhere?
LastPass
Watches with interest.
I take it LastPass won't manage logins where they ask for the "second, third and fifth number from your security code" type stuff? Or is it that clever?
yes! how is this even a question? Why on earth are people suggesting LastPass when your parents have an all-Apple ecosystem?!The question really is, is icloud keychain the way forward?
You [I]might[/I] need to sit down with them and set all the secure passwords up, in the first instance, depending on their level of tech-knowhow. Other than that it's pretty seamless.
all Apple devices [I]logged in with the same AppleID[/I] will be connected - that is potentially the only wrinkle if, for example, they share a login on the Mac/iPad but have separate accounts on their own iPhones - not a huge problem, you might have to choose one "master" account for those. Similarly if they use a common account for websites you would have to enter that separately on each of their phones.Would be great to tie all the devices together
only my online bank uses that - so I just do all my banking on my phone, which uses biometric security (FaceID). Much simpler!logins where they ask for the “second, third and fifth number from your security code” type stuff?
Nice one. Great, just what I wanted to hear.
The plan is for me/someone to set things up, and add new sites as and when, and for the Ps just to be able to use without fuss.
They share one phone (bless), and apple all the way, so makes things fairly straight forward.
it's actually the dream scenario with elderly parents & IT issues 🤣 What iPhone have they got? Presumably at least one that uses TouchID (fingerprint recognition) - is that set up if so? You can add multiple different prints to it. FaceID is even easier to use IME and you [I]can[/I] actually add two different faces to it (though somewhat of an undocumented feature!) which is obviously handy if they're sharing the same phone!They share one phone (bless), and apple all the way, so makes things fairly straight forward.
The only other thing I'd recommend is some kind of secure remote-desktop method - I use SplashTop, lots of others available though - so you can easily assist them on the Mac if anything goes wrong or they get stuck. (this would also make it really easy for you to create a secure login on a new website for them without having to pop round - you could even do it out & about from your phone!!)
No sure which iphone it is, but pretty sure it has touch but not face id. They just use a pin currently, is that going to cause any issues?
Live close enough to not bother with remote desktop. Trying to avoid adding extra things to their set-up.
Cheers for the input, super useful.
They share one phone
Crikey. Dad will have to be super careful using incognito browser for specialist research.
no, you can still always use the PIN. My parents struggled sometimes with the TouchID, personally I think the FaceID is a lot better & simpler for them.They just use a pin currently, is that going to cause any issues?
Touch ID can be problematic for older skin as it's drier and less conductive and this degrades as they get older. If it does become a big problem then Face ID would be better for them.
Edit if you want to go 2 factor and the phone/Mac is the right age there's always Yubico keys with NFC to assist, will need more configuring by the IT support (You) but simple enough to use.
@franksinatra TOR is dad's friend!
ah, interesting. Yeah often it just wouldn't work for them, really frustrating! FaceID is just much better & more reliable all round IMO.Touch ID can be problematic for older skin as it’s drier and less conductive and this degrades as they get older.
what Zilog said. and...
2FA
PRINT OUT fall back security codes
Add an 'if I die...' legacy contact
Add at least one relative's device as a 2FA option
Backup
Backup
Backup
The integration of iCloud Keychain into Safari and iOS/MacOs makes it hard to suggest any other option if folks only use Apple devices.
Plus, Secure Notes in the MacOS keychain!
The advent of easy 'hide my email' aliases in iCloud+ is also a nice addition.
Maybe also: don't answer the phone or respond to text messages from people you don't know.
Just to add, Lastpass is garbage, I mean it works but constantly having to enter the master password every time you switch device gets really old quickly.
Keychain is brilliant, I hate most things about Macs but they really got that right. The auto generation feature is handy as well, the only hurdle to these things is always if you need to use a "foreign" device though.
very occasionally you get a badly-designed website that demands a secure password in a certain format, and it doesn’t accept the default Apple secure pw, this is very frustrating unless you know what to click to change the format! Not Apples fault tho (although they could make that option easier to find) 😀The auto generation feature is handy as well
demands a secure password in a certain format, and it doesn’t accept the default Apple secure pw
About the only time a password manager is helpful as most allow the saved, default secure password to be edited to comply with web-page rules on permitted characters.
I wonder if anyone has carried out research on restricted characters in random passwords and it's effects on security. (My last confident position on these was 15 random characters being good for 500 years with current technology, in around 2017).