Windows released Hello in Windows 10 on Wednesday, introducing new biometric login options that could provide password replacement in the near future.
When logging into Windows Hello, a pair of cartoon eyes pop onto the screen, peering into the user’s eyes. After the person’s irises meet the eyes on screen, the program conducts a 3-D face scan to sign users in with no password needed.
"You – uniquely you – plus your device are the keys to your Windows experience, apps, data and even websites and services, not a random assortment of letters and numbers that are easily forgotten, hacked, or written down and pinned to a bulletin board," said Joe Belfiore,
Microsoft’s corporate vice president of operating systems, according to CNET.
The camera uses infrared light, which allows the technological advancement to work in poor lighting and on people with facial hair.
Chaitanya Sareen, Microsoft’s principal program director on Windows, says Windows Hello is the software company’s
“way of saying goodbye to passwords,” according to Time.
“It’s actually using different dark and light shadows on the contours of my face,” Sareen said, adding, “if it was pitch dark it would still sign me in.”
Although Windows Hello is only available on 11 Intel camera-equipped devices in the U.S. and 15 in Japan, the technology has already raised security concerns. Critics fear that hackers could take advantage of unsecure biometric information.
"We understand how critical it is to protect your biometric data from theft, and for this reason your 'biometric signature' is secured locally on the device and shared with no one but you," Belfiore assured buyers, according to CNET.
Belfiore also believes that biometric measures are more secure overall than traditional passwords.
"It's a solution that government, defense, financial, health care and other related organizations will use to enhance their overall security, with a simple experience designed to delight,” Belfiore said, according to CNET. "There is no shared password stored on [Microsoft's] servers for a hacker to potentially compromise.”
With “password” and “123456” among the most common current passwords, Windows Hello’s biometric passwords could change the cybersecurity game.
To further sell tech-savvy consumers on the technology, Windows announced Hello in a March video.