Apple Working on OS X 10.12 Feature Allowing Macs to Be Unlocked via iPhone's Touch ID

[jase1125]

Good job copying from you competitor that already does this - Microsoft.

 

[American Hero]

Name me one company who hasn't made a single screw up in history.

Name one company who goes from barely screwing up, to screwing up all the time, and still has the support Apple does by it's biased fans.

can guarantee you that there are tons of CEOs out there who probably don't know what products their companies have out there.

They're not good CEO's then.

It's impossible for a CEO to micromanage every single aspect of their company and its employees. That's what middle management is for.

I've pointed that out in my post.

I dare not claim that Tim Cook is the best CEO for Apple, but I daresay that he is doing a very admirable job of running Apple thus far.

Even you can't admit Tim is the best CEO for Apple...

 

[Gutwrench]

All I have to say here is if you live in the USA, refresh yourself on the 4th and 5th Amendments to the US Constitution, then revisit that 'security feature'.

Keep in mind that while you can not be forced to give the authorities your password (violation of the 5th Amendment's protection against self incrimination), you can be obligated to give the authorities your fingerprint, and per the 4th, a warrant can be served to you, forcing you to submit your fingerprint, especially for unlocking your phone.

And if your Mac is protected by this variant of TouchID, by extension, the authorities could force you to unlock your Mac via unlocking your iPhone.

Yes, I know that this is a bit tricky as the warrant would be for unlocking your Mac and not your iPhone, but if separate warrants were served for that, you could be forced to unlock your Mac and have your data searched through by the authorities.

As much as I love TouchID (I use both it and alphanumeric passwords), I can see a slippery slope here.

BL.

Time to buy more stock in Reynold's Wrap.

 

[Ari86]

MacLock does this already and can unlock multiple macs at a time!

 

[Mac 128]

MacLock does this already and can unlock multiple macs at a time!

If Apple is doing this, it's not just to unlock the Mac. It will also be used for Pay, something MacLock will never be able to do. And it will be part of a comprehensive hardware integration into new Macs.

 

[polaris20]

the only problem i have is the proximity wake. it doesn't seem to work all the time.



it probably set into stone but might not be done by .0 release.



yes and no. because at the end of the day we can still type directly.

Which is why I said "pseudo", and then also said I'd like true 2-factor auth, requiring both the phone and password.

 

[GiveMeAnthony]

The only thing I'm excited about is Siri. Touch ID just opens up security holes. For one, the fingerprint reader should be available on the mac itself. If somebody compromises your phone, then they've got access to your mac as well. Second, the touch ID should be allowed to be disabled. At the end of the day, touch ID has to store a digital signature, so it's just an extra pinhole in the wall that can be cracked. Don't really care about an iTunes redesign, there's no need for it.

 

[skellener]

What about the current and older macs which don't have a Touch ID sensor built in?

Since when has Apple given a **** about old hardware?

 

[Abazigal]

So you're going to use all of them?!
[doublepost=1463760437][/doublepost]
What about the current and older macs which don't have a Touch ID sensor built in?

That's probably what this feature is for.

Just like how the Apple Watch brings Apple Pay to the iPhone 5s which lacks said feature, or how slideover on your iPad is like the poor man's split-screen multitasking for iPads that don't have 2gb of ram. Newer Macs might sport Touch-ID while older Macs get the ability to simulate that feature via your phone, so you don't lose out on the benefits entirely.

 

[Mac 128]

Since when has Apple given a **** about old hardware?

Since it will likely drive the use of Pay and other services on equipment otherwise incapable. It might also convert someone to an iPhone to use with their old Mac.

 

[Cwolk]

There's too many security complications with this to make it easy and convenient.

 

[Abazigal]

There's too many security complications with this to make it easy and convenient.

Actually, in my opinion, there's only one - the reliability of bluetooth.

 

[ShadovvMoon]

Apple wants to sell you new hardware. Why provide support for old models and remove an incentive for upgrade?

 

[albeit]

This isn't "dumb as hell". It effectively gives you pseudo-two factor authentication, because to get into the Mac, you need the phone, AND the fingerprint.

I'd like the option to require both the phone and a password to get into the machine.

I think the more choices the better. All I know is that typing a password in public where people see or record you typing is not really secure unless you block all view of the keyboard. We definitely need more than one factor.

I also can imagine losing my phone, so additional factors could be present on the Mac. Or let the Mac use just one factor when you're at home. Making device lockup take longer at home would also be nice.

 

[tgwaste]

My Macs unlock via my watch. Works fine and I dont have to do anything.