Written by theQxQ the 26 Oct 12 at 17:04.
Related project: Live CD.
Status: New
Rationale
I find myself constintly locking the screen to do something as simple as getting a drink of water. yet when I come back a minuet later, I have to type in my huge password, meant to keep people from hacking in while it's shut down. I don't need that much securty while my computer is locked for just a couple minuets, just something small to keep someone from posting something unwanted want while I'm away.
Darwin Survivor(Brainstorm moderator)
wrote on the 27 Oct 12 at 11:20
Would solution #4 be applied to the normal password? If so, how would this cope with non-presence logins (ex: SSH, saved passwords, remote desktop, etc)?
cheesehead(Brainstorm admin)
wrote on the 27 Oct 12 at 13:48
Solutions that increase convenience by merely compromising security (like Solutions #1 and #2) are not considered useful.
Unlocking is handled by PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules). Any new solution will need to be written as a PAM.
For example, there are already PAM modules for bluetooth devices, smart cards, USB keys, and many more methods.
Take a look at the libpam-* packages, and see what you think is missing, and what is realistic to add.
The particular use case in the Rationale - which I read as "simplifying unlock without compromising security" is already handled (for bluetooth-enabled-phone users) by the blueproximity package...which uses the bluetooth PAM module.
I didn't know there was a way to lock/unlock your computer when your phone is nearby, as cheesehead commented. If the thing is already there the world needs to know. That's a very useful and innovative thing - more than one will be impressed.
Darwin Survivor(Brainstorm moderator)
wrote on the 2 Nov 12 at 22:15
@th3pr0ph3t There are many,many,MANY really cool things you can do with Ubuntu. To show them all to a user would just overwhelm them. If you have a suggestion on a way for users to discover these cool things, please let us know. Currently one of the easiest ways is by searching for "Ubuntu" in youtube and watching the demos.
cheesehead(Brainstorm admin)
wrote on the 4 Nov 12 at 01:57
Solution #1: Windows 8 allows the use of a four-digit PIN. I think, in this specific case, it could be a good idea. However, it would have to be an option that is off by default, because (as already stated) it is insecure. Turning on the option should display a warning about insecurity.