You’re probably thinking something like, ”Yeah right… Pull the other leg! That is waaay too good to be true, and ya know what they say about that!”
Most of the time I’d agree with you, but stick with me here. Today I’m going to walk you through how you can log into a website, smartphone, computer, CMS such as WordPress, even a CRM like Salesforce, and so much more, without a username, password, or pesky password manager. If you don’t want to use a password manager, and don’t feel like trying to remember more and more passwords for more and more accounts, then keep reading.
It’s Not Magic, It’s Trusona
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” –Arthur C. Clarke
Trusona has a free way to verify who you are whenever you need access to an account or system. This authentication is done without needing to type in a username or password. Works great for those touch screens, by the way. Did I mention, it’s free?
How Does Trusona Work?
First you need to get registered with Trusona. The great thing about this is you don’t have to fill out a long form and answer silly security questions. You simply go to Trusona.com/try, install the Trusona app on your iPhone or Android phone, give the app permission to send you notifications and to use the camera, and type your email address. You will then need to activate a link so they know that email address is yours.
Next, on any website or app or account system that supports Trusona, just look for something like Login With Trusona. Next, there is a checkbox that says Trust This Computer (Skip Scan Next Time). If this is your computer and no one else uses it, feel free to check that box.
Next, tap the area on the screen that says Accept In The Trusona Mobile App. If you are using a screen reader, this may simply appear as text. If so, just arrow to it and press ENTER on it.
Your Trusona app will then send a push notification. You can open the app and hit the Accept button. Then, you simply scan the QR code and you’re done. You are granted access!
If you checked that checkbox I mentioned above, you will not need to scan the QR code next time. Also, on mobile phones and browsers, you will not need to worry about scanning a QR code. This is because the app is already on the smartphone and can handle the authentication process.
Final Thoughts
All that written out sounds wayyy too complicated. So let me break it down.
- Go to a website you want to login to.
- Find the Login With Trusona option.
- Check the box and hit Accept in the browser and on your Trusona app.
- Point your phone at your computer screen.
- Get access.
Just remember that on your phone you’ll never need to scan the QR code. If you’d like to check out a video, use the various play buttons or the links I’ll include below.
- Get registered with Trusona Video
- Password? not needed any more Video
- Read about the Trusona Gateway
- Checkout the Trusona manifesto
The app works great for VoiceOver users on the iPhone. I have also had no trouble whatsoever scanning the QR codes. This is not always the case with other apps. What’s more is that when I scanned in my QR codes, I had my computer screen as dimmed as possible, and the lights in the room were off. I held my phone about six inches or so away from the screen. I also turned it horizontally, but I do not believe that matters. I simply did it for my own convenience.
Now I wish you a passwordless future, and as always… Qapla!
The Geek on Skates
October 8, 2019Interesting stuff! I forget where, but I recently read about this earlier this week. As always, thanks for the info and Quapla back atcha! 🙂