On PINs and Passwords

If modern gadgets have simplified the physical chores, computing technologies have made financial transactions like money transfer, bill payments, etc. a breeze. Credit and debit cards, phone banking, net banking, ATMs etc. are just a few of the myriad channels that have brought banking closer to us. Add to this the various online activities one indulges in, such as, accessing personal and official e-mails, interacting on social networking sites, online travel booking, shopping via e-commerce sites etc. and what we have is innumerable PINs and passwords as a flipside to these conveniences. It requires nothing short of superhuman effort to commit all of these to memory. For security reasons, it is advised to not use the same password and PIN for different websites and banks respectively, and it is recommended that these be changed periodically. Requirement of alphanumeric passwords of a minimum length, sometimes with special characters, adds to the complexity.

Undoubtedly, this trend of banking and transacting online is here to stay and bound to rise in the coming years. One cannot help but wish for a software solution to manage this issue in an easy, secure manner. A one-time registration on this software would eliminate the need for creating multiple user IDs and passwords for each and every website visited. Needless to say, any venture of this nature would require a lot of thought put into it regarding its feasibility, risks, usability, performance, scalability etc. Something for the geek Gods to mull over?