Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates showed off a tool he hopes will thwart hackers and other cybercriminals by replacing the ubiquitous password required to log on computer systems.
Gates, during the keynote address at the annual RSA Computer Security Conference, acknowledged the criticisms that Microsoft's and other computer networks are to prone to invasion, and called on the industry to build a "trust ecosystem."
"It's a very ambitious goal, but I think it can be achieved," Gates told the 14,000 techies gathered here.
The computer guru highlighted a technology dubbed the InfoCard that Microsoft hopes will replace user names and passwords for online security. Using InfoCards, people could save personal information on virtual cards on their computers. Each card would contain varying levels of information, and the person could decide which card is best to use for each web transaction.
The website, in turn, would be configured to recognize InfoCard data, which would be encrypted and secure while transmitted to the site.
The InfoCard also supports technologies such as smart cards that offer even more verification.
The InfoCard will be used in the next version of Microsoft's operating system, called Vista, which is to be released later this year.
