Apple Patents Power Adapter That Recovers Lost Passwords

Sparrowvsrevolution writes "Apple has patented a power charger that also serves as a password recovery backup. If a user forgets his Macbook's password, for instance, he simply plugs in the cord, and it would provide a unique ID number stored in a memory chip in the adapter that acts as a decryption key, unscrambling an encrypted copy of the password stored on the machine. The technique, according to the patent, incentivizes better password use by avoiding traditional password recovery techniques that annoy users and lead to disabled or easily-guessed passwords. The new technique is only secure, the patent admits, in cases where the user leaves a mobile device's charger at home. So the idea may make the most sense for long-battery-life devices like iPods, iPads and iPhones rather than laptops, at least until laptop batteries last long enough that users don't take their power adapters with them and expose them to theft."

Comments

Re:And in one move

[IVI V K]

Apples magsafe power supply uses as patented magnetic connector.
As far as i know there is no 3rd party power block available for mac laptops due to this connector.

They have already "killed" this accessory market.

OSX Password recovery is trivial as it is

[slaker]

Seriously?

Boot while holding down Apple-S
mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now

Bam. Administrator access and all the password resetting glory you need thereafter.

I don't even have a Mac and I know how to do it. How fucking easy does it need to be?

Re:OSX Password recovery is trivial as it is

[maccodemonkey]

"I don't even have a Mac and I know how to do it."

Which explains why you don't know that FileVault or a firmware password (both recommended by Apple for secure machines) blocks this.

Re:And in one move

[slartibartfastatp]

Can you get Magsafe power adapters from anyone else anyways? I've never seen any, and a quick Googling says no.

Our friends from China say "yes, you can". I burned two original magsafe PA, then bought this one by U$ 30 (w/ shipping) two years ago. Still working.

Obligatory "this is not a patent"

[deblau]

This is not a patent, this is an application publication. You can tell because it says "pub no" in the upper right corner instead of "patent no". For reference:

Link to publication from TFA
Link to a real patent (believe it or not)

TFA author can't tell the difference, which is incredibly obvious once you know what you're looking for. And a lot of applications never become a patent.

Now that the application has published, anyone who knows of any prior art might be able to let the patent office know about it if this application isn't examined before the new law kicks in September 16 this year. See the America Invents Act, section 8 (starts bottom of page 32).