While password managers are a vital tool for internet security, they can also create a massive central point of failure, as evidenced by several major recent data breaches. For over 20 years, deterministic password generators (DPGs) have been proposed, and largely rejected, as a viable alternative to password management tools. In this paper, we survey 45 existing DPGs to asses the main security, privacy, and usability issues hindering their adoption. We then present a new multi-factor deterministic password generator (MFDPG) design that aims to address these shortcomings. The result not only achieves strong, practical password management with zero credential storage, but also effectively serves as a progressive client-side upgrade of weak password-only websites to strong multi-factor authentication.
A breakthrough hydrogen-production method could make clean fuel far cheaper and easier to generate。 Researchers at the University of Birmingham developed a perovskite-based catalyst that splits water into hydrogen at much lower temperatures than existing technologies, potentially allowing factories, steel plants, cement works, and renewable energy
What if wormholes were never cosmic tunnels at all。 New research suggests Einstein and Rosen’s famous “bridge” may actually reveal something even stranger: time itself could flow in two directions at once。 Instead of connecting distant places in space, these bridges may connect mirror versions of time deep inside quantum physics, potentially solvin
As traditional chip miniaturization slows, researchers have found a way to pack more computing power into the same space by stacking silicon circuits in multiple layers。 The new process uses ultra-thin silicon membranes and low-temperature manufacturing techniques to overcome a major obstacle that has long blocked the production of true 3D chips
A breakthrough lithium-extraction method could help solve one of clean energy’s dirtiest problems。 Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a fast new technique that pulls lithium directly from salty underground brines using a temperature-sensitive solvent, avoiding the giant evaporation ponds that can take years and drain precious water
Scientists have created a global “treasure map” for rare earth elements by uncovering where the strange volcanic rocks that contain them are most likely to form。 By combining thousands of rock samples with seismic images of Earth’s deep interior, the team discovered that these metal-rich rocks tend to appear along the ancient, thick roots of contin
Scientists have directly watched angular momentum move through a crystal for the very first time — and discovered a bizarre twist along the way。 Using ultra-powerful terahertz laser pulses, researchers triggered tiny atomic rotations inside a quantum material and found that the direction of rotation can unexpectedly flip as momentum is transferred。
Researchers have discovered how microscopic imperfections and atomic vibrations can be used to control a powerful quantum effect in an advanced material。 The effect can turn alternating electrical signals from the environment directly into the kind of current electronic devices need, without traditional components。 As temperature changes, the signa
Generative AI is transforming the workplace faster than ever, but new research from the University of Vaasa suggests the biggest threat may not be AI itself — it’s falling behind in learning how to use it。 Researcher Zhe Zhu found that employees who see tools like ChatGPT and Gemini as helpful collaborators rather than job-stealing rivals tend to b
Scientists working at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider may be seeing the strongest hints yet of physics beyond the Standard Model — the decades-old theory that explains the fundamental particles and forces of the universe。 By studying incredibly rare particle transformations called “penguin decays,” researchers found behavior that doesn’t fully match t
Scientists in Finland found bees could solve an insect version of the classic "box-and-banana" problem
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recreated part of the intense chaos inside a nuclear fireball to better understand how radioactive fallout forms。 Their experiments revealed that the way vaporized materials cool can dramatically change the particles that eventually form, especially for volatile elements like cesium
Scientists have created a tiny chip that can generate, steer, and read light-based information all in one device, marking a major leap toward ultra-fast, energy-efficient computing。 The breakthrough uses atomically thin materials and nanoscale structures to control a unique quantum property of light called the “valley” degree of freedom, allowing i
A new AI-powered chip from UC Davis can analyze light and chemicals using a device tiny enough to fit almost anywhere。 By combining smart silicon sensors with machine learning, it achieves lab-style spectral analysis without the bulky equipment
Scientists have uncovered a surprising new way to control superconductivity — the mysterious phenomenon where electricity flows with zero energy loss。 By pairing twisted layers of graphene with a synthetic diamond material, researchers were able to effectively switch superconductivity on and off by tweaking how electrons interact with their surroun
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft just used Mars as a giant gravitational slingshot to continue its journey toward a strange metal rich asteroid。 The close flyby boosted the spacecraft’s speed by about 1,000 mph while also producing rare crescent images of Mars glowing through its dusty atmosphere