Another Technology Ahead of Its Time

YourKey allowed you to replace digits with pictures, or even company logos. Thus your password could be a series of pictures of your wife, your kids, or even your dog and they would show up in random spots on the keypad.

Perhaps you saw the report earlier this week about Google Glass privacy and the ability to “steal” passwords being keyed into mobile devices with the glasses or videos. Well, the new Glass devices may make it easier, but this problem is not new. Neither is the solution!

My partners and I have been providing consulting services within the wireless community since 1991 and earlier and we have worked with a number of smaller companies with great ideas that needed help gaining an audience with potential customers or partners. Some have gone on to become successful in their own right, some have been purchased by larger companies, and some are no longer in business.

Occasionally we were really excited about a company’s new technology or idea because we saw a need for it or how it could solve a problem, and once in a while we saw a potential game changer. In 2009 we were approached by a company with a more secure way for people to unlock their smartphones and devices and log in to applications.

The company was Next Access and we introduced it to potential users of the technology, helped shape its message, and watched as it could not find that all important first customer that would take a chance on it. At the time, people could not visualize a problem it would solve.

The product was YourKey, a software application that takes the place of a standard keypad image on the screen. At that time, few people were locking their smartphones or devices using the built-in keypad so the thought of changing the way this was done did not strike a chord. YourKey was a far better way to gain secure access to your smart devices.

Back in 2009, YourKey had recognized that was not a very secure way of entering what is supposed to be a secure sign-on so its application presented the digits or characters for sign-on in random fashion on the screen by scrambling the order of 0-9. One time the 9 would be where the 9 was expected to be and the next time it could be where the 2 is normally. Finger motions were never repetitive so someone trying to follow the pattern of a finger on a screen would not have a clue. BUT WAIT, there’s more!

YourKey allowed you to replace digits with pictures, or even company logos. Thus your password could be a series of pictures of your wife, your kids, or even your dog and they would show up in random spots on the keypad. Again, your fingers traveled in a random pattern each and every time you signed in. And oh, by the way, perhaps businesses could “buy” symbols for you to choose from—another way to make some money.

The application was fun to use, addictive, easy to set up, and one of the best ways of protecting a smart device we had seen. I have included the press release Next Access issued in August of 2009. The idea is still solid, and now that we are all using our keypads to secure our phones and tablets, and we know others can easily figure out our access codes, perhaps it is time for the rebirth of YourKey, which is still alive and well (see below)!

Update

The company, including the founder, is still around under the name “YourKey.” In reviewing some of the current information they were kind enough to send me, I saw that they have made the product even better, adding more ways to use and personalize it. Most notably to me though, is that it has been around since 2009 and yet it solves a “new” problem of others reading your finger movements as you unlock your phone. Perhaps now is the time for YourKey to find its way out of the shadows and into the mainstream. To learn more, visit YourKeyapp.com,

The moral of the story—MANY ideas that were ahead of their time are sitting out there waiting to be re-discovered!

Andrew M. Seybold

 

YourKey says Smart Consumers are Locking Smartphones

As Guard Against Data Loss and Identity Theft

‘Bet Paris Hilton Wishes She Had Used YourKey When Her Phone was Lost’

 STAMFORD, Conn., Aug. 18, 2009 – Consumers and business people are getting smart by locking their smartphones as they recognize the danger and cost of data loss and identity theft.

Next Access Technologies, LLC, which developed and offers the patented YourKey™ personalized data security system for smartphones, believes its innovative app can mean “peace of mind when a device is lost or stolen,” said COO Jack Loop.  “If you’re smart, auto-lock lock your smartphone,” he said. “I bet Paris Hilton wishes she had used YourKey when her phone was lost!”

Next Access, which recently signed a co-marketing and partnering agreement with LifeLock, Inc., the industry leader in identity theft protection, has also launched www.YourKeyLock.com “a site consumers are invited to visit for up-to-date information on how and why to protect data on smartphones,” he said. “Today, locking a smartphone is just as important as locking a car, home or PC.”

YourKey a Functional and Fun App

Andrew Seybold (www.AndrewSeybold.com), a well known and influential wireless industry expert and analyst who has worked with Next Access, agrees. His company, which helps people and organizations to be more successful in the evolving world of wireless mobility, recommends locking smartphones and doing so with YourKey.

“Built-in smartphone auto-locks are dull, drab and lifeless,” he said recently.  “Next Access has rewritten the rules and created a fun and functional sign-on screen app that makes personalization a snap.”

YourKey was designed as a dynamic improvement to built-in auto lock apps, allowing users to create PINs from letters, numbers, logos and icons from popular products and brands, and even personalize them with pictures or additional icons of sports teams, movie stars, athletes, colleges, TV shows or movies.  Along with protecting stored information, YourKey also delivers special offers and discounts.

The first YourKey release will be for T-Mobile G1 Android-powered phones, with versions for Microsoft® Windows® Mobile 6.5, Blackberry®, Palm®, iPhone® and other phones now in beta testing.  Next Access is also in discussions with carriers, mobile handset and computer manufacturers about porting YourKey’s security application and advertising interface for use on netbooks, PCs, ATMs and other devices.

About Next Access Technologies, LLC

Next Access Technologies, LLC (www.NextAccessTechnologies.com) was founded by cell industry pioneer and entrepreneur Charles L. Bakes to develop, acquire and bring to market products for smartphones, netbooks, PCs, ATMs and other devices. Its first release of YourKey will be for Google Android-powered smartphones and will allow users to create customized PINs using numbers, letters and images, incorporating advertising images and ads to give users a fun and easy auto-locking and unlocking experience, further securing important data on their phones while providing advertisers with mobile branding impressions.