# 54 : Security, Convenience, and Privacy

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In the digital age, security, convenience, and privacy remain perpetual challenges. According to a recent report from The Register, Apple has proposed a significant change to SSL/TLS certificate lifespans, planning to reduce them from the current 398 days to 200 days in 2025, 100 days in 2026, and ultimately to just 45 days by 2027.

While this proposal is unlikely to pass the vote in the CA/B Forum, tech giants including Apple and Google will likely proceed with this policy anyway. Indeed, strengthening internet security is an inevitable trend, but the additional workload of frequent certificate updates will undoubtedly pose new challenges for many developers and IT operators.

Today, everyone is forced to master an increasing number of passwords and install various authentication applications. Taking my personal experience as an example, in recent months, my Microsoft account has faced login attempts almost daily. Fortunately, with two-factor authentication enabled, my account security is reliably protected. However, the frequent authentication notifications on my phone and watch have indeed caused some annoyance.

As a long-time Safari user, my preference for it largely stems from its seamless integration with Apple’s Keychain (now renamed to “Passwords”). Additionally, Apple’s anonymous account feature allows me to enjoy a convenient login experience while protecting my privacy when registering for various services.

Biometric authentication technology has undoubtedly provided users with a more relaxed verification method, but unfortunately, many service providers and hardware manufacturers have yet to gain users’ full trust.

Whenever I look at the various authentication apps on my phone, I can’t help but feel a hint of worry. We will eventually enter old age, and our memory and management capabilities will gradually decline. Will we then transform from active participants in the digital world to mere observers left behind by the times? Imagine when we reach our twilight years, we might gradually lose connection with this digital world because we can’t remember complex passwords, struggle with multi-factor authentication procedures, or even have difficulty reading verification codes.

I sincerely hope this situation can be improved, and we can build a unified digital living environment that ensures privacy while maintaining security and convenience.

If you had to make a trade-off between security, convenience, and privacy, which one would you choose to sacrifice?

Originals

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