Chrome OS update brings WebAuthn feature for faster, secure web sign-in

Apart from WebAuthn, the Chrome OS update also brings personalized lock screens. You can now show off your favorite photo album from Google Photos or pick from hundreds of art gallery images and turn your Chromebook's lock screen into a personalized smart display.


Devdiscourse News Desk | California | Updated: 27-01-2021 10:06 IST | Created: 27-01-2021 07:51 IST
Chrome OS update brings WebAuthn feature for faster, secure web sign-in
WebAuthn feature on Chrome OS. Image Credit: Google
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Google has announced a new update for the Chrome OS that brings new features for a faster and secure web sign-in experience on Chromebooks.

"We're always finding ways to make using Chromebooks as seamless as possible. Today, with our latest Chrome OS release, we're introducing a faster sign-in experience as well as personalized lock screens," Google wrote in a blog post.

With this release, Google has introduced a new feature called Web Authentication (WebAuthn) that allows users to securely sign in to websites with the PIN or fingerprint ID they've set up to unlock their Chromebook, eliminating the need for typing in or remembering a long password for a specific online account.

It is worth mentioning that if you use 2-Step Verification to sign-in, you can use the Chromebook PIN or fingerprint ID as the second factor. Websites like Dropbox, GitHub and Okta support sign-ins using the new WebAuthn feature.

Apart from WebAuthn, the Chrome OS update also brings personalized lock screens. You can now show off your favorite photo album from Google Photos or pick from hundreds of art gallery images and turn your Chromebook's lock screen into a personalized smart display.

To use this feature, head over to Chrome OS Settings and select Personalization > Screen saver.

Further, using the lock screen you will be able to check information like the current weather and what music is playing. It also gives the ability to pause a track or skip songs without unlocking your device.

At CES 2021, five new Chromebooks - Acer Chromebook Spin 514, ASUS Chromebook Flip CM5, ASUS Chromebook Flip C536, ASUS Chromebook CX9 and Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 - were announced.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 and the ASUS Chromebook Flip CM5 are among the first AMD Ryzen Chromebooks in the market while the Asus Chromebook Flip C536 and the ASUS Chromebook CX9 are some of the first Chromebooks to come with the latest 11th generation Intel processors. Lastly, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 is the first Chromebook to feature a QLED display.

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