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Google is experimenting with smartphone-based authentication to log into Google accounts on high risk public computers.
Designed to prevent unscrupulous types with keylogging software getting hold of your passwords in internet cafes and on other shared computers, the system uses onscreen QR codes which are scanned by a smartphone to log in.
Google has codenamed the feature "Sesame", which we imagine is more to do with Ali Baba and less to do with Big Bird and pals.
Users who navigate to a special login page, then scan an onscreen QR code with their phone will find they are then simultaneously logged in on the computer as well.
It's a variaton of Google's two-step verification scheme which uses a numerical verification code sent to your mobile in addition to the usual password.
After a brief trial, Sesame has been pulled for now, but Google's Dirk Balfanz has posted:"We always work on improving authentication, and try out different things every now and then. We're working on something that I believe is even better, and when that's ready for a public trial we'll let you know."
We'll keep our eyes peeled.
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Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has left the company, 17 years after starting the internet superpower.
The 43-year old who formed Yahoo back in 1995 with David Filo while the pair were at Stanford University announced that he was severing all ties with the company on Tuesday.
He will leave both the US and Japanese boards of the previously dominant online giant.
The WSJ reports that Yang had been under pressure in recent years for his multiple roles at the company, which included co-founder, director, former CEO and a large shareholder, which he remains.
The report suggests he is considering his options with regards to selling his stock in the company.
In a letter to the Yahoo board chairman Roy Bostock, Yang said: "My time at Yahoo!, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life.
"However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo! As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years ago,
"I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future."
Yang's departure represents a period of significant change at Yahoo following the acrimonious departure of former CEO Carol Bartz late last year.
Bartz was replaced by former eBay and PayPal bigwig Scott Thompson.
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