According to a noteworthy development first reported by Wired, Internet search giant Google is apparently working to help the Internet move on from usernames and passwords, by putting a ring on it.

With Google of the opinion that the ever-increasing incidents of hacked accounts underscores that passwords can no longer be considered the best solution for sensitive accounts, the engineers at the company have been carrying out experiments with hardware - such as a smart ring for the users' fingers, a cryptographic USB stick, or a token inserted in smartphones - which can serve as a master key for online services.

As per the Wired report, Google's proposal for hardware as master key for online services has been outlined by the company's VP of security Eric Grosse and engineer Mayank Upadhyay, in a research paper for the January edition of IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine.

In the research paper, Grosse and Upadhyay said that "not nearly enough of our (Google) users are protected" by the two-step authentication process; and elaborated that the main problem with the process is that users find it a bit too cumbersome to validate on all their computers.

Putting forth an alternative to the two-step service, Grosse and Upadhyay have proposed a `USB token' linked to the user. Proposing the `USB token,' which would be plugged into a computer's USB port and would communicate its identity through a website, the authors of the paper said: "It's time to give up on elaborate password rules and look for something better."