We’ve all been there. Wanting to log in to your Google account on a public computer or computer of questionable security. What’s a Googler to do? For a very limited time (it is no longer active) you could use Google’s new experimental QR code secure log-in procedure! Before the experiment was pulled, you could use both your smartphone and the desktop to log-in without having to fork over your password. Start by navigating on the insecure desktop to http://accounts.google.com/sesame. Then, using your smartphone’s bar code reader (like Google Goggles, for e.g.) scan a QR code showing on the desktop. Your smartphone was then directed to a log-in page. Log-in on the phone and, like magic, the desktop would then navigate to your Gmail or iGoogle page. No chance of password hacking there. Very cool indeed.

However, it appears the experiment was short lived – Google announced on Google + that the log-in was experimental and no longer available but that Google was working on something related and better. Better can’t be bad. I’ll be scanning the Google feeds for whatever trick they may be talking about and report back.