lösenfråga

A lösenfråga, in Swedish, translates to a "release question" or "solution question." It is a type of question used in various contexts, often for verification or security purposes. The core idea behind a lösenfråga is that it's a personal question that only the user, and not an attacker, would know the answer to. These questions are commonly employed during account recovery processes for online services. When a user forgets their password or needs to regain access to their account, they may be prompted to answer a pre-selected lösenfråga. The answers are typically stored in a hashed or encrypted format alongside the user's account information.

The effectiveness of a lösenfråga relies on the user choosing a question with an answer that is both memorable to them and unlikely to be guessed or discovered by others. Common examples include questions about a user's first pet's name, their mother's maiden name, or their birthplace. However, the security of lösenfrågor has been debated, as personal information is increasingly available online, making some traditional lösenfrågor more vulnerable to social engineering or data breaches. As a result, many modern security systems are moving away from lösenfrågor in favor of more robust authentication methods like two-factor authentication.