What's a good alternative to security questions?
authentication, passwords, security
Solution
Out-of-band communication is the way to go.
For instance, sending a temporary password in SMS may be acceptable (depending on the system). I've seen this implemented often by telecoms, where SMS is cheap/free/part of business, and the user's cellphone number is pre-registered...
Banks often require a phone call to/from a specific number, but I personally am not too crazy about that....
And of course, depending on the system, forcing the user to come in to the branch office to personally identify themselves can also work (just royally annoy the user).
Bottom line, DON'T create a weaker channel to bypass the strong password requirements.
Problem
From Wired magazine: ...the Palin hack didn't require any real skill. Instead, the hacker simply reset Palin's password using her birthdate, ZIP code and information about where she met her spouse -- the security question on her Yahoo account, which was answered (Wasilla High) by a simple Google search. We cannot trust such security questions to reset forgotten passwords. How do you design a better system?