Microsoft's forthcoming Internet Explorer 7 will support the Infocard authentication system as part of the WinFX programming model, Bill Gates revealed in his opening keynote at the RSA Conference in San José.

The software giant is touting the security technology as a replacement for user names and passwords.

Gates said that progress had been made towards a better level of computer security, claiming that 90 per cent of computer users say that spam is no longer a major problem.

"We are making progress but it's a very big challenge to make sure that security is not the thing that is holding us back," he told delegates at the security conference.

"We have an overly complex situation today. We have to have simplicity in mind. If we don't do this right, we won't get the results that we need."

Infocard is Microsoft's next-generation online authentication system, which aims to improve online security while reducing complexity for users.

A major potential benefit is its ability to limit the disclosure of information through the use of a federated identity system. 

Such a system allows software to rely on claims made by other applications instead of requiring users to sign in. Microsoft first unveiled its federated identity plans at Digital ID World last year.