Spent $40 on a Yubikey and it actually stopped a login attempt

I got one after my friend's account got taken over, figured it was just extra work. Last month, I got an alert for a login from a city I've never been to, but the Yubikey blocked it because they didn't have the physical key. It's annoying to plug in every time, but that one alert made it worth it. Anyone else have a close call that made you finally use hardware keys?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_piper20d ago

You said it's annoying to plug in every time, and that's the real trick. I stuck mine on my keyring, so it's just part of unlocking my front door and then my laptop. It became a habit instead of a chore. The mental shift from "extra step" to "normal thing I do" is what made it stick for me.

zarat3820d ago

How scary was that login alert, right?

betty_carter20d ago

My security prof last semester said those alerts are basically free panic attacks. The_piper's keyring trick is smart for making it routine. It stops being scary when it's just what you do.