That way you have a backup and one on the go or for daily use. When you authenticate against services, do it on both at the same time, leave one at home or in a safe place. You should always have a minimum of 2 hardware keys exactly because of potential problems like lost, stolen, damaged, etc. No key connected, no codes, connect another key that was not the originally, again no codes on the app.Īs for what Conor said and what you posted here in case you lose the Yubikey, in fact not only Google recommends two, everyone does. Same goes for the desktop app, the credentials authenticate against a connected key. That is better than software alone as it must physically authenticated against the key using NFC.

The Yubi app works with your key (hardware) + the app (software), that means on its own cannot access the codes. Authy would be software only (app), that means something that compromises your phone would potentially get access to your 2FA codes. (Windows 10 version 1809 update and Microsoft Edge need to be installed for this to work.)Īs far as I understand the Authenticator on Desktop or Mobile is different than using something like Authy. It’s also possible to log onto Windows 10 and all Microsoft accounts using the YubiKey. Note: Since I already use the Authy Authenticator app with all my online services, I didn’t test this out. You can also use the YubiKey Authenticator for desktop or Android to generate OATH credentials on your YubiKey. The software and services that support two-factor authentication with YubiKey are listed on their website. It’s a little bit easier than using my mobile authenticator app, copying the password, and then logging into the site directly.

I touched the key to the back of my phone shown above. I have the Google Pixel 2 XL, and was able to set up my second Google account easily. With this YubiKey 5 NFC, you can simply touch the key to the back of your phone (if your supports NFC). When logging in, you touch the gold plating on the YubiKey to activate log on. Then insert your YubiKey into your computer’s USB port, follow instructions, and all is set. You can look into account preferences for an option along the lines of “set up a hardware key”.

Just like with the YubiKey 4 and other series, you can add this hardware key to tons of online services that support two-factor authentication.

Yubico yubikey 5 nfc