In practice, two-factor authentication (2FA) means having to do a second thing after entering your password to prove it's you. While there's a lot you can do with a hardware security key such as the YubiKey, its primary role is as a second factor of authentication. But if you're already steeped in security wonkiness, you'll love what the 5 NFC has to offer. If you're just looking for a simple hardware U2F option, the YubiKey 5 NFC is probably overkill-consider the more affordable Security Key by Yubico or the Google Titan Security Keys instead. But that's just the start of what this remarkably powerful, and remarkably tiny, device can do. The fifth generation of the YubiKey supports FIDO U2F for a secure second-factor authentication and uses NFC to work with your phone. Thankfully, the Yubico YubiKey 5 NFC is here to protect our most important accounts and much more besides. Passwords have been the weak point of security since they were first introduced. How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files.How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill.How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad.How to Block Robotexts and Spam Messages.These credentials are not shared across services, are resistant to phishing & replay attacks, and with the correct architecture resistant to MiTM attacks. With these new capabilities, the YubiKey enables the replacement of weak username/password credentials with strong hardware-backed cryptographic key pair credentials. FIDO2 offers expanded authentication options including strong single factor (passwordless), two factor, and multi-factor authentication. CTAP is an application layer protocol used for communication between a client (browser) or a platform (operating system) with an external authenticator such as the YubiKey 5 Series, and the Security Key Series by Yubico. Yubico is a core contributor to the FIDO2 open authentication protocol.įIDO2 is the evolution of FIDO U2F, and offers the same improved level of security based on public key cryptography.

FIDO2 is an open authentication standard, hosted by the FIDO Alliance, that consists of the W3C Web Authentication specification (WebAuthn API), and the Client to Authentication Protocol (CTAP).

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