YubiKey Survives Ten Weeks in a Washing Machine (2024)

FAQs

Is YubiKey water resistant? ›

The YubiKey is crush-resistant and water-resistant. It requires no battery or cellular network connectivity and its simple touch authentication is four times faster than typing a One Time Password.

Check to see if the YubiKey's LED is lit - if not, the YubiKey may not be receiving power. The issue may be as simple as the YubiKey is inserted upside down for USB-A connectors. Alternatively, the USB port may not be functioning correctly - if that is the case, try on a different USB port or computer.

Any computer with a USB port can use the YubiKey, regardless of the computer hardware, operating system or system drivers as it registers as a USB keyboard. YubiKeys are designed to be nearly indestructible, made from a single piece of inject-molded plastics around the circuit board.

To clean the YubiKey and sensor, use only wipes impregnated with no more than 70% isopropyl alcohol.

A Yubikey will essentially last forever, and if you stay clear of the insanity that is Passkeys its Webauthn element can support an infinite number of websites. Portability: I have a smartphone, a work laptop, a home laptop, and a home desktop. My Yubikey has USB and NFC, so it can trivially be used with all of them.

Q: How long does the YubiKey last? A: We don't artificially limit the life-span of any YubiKey. The internals of the YubiKey's security algorithms currently limits each key to 30+ years of usage. The Yubikey is powered by the USB port and therefore requires no battery and there is no display on it that can break.

Do I need to keep my yubikey plugged in all the time? A. No, you only need to insert your yubikey when you are prompted to do so during login. Leaving it plugged in could result in the yubikey being lost or damaged.

In that case, you can still use your Authenticator app (phew!). While you can't create a backup YubiKey, you can always contact Yubico to get a replacement key.

While YubiKey is designed to be secure, it is not immune to attacks. There have been instances where YubiKeys have been hacked or compromised. Common attack vectors on hardware keys include physical attacks, side-channel attacks, and firmware vulnerabilities.

If you lose your Yubikey, you can still use your phone authenticator app, but you cannot create a backup Yubikey. However, Yubikey also provides methods to recover your account, so you can get a replacement. An advantage to Yubikey is that it comes on a USB that cannot be identified.

Is there an alternative to YubiKey? ›

The Nitrokey FIDO2 does everything Yubico's entry-level key does, and for a comparable price, but Nitrokey does it using only open-source hardware and firmware.

A Yubico OTP (one-time password) is a unique 44-character string that is generated by the YubiKey when it is touched (while plugged into a host device over USB or Lightning) or scanned by an NFC reader.

The versatile YubiKey requires no software installation or battery so just plug it into a USB port and touch the button, or tap-n-go using NFC for secure authentication.

Think of your YubiKey as though it were a house or car key, you use the key to enter your car or house and then remove your key. YubiKey is your key into your Flinders account. To maintain security to your Flinders account, you should always remove the YubiKey if you are away from your device.

Here's the scoop: While most electronic key fobs are designed to handle some water exposure, they're not fully waterproof. This means they can survive a splash or a bit of moisture, but they're not meant for swimming!

A YubiKey supports an unlimited number of accounts with both WebAuthn and U2F protocols. If you're using your hardware key for TOTP, you can only hold 32 accounts.