Talking to a college kid about 2FA changed my mind on something

Was parked at a rest stop in Kansas last month and got into a chat with a student heading back to school. He showed me how he uses a Yubikey for everything. Always thought those things were overkill for normal people. But he broke it down simple - said it stops phishing cold because even if you type your password into a fake site, the key won't talk to it. Never thought about it that way before. Anyone switch to hardware keys and find it actually made a difference in your day to day?

2 comments

2 Comments

parker_foster531d ago

Man that's a solid point I never even considered. I always thought 2FA was just extra hassle but the phishing thing changes how I see it. Started using a key for my email and bank after hearing stories from a coworker who got cleaned out. Feels like a small piece of mind for something that used to make me paranoid.

skyler_craig1d ago

@parker_foster53 yeah you nailed it. That coworker story is the kind of wake up call most people need before they take it serious. I think a lot of folks don't realize how easy it is to get tricked until they see someone go through it. Having that key makes you feel way more in control than just passwords ever did. It's weird how something that sounds like more work actually ends up giving you less to worry about. Once you get used to it you wonder why you waited so long.