Hacker News Reader

Comment by BartBoch | Hacker News Reader

Two things - is there really need for them to be this large? They also look vulnerable? Maybe its just the look, but the blue one looks like it won't survive proper stress test...

And second thing - is exposing connector safe against mechanical damage? Will it withstand constantly being scratched by keys?

View on HN

There is the "nano" version available which is a lot smaller than the one advertised. The ones that I own have held up just fine for the past year on my keychain.

https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-4-series/#yubikey-4-n...

This size is much better, but I assume it lacks the "touch" protection against remote attacks, like the other ones?

I still wonder about the exposed connector - what its durability. After all, I would like for such a tool to serve me for years fault-free.

I personally have the nano version.

> but I assume it lacks the "touch" protection against remote attacks

It has the touch protection. There is a small strip of metal that protrudes beyond the USB port that you touch.

> what its durability

I've used it daily for about a year. Granted this is not "years" but so far it still feels very solid.

Sounds good then. I am ready to test one of them. Thanks!

Forgive my ignorance, but could you explain what "touch" protection is please?

In order for it to work you have to have it plugged in and touch it. Prevents a virus from talking to it unless it prompts you to touch it somehow.

They’re pretty sturdy. I’ve used my keychain version to pry off beer caps, and it’s gotten some scratches but works fine. The touch sensor is kind of annoying but it does work.

Do previous YubiKeys support FIDO2? From the post, I assume you need one of the new ones.

They plan to support it on "additional keys", whatever that means:

https://twitter.com/Yubico/status/993923882829529088

The NEO and 4 series support U2F which can be used for FIDO2 2FA (emphasis on 2), but they do not support the passwordless (device PIN) or username-less login scenarios.

The internals probably don't require a form factor that large. Some of Yubico's other products barely protrude from the port. I think there's a convenience trade-off, though...a smaller one is harder to insert and remove.

I have two of this form factor on my keyring, one of which is a couple years old now. Neither show appreciable signs of wear on their connectors beyond what you'd expect from regular insertion. They feel pretty robust, though I've never actually tried to break one...

EDIT: minor clarification

Let me share with you an anecdote from a friend of mine:

Lost my YubiKey around the start of the year and couldn't understand how it could have disappeared so I deregistered it everywhere and went back to Google Authenticator. Found it today [July] embedded in my gravel driveway where it must have been since January and been stepped on/run over since then. Popped it into the computer mostly for fun, and it works like a charm. :P Hardy stuff! :)

What kind of stress test do you have in mind? I've had a yubikey 4 for almost two years on my keyring that I use daily and despite not taking very good care of it it still works fine. It's been wet, it's been scratched, it's supported the weight of my keys while hanging from a USB port, it's been plugged and unplugged thousands of times...

They're pretty sturdy. Of course if you take some pliers to them I have no doubt that you'll be able to break them in half but for normal use you won't have a problem IMO. The size doesn't bother me either, it's like a very flat USB key.

I also have a nitrokey that's a bit shorter and bulkier and it comes with a cap which might be better to protect the connector, but on the other hand I'm sure I'd lose it sooner or later. A retractable port or something similar would probably be a better idea. Also the nitrokey is significantly slower which is the main reason I only have it as a backup for my yubikey currently.

There are multiple sizes, including ones that barely stick out of a USB-A or USB-C port. The keychain form factor is for convenience. I have multiple keys in multiple sizes for 3 or 4 years now, none fell to mechanical damage (but one pretty much stopped responding to touch, requiring replacement).

They're incredibly sturdy. I don't know what a proper stress test is, but i hung my keys from my usb socket with it, countless times, it's been on my keyring for years, bent and scratched every which way.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com