- This is the YubiKey 5 NFC,
and this is the new YubiKey Bio.
Now these are both top-of-the-line,
excellent two-factor authentication keys
that I highly recommend,
but one is $45 and the other is approximately $80.
So as you're doing your research,
trying to figure out which one is best for you,
it's really important
to understand the differences between these two
and how it might affect the way that you use these 2FA keys.
(futuristic music)
Hey there, my name's Josh, and this is All Things Secured.
Thanks so much for joining me.
I've been using the YubiKey 5 Series
for a number of years now.
It is by far my favorite 2FA key that I use
to secure pretty much all of my online accounts
that allow for a 2FA key.
And as I've shown before in a previous video,
it even allows you to use an authenticator app
through the YubiKey Authenticator app.
I think you can download it on your desktop,
you can download it on your phone.
And then this is what allows you to see those codes.
So it adds that extra line of security.
But as with any type of security,
you always have those what-ifs, right?
I mean, the reason we even have 2FAs,
what if your password gets stolen or hacked?
Well, now you have to have a 2FA key with you.
But now let's go even a level above that.
What if you lose your 2FA key or somebody steals it?
And that's where the YubiKey Bio comes in,
because now we're taking
and we're implementing your fingerprint,
your bio, send your bio ID into the 2FA key.
So now if you steal my key, it's not valuable
unless you have my fingerprint to go with it.
And as you see here, there is a USB version, USB-A,
and then a USB-C version.
I bought both of them just so I could try both of them out.
And they've been excellent.
I mean, setting it up is not that hard.
You can do it in multiple ways.
You can do it through Google Chrome,
or a way that I personally prefer
is to download the YubiKey Authenticator app.
And then you can set up your fingerprint.
Each of these keys allows for five fingerprints.
So you could theoretically set up one index finger
on both hands,
and then maybe the index finger of your spouse
or somebody else that you trust
that would allow them to use this
in case something were to happen to you.
But now you have the biometrics
that secure your key in addition to just having a 2FA key.
So it takes care of that extra what-if layer.
What if somebody steals your 2FA key?
Well, it's only valuable
if they also have stolen your finger as well.
Now there are some great things about this
from a security standpoint,
and then there are some things that make it less than ideal,
at least for individual users, in my opinion.
For example, one of the things that I like
about the YubiKey 5 NFC,
even though my phone obviously doesn't accept USB,
the NFC, that near-field connection,
allows me to put it on the back of my phone
and I can use this key for my phone as well,
for any mobile device, really.
Whether it's my iPad or my iPhone,
or even an Android device,
you can use that NFC capability of your phone
to be able to use the 2FA key.
That is something
that the new YubiKey Bio does not allow for.
So if you have a mobile device,
if you use your 2FA key for your mobile device,
the Bio is not gonna really provide that much help.
The Bio really only works for a desktop,
a laptop, something like that.
And so in that way, it really feels like the Bio
is aimed more at enterprise users,
companies that need to make sure
that they're adding a high level of security
for their users as they log in.
But for me as an individual,
logging in to Facebook or my investment account,
this limits where I can log in to those accounts.
I can now only log in to them from my computer.
I can't log in to them
from my phone or tablet if I wanted to.
You also, as I mentioned at the beginning of this video,
have to worry about cost.
I mean, this right here, the YubiKey 5 Series,
is a very low cost option.
You can find most of these keys for $40 or less.
That makes buying not just one key, but also a backup key.
Very cost-efficient.
And because you should buy a backup key,
that is something to think about.
When I had to buy two of these YubiKey Bio Series keys,
that cost me upwards of 160, $170 with shipping.
That is not something I expect the average person would do
just to add an extra layer of security
onto their online social media or investment accounts.
So cost is definitely at play here.
They both offer very high levels of security.
And when it comes to the YubiKey Bio,
your fingerprint isn't stored anywhere else
except on the device.
So you're not storing it on your computer.
You're not storing it in the cloud.
There's actually a separate place on the device
where your fingerprint is stored
that is separate from the security authentication services
that the key provides.
In that way, there is a lot of extra security,
added security there
that you probably wouldn't even have noticed otherwise,
and yet it does help you in the long run.
Also, with the Bio Series,
if for some reason the fingerprint sensor breaks
or doesn't work or malfunctions in some way,
you can set up a backup PIN
that will allow you to access the 2FA features of this key.
So in other words,
there are ways to get around the fingerprint sensor,
and that is by knowing the PIN.
So you still have something that you have to know
or something that you have to have,
which is your fingerprint.
And I don't think that decreases the security of it,
but it's just good to know that your fingerprint,
if for some reason the sensor breaks, you're not screwed.
Although what I would suggest personally,
and this is what I'm going to do,
is that when I set this up with any account, my Bio,
my backup key is not going to be another Bio.
My backup key is actually going to be this YubiKey 5 NFC.
So that way, I'm not dependent
on a particular piece of technology,
that fingerprint sensor,
or even trying to remember that PIN.
I have that backup that doesn't have to worry about that,
and I keep that in a separate place.
So my primary for some of these accounts,
if I'm going to use it, is going to be this Bio Series.
And then my backup would be the 5 NFC.
Now it's worth noting that these two keys
have two different security technologies.
And what that means is that these both
don't work on the same platforms.
There are some online accounts where this particular key,
the Bio, will not work,
but the YubiKey 5 NFC will.
And so you're gonna have to go onto their website
and you can search for the different online accounts
that you might have that you wanna use a 2FA key
to find out which key works.
And if you find that a lot of the accounts
that you wanna use it for don't actually work for the Bio,
then that makes it a pretty easy decision.
The 5 NFC is still an excellent key.
It's still one that I highly recommend.
And I'm honestly
kind of just still testing out this Bio Series
to see if it is really as useful as I find it.
As I said in the beginning,
I really think that it's more of an enterprise solution,
something for businesses,
something for just people that need to keep some security
on computers related to a business
as opposed to an individual like myself or you
that are wanting to use these keys
just to add that extra layer of security
onto their online accounts.
So if that's the case for you,
it's really a decision that's up to you.
I highly recommend the 5 NFC,
but, you know, I'm really enjoying as well the Bio.
It's just not as useful as I want it to be
for my mobile device
and for all the accounts that I wanna be able to log in to.
If this was helpful, please give this video a thumbs up.
Any questions, leave them in the comments.
I'll do my best to reply to them.
Or if I don't know the answer,
I might even ask Yubico on their Twitter,
which I'll even link to their Twitter
so you can ask them as well if you want to.
Thanks so much for watching.
And if you'd like, please use the affiliate link
in the description of this video to buy your YubiKey.
That helps support this channel,
and I really appreciate you for that.
Take care.