Sign in with your Google Account Using USB Pen Drive

If you are a highly secure guy you probably heard about the 2-step authentication which all major website has enabled it now. The most popular website which uses 2-factor verification is Evernote, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Microsft and many more. The important reason for enabling the 2 step verification in your account is to add an additional layer of security to your account, so that your account is less prone to hack, for some users it may be frustrating for enabling the feature but to be on the safe side it's better to activate 2 step authentication so it will be difficult for hackers to hack your account.

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Advantage of 2-Step Verification

The one advantage of 2 step authentication over the traditional sign in is if a person knows your password even if he tries to log in to your account he can't access further he needs your mobile phone for the 2 step verification code.

Disadvantage and Solution

Let's say he has your mobile, now he can easily access your account and change the password and another problem with the 2 step verification on mobile is if you are out of service your cell phone has no signal to receive the voice call or text message (well some website uses an app like Authy or Google Authenticator app so you guys don't have to worry about that). To avoid this type of misfortunes, there is an alternative solution you can try out using a USB Pen drive instead of relying on your smartphone.

Sign into your Google Account using USB Pen Drive

Actually this concept was introduced by LastPass, when you insert the USB it will skip the 2 step verification and will directly sign in to your Google account after you entering the username and password, all standard USB pen drive won't support this feature you have to buy a new one which supports the open standard known as "FIDO Universal 2nd Factor (U2F)”. These are the only compatible USB pen drives you can use on your computer.

Purchase the USB Security Key

You can buy this type of USB pen drives on Amazon.com using the search term "FIDO U2F Security Key", it's a cross-platform compatible it works on windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS, after you purchased your desired pen drive this is the procedure to activate the USB security key.

Activate The USB Security Key

1. Go to myaccount.google.com
2. Click on the 2-step verification and switch to the Security Keys tab
3. Then click the Register Device button
4. Insert the USB security key to your computer or laptop to link your Google account.

After registering and linking your pen drive, you can now sign in to your Google account without entering the backup code or 2 step verification. After entering your username and password insert the USB security pen drive the light will blink on the pen drive, just tap it once on the USB to sign in to your google account. You can still use your smartphone to enter the 2 step verification code.

How this USB Works!

How this technology work is after tapping on the pen drive it will send the 2-step verification code to the google server which is generated internally on the pen drive. You can also add multiple Google accounts or any other website service which provides the 2 step authentication. The main disadvantage of this is it currently only supports Chrome web browser, so you have to still use your mobile phones if you are using it on the Firefox and opera. That's all folks let me know what you think about this cool idea in the comments.

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