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Does using U2F offers better security?

liligeng111
liligeng111
Community Member

Hello!
I've been using 1Password for a while and recently decided to purchase a yubikey as an extra layer of protection.
I noticed that in order to enable U2F I needed to firstly create a 2FA. I understand that this is a backup in case I lose the yubikey.

So my question is this: does the U2F provide anything other than ease of use?
I was under the impression that U2F is safer than 2FA apps. But if I have to use both of them, is it really safer since the true strength of the chain depends on how strong the weakest of the links is.

I am not sure which category this belongs to, sorry if I chose the wrong one.
Thanks in advance for any help!


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Comments

  • Hi @liligeng111

    This is a good category for it; thanks. :) As with many things security related I think the answer to the question here is "maybe." It really depends on your usage and what threats you personally face. I think it is important to understand MFA in general (regardless of which flavor) has a different application with 1Password than it does with most other services. I've recently written about that here:

    Feature Request: Additional MFA prompt criteria — 1Password Forum

    Is MFA important technology, and should it be utilized in almost every case where it is available? Yes.
    Is it critically important for 1Password? Not as much so.
    I don't use it with my personal 1Password accounts except for the purposes of testing and familiarizing myself for the purpose of helping customers. I don't say that to discourage you from using it if you'd like, but I would encourage you to read the above post (and blog post linked from there) to better understand what benefit it actually provides in the context of 1Password.

    Ben

  • liligeng111
    liligeng111
    Community Member

    Hi Ben:

    Thanks for replying. That article is helpful.
    I see that it probably does not matter anyway.
    Cheers!

  • Glad to hear that helped. :) If there is anything else we can do, please don't hesitate to contact us.

    Ben

This discussion has been closed.