
The $69.99 Kensington VeriMark Guard USB-C Fingerprint Key and the $60 YubiKey 5C Nano are much smaller and can live full time attached to your device. The flat, circular surface is the fingerprint reader while the ring is touch sensitive to help ensure a real human finger and not a clever simulacrum is being used.Īt 1.78 by 0.71 by 0.13 inches (45 by 18 by 3.35 millimeters, HWD), the YubiKey Bio is about the size of a standard house key. Instead of Yubico's usual capacitive gold disk, the Bio has a smooth, black circle with a raised metal edge. It's made of slightly textured black plastic with an unshielded USB-A connector on one end and a metal-reinforced ring on the other to attach it to a keyring or lanyard. In terms of design, the YubiKey Bio is nearly identical to most other Yubico products. Even if an attacker has your password, it's unlikely they'll also have the additional factors necessary to access your account. Something you are is any kind of measurable physical trait, like a fingerprint scan or facial recognition. Something you know could be a password, while something you have could be a security key or an authenticator app. Multi-factor authentication (sometimes called two-factor authentication, or 2FA) improves password logins for websites and services by adding multiple factors from a list of three possibilities:

For first-time buyers, we recommend the Security Key NFC. Editors' Choice winner YubiKey 5C NFC is a more versatile and affordable security key. That said, if you absolutely must have biometric MFA, love USB-A connectors, and are willing to shell out the extra cash, the YubiKey Bio is a great choice. This device works with the major MFA standards, but it doesn't have NFC or the wider support for authentication methods found in high-end YubiKeys. The solution is multi-factor authentication (MFA), and with the $80 Yubico YubiKey Bio, you can use your fingerprint to identify yourself. Losing control of your online accounts is a nightmare, one that could lead to outright identity theft.


