Have you ever wondered if your system unlocked with a physical key like your door does? Well, now it can! In this guide we will discuss how one can turn their USB flash drive into a secure login for their computers. We shall also have a look at the softwares that is known for facilitating that. With that in mind, let us get started.
How does the USB flash drive work as a secure login?
Turning a USB flash drive into a secure login for your laptop or PC means configuring the system to use the USB as a physical key for authentication instead of a password. When set up, the computer will only allow access if the correct USB drive is plugged in, acting as a form of two-factor or password-less authentication which is equally strong and secure and much easier. This enhances security by requiring the USB along with the PIN. It works wonders by completely replacing traditional passwords, making you connect to a totally different method of authentication. There is specialized software designed for this purpose, the names and features of which we will discuss ahead.
Steps to turn a USB flash drive into a login key
If you are serious about turning your USB flash drive into a secure login key, then here are the steps you will be required to follow –
- Purchase a new USB flash drive or use an existing one you know doesn’t have any data or information stored in it from before.
- Install and launch a specialized software designed for this purpose. Once the app opens up, enter the details it asks for.
- Select the encryption password and make sure you remember it. Therefore, choose a more memorable pattern or number and try to even note it down somewhere just in case.
- Plug in your drive and choose the right letter that it was allocated.
- Finally, click on ‘Create k3y file’.
- Before leaving, create a backdoor log in the way just in case you lose the key or something.
And voila! Your USB flash drive will be turned into a secure and safe login key which you can then use to unlock your computer system and work on it whenever you want to.
Important tips
While you pretty much understand the process yourself, let us also take you through some tips for the way –
- Try to keep your flash drive away from any pen drives or USB drives of any kind so that you don’t mix it up or lose it somehow. If you’re worried about that, you can even label it.
- Use reliable supportive software like – ‘USB Raptor’ and ‘Rohos’ for the purpose.
- Don’t use a used USB flash drive as it may hamper the process and sometimes doesn’t work.
- Don’t set a crazy password to look cool! Use a password that is easy to remember, yet hard to crack.
Rest you know yourself! Have a productive time creating a real-life key for your system.
