5 ms·

This is pretty neat. I wish there was a USB-C model.

seized 7y ago
Yubikey has USB-C touch models so likely a USB-C bio version is next on the list.
ShakataGaNai 7y ago
I'd love a model that supported both USB-A, USB-C and NFC. I realize it wouldn't be nearly as small, but that would certainly cover all the bases.
- nixpulvis 7y ago
  heh, just build a little facade for it.
- schmichael 7y ago
  You forgot BLE! Then you could actually use it across all of your devices.
  - astrea 7y ago
    The same BLE with known vulnerabilities?
    - dwaite 7y ago
      Reference?
    - xchaotic 7y ago
      you could maybe sniff OTP over it but to time it with an attack, you’d still need quite a few other things. I wouldn’t get a wireless yubikey personally but I can see how some might prefer the convenience over security
hwillis 7y ago
To my knowledge (electrical engineer) there is no usb-c connector with solid strain relief. I haven't been looking for one specifically but I've been looking at upgrading a project to usb-c. All the usb-c connectors I know have soldered body connections, which makes for a really poor mechanical bond. Solder joints are full of mechanical stresses and the only thing preventing a bend is the copper delaminating from the pcb. In usb-a, any bending has to break the entire substrate. Decent plated contacts will outlast the connectors they're plugging into. On top of that you can plate something like a yubikey on both sides if you wanted to, so the only advantage is size and it's not like you're plugging these things into your phone. As long as computers still have a single usb-a (and they should, if only for backwards compatibility) it's a non-issue, IMO.
- therein 7y ago
  Similarly to how some cheap electronics cover the "confidential" portions of their PCBs and some components to obscure them with epoxy, wouldn't you be able to cover the connector with that for some strain relief?
  - hwillis 7y ago
    Yeah, with a waterproof connector. However there's a reason yubikey uses just a float board connector and most of those itty bitty wifi/bluetooth usb-a dongles have custom connectors: the connector and solder joint are much more rigid than the surrounding epoxy. It's just a reality of them being metal joints. What I mean by solid strain relief is basically a plastic float that bridges the soldered connections to the connector body. I haven't seen one like that, but it's necessary to isolate the connector itself from the board and soldered bits. Covering the whole thing in goop helps for excessive force, but does almost nothing for the everyday wiggles that eventually cause connections to loosen. You need built in flex for that.
- thefounder 7y ago
  My macbook has only usb-c ports
  - 7y ago

Yubikey has USB-C touch models so likely a USB-C bio version is next on the list.

I'd love a model that supported both USB-A, USB-C and NFC. I realize it wouldn't be nearly as small, but that would certainly cover all the bases.

nixpulvis 7y ago
heh, just build a little facade for it.
schmichael 7y ago
You forgot BLE! Then you could actually use it across all of your devices.
- astrea 7y ago
  The same BLE with known vulnerabilities?
  - dwaite 7y ago
    Reference?
  - xchaotic 7y ago
    you could maybe sniff OTP over it but to time it with an attack, you’d still need quite a few other things. I wouldn’t get a wireless yubikey personally but I can see how some might prefer the convenience over security

hwillis 7y ago

To my knowledge (electrical engineer) there is no usb-c connector with solid strain relief. I haven't been looking for one specifically but I've been looking at upgrading a project to usb-c. All the usb-c connectors I know have soldered body connections, which makes for a really poor mechanical bond. Solder joints are full of mechanical stresses and the only thing preventing a bend is the copper delaminating from the pcb. In usb-a, any bending has to break the entire substrate. Decent plated contacts will outlast the connectors they're plugging into. On top of that you can plate something like a yubikey on both sides if you wanted to, so the only advantage is size and it's not like you're plugging these things into your phone. As long as computers still have a single usb-a (and they should, if only for backwards compatibility) it's a non-issue, IMO.

therein 7y ago
Similarly to how some cheap electronics cover the "confidential" portions of their PCBs and some components to obscure them with epoxy, wouldn't you be able to cover the connector with that for some strain relief?
- hwillis 7y ago
  Yeah, with a waterproof connector. However there's a reason yubikey uses just a float board connector and most of those itty bitty wifi/bluetooth usb-a dongles have custom connectors: the connector and solder joint are much more rigid than the surrounding epoxy. It's just a reality of them being metal joints. What I mean by solid strain relief is basically a plastic float that bridges the soldered connections to the connector body. I haven't seen one like that, but it's necessary to isolate the connector itself from the board and soldered bits. Covering the whole thing in goop helps for excessive force, but does almost nothing for the everyday wiggles that eventually cause connections to loosen. You need built in flex for that.
thefounder 7y ago
My macbook has only usb-c ports
- 7y ago