6d10

[pseydtonne]

My employer gave me an RSA SecurID fob. It's a stick about the size of my thumb with a small LCD screen. Every thirty seconds or so it generates a new six-digit number. It also shows a set of tick marks to provide a relative time until the next number is generated.

I've never had one of these before. I've read about the three guys behind the technology but I've never had the chance to use it. While the technology is fascinating, the actual use of it is kinda dull and it's supposed to be that way. I pull up a tool, type my username, then type my password and the six digits I see on one line and I'm in my corporate network no matter where I go.

If that were all I saw, I'd barely notice this stick. Nevertheless, this thing is an OCD victim's dream! Any time I want a new number to attempt to factorize in my head, I can look down and see "330985" or perhaps "063098". This rules! I have a stiiiiiiiick!

Oh dude, just think: I don't even need to flip a coin anymore. I can look at the stick and the odd or even state of the next number will be yes or no. Sweet! Stick ruuuuuulez!

I wonder whether Harvey Dent would use one of these sticks. He could still flip it in his hand like a coin...

I guess this isn't really random number generation. The stick has a serial number, which is tied to my user account. Is it merely playing a sequence of precalculated digits? Not according to Wikipedia. SecurID ties the serial number only to a seed record, so each stick is doing its own math and the RSA authentication server merely runs the same calculation at that same moment.

I have a stick! My key chain is getting pendulous.

-drinkin' drinks, Ps/d

Comments

[adaptively.livejournal.com]

[lightcastle.livejournal.com]

You win.

[pseydtonne.livejournal.com]

Yay for pic!

[lightcastle.livejournal.com]

I had one of those sticks! (I actually think the guy at JSA I worked for was involved in inventing the tech, but not one of the big three.)

I used to joke it would be my new dice roller, too. I do think it is an extended factorization and therefore not random, though.

[gravitrue.livejournal.com]

Depends on your definition of random. It certainly does not generate random numbers, but the seed had better be random.

Easier to use but no where near as much fun as S/Key.

[hermitgeecko.livejournal.com]

My mother had one of these when I was in... middle school, I think? I thought it was the coolest security thing ever.

[tckma.livejournal.com]

The first time I got one of these, I used to obsess with watching the bars count down to when the number would change.

[arib.livejournal.com]

I have one, too! I've had to segregate to two separate sets of keyrings now.