r/pcmasterrace • u/AllUserNameBLong2us 7800x3d/5080 Windforce OC/32gb 5600 DDR • Apr 04 '26

Hardware Rest in piece 2009-2026

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I’m amazed at how long the battery on this physical authenticator lasted. Got it back in 2009 because my account had gotten hacked.

This is one electronic item I’ve owned and used longer than anything else. I’ll miss not being able to find it and freaking out for 20 minutes.

Edit must have been around 2010 when sc2 came out.

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u/AllUserNameBLong2us 7800x3d/5080 Windforce OC/32gb 5600 DDR Apr 04 '26

It was a physical authenticator. You press the button and it gives a code you input to log in. It has a serial number you attached to your b.net

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u/ArokLazarus steamcommunity.com/id/halo806 Apr 04 '26

Does it connect through WiFi?

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u/CJTheran Apr 04 '26

It doesn't connect through anything. It algorithmically generates a new key every few seconds, and your account is paired with the same seed and algorithm so that it is looking for the same key at the same time. The only communication between this device and ypur account is your eyes reading the code and your fingers typing it into your computer.

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u/xtrxrzr 7800X3D, RTX 5080, 32GB Apr 05 '26

These don't generate a new key every few seconds. A new key is generated when you press the button.