Two factor security authentication isn’t a new concept to secure online information and data, but it has never been convenient. I used to play World of Warcraft (Horde FTW), and used Blizzard’s authentication tool to log into my account and keep it secure – there is nothing worse than someone stealing gold you quested all day for.
The Blizzard application for WoW was cumbersome and became an annoyance to constantly use. Before that, I used a physical authenticator keychain to gain access to my PayPal account – an even more painful experience. One company, Adips, believes they have the solution and it’s called Rublon; an easy form of authentication that uses your own Windows Phone to gain access to what you treasure the most.
Rublon makes use of QR codes in a way that geeks can finally get excited. You know QR codes right? Those barcodes that look like a tiny maze; you can usually find them on advertisement posters around the world – not that anyone uses them. With Rublon, QR codes have a practical application and make signing into trusted sites easier than ever before, and let’s not forget, more secure.
Using Rublon with your Windows Phone is a three step process. First, find a website that supports Rublon and check to enable it. Second, confirm your identity with your Windows Phone by scanning a onetime QR code. Finally, select “Yes” to add the smartphone you just scanned with to a list of trusted devices.
Note that you don’t have to scan the QR code every time you sign in, only when you sign in from a new device that has not been “Trusted” yet. For example, let’s say Windows Phone Central decided to integrate Rublon into our sign in process – after enabling the security feature, you would be prompted to scan the QR code with your smartphone and BAM, you never have to scan it again unless you decide to use an unknown computer.
The best part of the application (besides that it is on Windows Phone), is that unlike physical authentication devices offered by other companies, you always have your phone with you. If you lose your smartphone by and chance – simply login to the Rublon main site from a trusted device and you’re all set.
In our testing with the Windows Phone application, the QR code scanning was extremely fast and accurate. The app itself feels stable and well designed – no cutting corners here. If we are going to get picky, we could mention that we wish the app itself had a little bit more modern design, but it is not anywhere near being a deal breaker.
So you love the idea, but there is one problem – not many sites use Rublon. The security implementation itself is available for WordPress and according to CEO, Michal Wendrowski, “Other plugins are in the works. That’s one of our priorities right now”.
Send your favorite site admins an email and see if they might want to implement Rublon. Finally a two factor authentication system that makes sense – and it’s on Windows Phone (as well as Blackberry, Android, and iOS)! If you want to check out Rublon for yourself, you can download the app here at the Windows Phone Store then head to Rublon.com to setup your account. The app is available for both Windows Phone 8 and 7.x devices.
What do you think about a system like Rublon – would you like to see us implement it here on Windows Phone Central?
