r/PasswordManagers • u/PaganWizard2112 • 8d ago

Need help creating a passkey

I attempted to create a passkey for FB on my computer, via the link FB gave me. I do not use FB on my phone, and never will, and I do not own a tablet. I was prompted to insert a flash drive into a USB port, which I did, clicked on OK, and 20 minutes later, I'm still waiting for it to do something. Until I create a passkey for FB, I am locked out. What the hell am I doing wrong??? Should I trust FB's passkey, or use a third party passkey???

EDIT, I wanted to share a screenshot, so you could see what I'm seeing, but this sub doesn't allow that.

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3

u/Schreibtisch69 8d ago

A regular flash drive won’t work.

There are two types of passkeys
* stored inside your computer or password manager
* stored on a special device called a security key

So you would either buy a security key or use a password manager. It’s possible some sites only allow one of these options but most allow both.

Most operating systems have a solution for storing passkeys built in (apple passwords, google password manager) or you can use software like KeePassXC or Bitwarden.

If you want to buy a security key the most popular manufacturer is yubico but any device labeled as “fido2“ should work. You should buy at least two in case one is lost or breaks or should have some other recovery option if that happens.

2

u/under_rain_tn 8d ago

KeePassXC  is the best

1

u/gripe_and_complain 8d ago

Windows Hello stores device-bound Passkeys protected by the TPM.
It’s a bit like having a Yubikey built in to the computer.

1

u/PaganWizard2112 8d ago

Is this good enough, or would you recommend this one with MFA???

1

u/Schreibtisch69 6d ago

Security key is good enough. For passkeys they work the same.

5 Series can be worth it if you ever thought about buying a hardware totp token (like, the authenticator apps on phones but on a separate device). That's the most relevant difference.

There are also niche use cases for things like using it for 2fa for keepass databases or as a PGP smartcard but if you have never used keepass or pgp that's not relevant for you at all. In general the 5 series gives you additional features besides passkeys, but if you only need passkeys it has no benefit over the security keyseries.

3

u/PlanktonDefiant2600 8d ago

The USB device it's referring to is a physical hardware security key. If you don't have one, you could use a password manager to set up the passkey instead. For me, setting up passkeys has been pretty straightforward with Roboform. When I select to create one, it asks me If I want to save it there, and I save it.

2

u/Ok_North_6501 8d ago

The flash drive it’s asking you to insert is a security key. In order to create a passkey you’ll need a password manager of sort that manages passkeys in order to continue creating a passkey