Tell me more ×
Ask Ubuntu is a question and answer site for Ubuntu users and developers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

Is there a desktop application for Google authenticator (an equivalent to the phone app, not the PAM lib)?

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

There are Java apps, both GUI and CLI. Both were listed on the Google Authenticator page at Wikipedia. Both include install instructions on their respective download pages.

I like the idea but I have not tested either of these nor would I assume they are secure or even work correctly. This is a summary of my search results, not a recommendation.

share|improve this answer
1  
Cool, thank you. It's too bad these are not provided with the google-authenticator code. Also, I wonder if it would be easy to make some kind of desktop widget with multiple account/key pairs, maybe using another language ;-) – ℝaphink Aug 31 '12 at 10:00
@Raphink yes, maybe a dead simple appindicator that would drop down a small menu with the code(s)? Maybe it's best to require two different devices to log in from a security perspective though. I'm very reluctant to trade security for convenience. – Tom Brossman Aug 31 '12 at 11:31
An appindicator would be very nice indeed. Porting the code to another language (e.g. python) shouldn't be too hard. As for several devices… well there's still the password. I don't really see a problem with having the authenticator on the desktop as far as security goes. – ℝaphink Aug 31 '12 at 11:56
To be clearer, the main security feature of TOTP imo is to prevent login/password remote attacks, not so much local attacks using the 1 or 2 machines I use every day. – ℝaphink Aug 31 '12 at 11:57

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.