Mobile Authenticator vs Regular one

[MrHappy]

Yesterday I got an androi phone and decided to get the mobile authenticator app. After installing it i realized that it is actually literally 100x better than the key-chain one u can buy from blizz store.

A regular authenticator has 6 digits giving you 1:1,000,000 chance to guess the combination which is reset every 30sec. And for a Price of $6.50 its a good deal to protect your account. However, and this is a big one, mobile authenticator have 8 digites giving you 1:100,000.000 change to guess the number which is reset ever 30sec and its...free. This defeats the purpose of ever having to buy the regular authenticator. I mean why would I pay 6.50 for a product when i can get a better one for free? I mean yes if you dont have a iPhone/Andoird/Blackberry i guess u're stuck with the keychain one but stil smartphones are more common and becmon more and more widespread. I mean why make an app thats free better than the keychain one which is 6.50 and is technically less secure. I would understand if it was otherway around and the 6.50 would justify two extra digits of hack-proofing. What are your thoughts?

[incomingnerfs]

the keychain one is free shipping i believe, but they have to pay to have it manufactured. The mobile app is free because they don't have to sell the hardware, just create an app.

You are putting the price on the wrong thing. It's not a price per digit or level of security.

Welcome to the age of smartphones.

[Skulli]

Mobile one is not 100% secure since you can get a trojan etc. on your smartphone as well.

On the "real" one such a case is not possible.

And the security gain from 6 to 8 digits doesnt matter much for that system.

[eternalwhitemoon]

I prefer the physical keyfob because I'm reckless with my phone. What if my phone gets lost or stolen? What if I need to send my phone in for repair (which takes upwards of 2 weeks?) What if my battery dies? (I leave my charger at work.)

My keyfob, however, never leaves the house. I never lose it, it won't get stolen (and if it does, I have bigger issues to worry about), I won't have to worry about fragging it. Much simpler and less prone to RNG, if it will.

[DuckieMage]

I love my key authenticator, it's cute and it makes my key-chain really glamorous!
I don't have a smart phone, and I doubt I will for some time.
My phone can get lost, stolen, and break on me. My key-authenticator, can break.. and I still have the digit number on the back so I can get it taken off. The mobile.. you better write that down or you're screwed.

Plus, my authenticator is back from an old blizzcon.. so it's so old noone would want to steal it!

[Deleted]

i bought my physical authenticator after i had the iphone version, but after my iphone crashed i had to reinstall it it took blizzard 2½ weeks to get it removed from my account so i could play again.

[Draykin]

I got the key chain one for free from a friend when she get the mobile authenticator, so that was awesome. But even still I think I'd prefer the key one. It's very easy to carry around (I have it on the same chain as my SC2 flashdrive) and I don't have to worry about normal phone worries.

[Abandon]

i bought my physical authenticator after i had the iphone version, but after my iphone crashed i had to reinstall it it took blizzard 2½ weeks to get it removed from my account so i could play again.

My iPhone needed to be reset to factory settings, and I just re-installed the application from my iTunes. It worked without having to contact anyone.