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Does anyone use the IB Digital Security Card thing?
I do, and it works well.
But...
This thread can be a bit confusing to those who don't know that IB has *two* different security card schemes.
One is a simple printed plastic card the size of a credit card. You get a challenge of a couple of numbers, and look up those numbers on the card to get a pair of letter sequences which you type in. Since it's just a printed card, it is easy to make a backup, but it's not as secure because the mapping never changes.
They have an electronic challenge-response card, the exact same size and shape. You turn it on, key in a PIN, key in the challenge numbers from your logon attempt, and it hashes them into a different number, which you then type into the IB application or web site. This is very secure, but of course it's a pain if it is lost. You can call them and do the security questions thing and get a temporary logon, but that doesn't work if one account holder is (say) lost in a plane crash.
So, read the messages in the thread remembering that some people may be talking a "security card" different from what you thought
They also have the "try to log on, we text you a number, you key in that number".
At the moment I have three accounts, one using each of the methods above. I didn't pick the methods--I think they pick it based on the balance in the account...they won't pay for the electronic card unless your account is a meaningful size to them.
There's also something with a QR code which I haven't used.
Jim
