I use multiple systems, and all seem to have some kind of way to ease the use of password prompts:

On MacOS you can use the fingerprint reader, or the Apple Watch to authorize operations (yep, even sudo)

On Windows, Windows hello allows you to authorize using a fingerprint reader or specific camera setup

Fingerprint readers are not as widely supported in Linux as in Windows because of vendor limitations (they just don’t care).

Is there any other recommended way to authorize operations on a desktop computer using something similar to the other systems? (Fingerprint readers, Bluetooth auth, etc)

  • Nine@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    1 year ago

    Fprintd is what you’re looking for. KDE and Gnome have built in support for it. Some distros like Fedora have it installed by default.

    I have an inexpensive u.are.u 4500 and it works well enough for my uses.

    The other alternative is to use pam_u2f with FIDO2 keys eg yubikey, solo key, etc. That will also enable you to use ssh -sk keys too if that’s important to you.

    As with most things like this you can combine them to have 1FA, 2FA, or 3FA. You can even tie it into FreeIPA if you use that. You can also combine to lock yourself out of your system completely. So have fun!