[Techtalk] RSA Securid token wierdness

[Raven, corporate courtesan]

Heya --

Quoth stephanie1200 at netscape.net (Mon, Mar 11, 2002 at 12:22:13PM -0500):
> Am I radioactive? maybe marked by the devil?  We use securid tokens to log into the work vpn.  I had one for like 9 months before it croaked, and since then I've had like 5 or 6, (I'm starting to lose count) the longest life being like 4 months I think, and the shortest life being less than 1 day.  Lately, they are lasting about a week on average. 

	Where are you storing the boxes?  Is it everyone in your company
that's having the problems, or just you (except for that one box)?  If I
were you, I'd contact your SecurID vendor and let them know about the
issue -- they may be able to give you their documentation on care and
feeding of the SecurID card.  [grin]

	What happens when they die?  The little screen just goes blank
and doesn't generate any numbers, even when you press the diamond key?

	I would definitely check out the ambient electromagnetics.  Do
you have a magnetic seat cover in your car?  I did, briefly.  Then it
wiped the rescue floppies I had in my sysadmin emergency kit.  So much
for that seat cover.  Huge power lines running right out of the room you
store them in?  Something like that?  I think they're usually pretty
shielded...

> Maybe someone has planted a bugging device i my car that is clearing the chip? (ok, a little paranoid, but I do hear mysterious beeps not attributable to any electronic device I own, once every 2 years or so in my car) I am not aware of any mysterious magnetic forces emanating from my body....  Unless my growing annoyance is having some physicial manifestation.

	Are you sure that it's the chip being wiped?  I'd definitely get
in touch with my vendor and a) see if they know common causes of
failure, and b) if they can RMA or autopsy one of the dead cards to get
more information from it.
 
> Any advice or urban legends about failing tokens, please let me know. Thanks!

	They should have lifetime batteries in them, so I hope that
battery failure isn't your problem.  I've used the SecurID card and the
SecurID Pinpad card many a time successfully -- never heard of a problem
like this one.

	Let us know if you (or RSA) figure it out.
 
Cheers,
Raven 
 
"Sed, sed, awk.  Like duck, duck, goose.  Sync, sync, halt.  It's the
 order of nature."
  -- me, after too long a day at work