The brand new WebAuth.com mobile applications are now live: available on Web, Android, and iOS! If you’re ready to try out the next generation of multifactor authentication and decentralized identity that runs on Proton, head on over to WebAuth.com to get started.
What is WebAuth.com?
WebAuth.com is the new industry standard for device authentication, identity management, payment processing, and cryptocurrency transactions for Web 3.0, built on the Proton blockchain. With WebAuth.com, you can approve transactions, make crypto payments, link your decentralized identity, verify/add/remove access for all logins, and reject impersonation attempts through the use of your smartphone – similar to how Google Authenticator and other popular 2FA platforms work, except with a higher bar for security utilizing PSR (Proton Signing Request) over OTP (one time passwords) that can easily be phished.
Here’s the big difference: because WebAuth.com is built on the Proton blockchain, it uses our powerful decentralized identity (DeID) framework to verify and attest to identities. This means that not only is your identity biometrically verified, but your identity can be backed up to a new device seamlessly if you lose access to the primary device.
Where does the name “WebAuth” come from?
The name WebAuth.com comes from the WebAuthn standard which was pioneered at Stanford University and is a critical component for web security, complimenting Proton Signing Request (PSR) for secure digital identity authentication. We built WebAuth.com from the ground up to be an extremely versatile MFA and decentralized identification platform. For that reason, we needed to elevate our vision above any of our usual brand names – like Proton or Metal – and towards something more universally recognizable. We intend for WebAuth.com to become the gold standard MFA/2FA method and decentralized identity verification and attestation method across industries and around the world; that means that everyone from the Proton universe, to Bitcoiners, to DeFi corporations, to the average person on the street should feel comfortable using this product.
The WebAuth.com app essentially serves as Proton wallet 2.0 – faster, more powerful, and more secure than before, but built by the same team that you know and trust. Rebranding the Proton wallet name into WebAuth.com allows us to reach a much wider audience at this pivotal moment, something we think our community will come to appreciate as our reach grows.
WebAuth is MFA built for Web 3.0, ready to make life better for web users today.
What are the advantages of the WebAuth.com app?
The WebAuth.com app allows you to do everything that a typical MFA app does – like proving your identity and approving transactions – and so much more. With built-in cryptocurrency wallet capabilities, a ready-made swapping feature, and easy cryptocurrency staking, the WebAuth app is more than just a way to do MFA.
If you’re someone who has enjoyed using Proton wallet, you’re going to fall in love with WebAuth.com. While built with an entirely different codebase, it is essentially the same Proton wallet design that you’ve grown accustomed to. However, this new codebase means your experience will be much smoother, faster, and more capable than before.
Here’s a quick rundown on what you can do on the WebAuth app:
- Multi-account support. Simply login with your key or seed phrase, no email or password required.
- Buy, sell, swap, send, and receive cryptocurrency. With a built in exchanges tab, it’s also easier than ever to send crypto to exchanges that support the available mainnet cryptocurrencies.
- Stake cryptocurrency. Staking Proton (XPR) takes just a few clicks, with the APR shown clearly.
- Multi-network support. Some of the most popular blockchains in existence are supported on the WebAuth app, including Proton, ERC20, BEP20, and Stellar.
How does WebAuth.com stack up against the competition?
One of the most popular forms of 2FA is Google Authenticator. This method is popular not because it’s particularly strong, or superior to other alternatives, but simply because it’s Google. It’s the first thing you see when you do a Google search for a 2FA method (imagine that!), and it’s the first option you’re given when setting up a 2FA method for most online accounts.
But just because it’s the most popular choice doesn’t mean it’s the best choice.
Google Authenticator works well enough if you have physical possession of the device that you use for authenticating an account. For example, let’s say you use Google Authenticator in combination with a password for an online financial account. You go to login, you enter your password, and you enter the randomly generated numbers from Google Authenticator. Simple enough, right?
But what happens if you lose your phone, right before you need to access your funds in your online account? Without the device containing the authenticator code, you’re out of luck – get ready to begin a lengthy process of petitioning the online account to trust you with your own funds. Hopefully you have a few business days to spare, as proving your identity using Web 2.0 is going to take a while.
Google Authenticator was good technology for the early 2010’s. We’re well beyond that now, and our needs have drastically evolved. It’s time for something far, far better than what Google can offer.
Let’s take a look at how Google Authenticator misses the mark, and how WebAuth hits the target.
Google Authenticator needs a mobile phone. WebAuth.com works on mobile and desktop.
- Not everyone wants to use their mobile phone to prove their identity, but Google Authenticator requires it. With WebAuth.com, you simply use your verified Proton account to prove your identity – no mobile phone required (signing done over WebAuthn), but you’re welcome to use one.
Google Authenticator has no secure way of backing up your account. WebAuth.com does.
- Google Authenticator’s recovery key is simple and easy to lose. Without it, your account is gone forever. With WebAuth.com usage of Proton Verified Identities, you can recover your account through the use of biometric data – you’re not likely to lose your thumb prints or face anytime soon, are you?
Google Authenticator has a poorly designed, anxiety-inducing UI.
- Timed authentication codes forcing you to scramble to enter the correct numbers in a small window of time is par for the course with Google Authenticator. WebAuth.com is a night-and-day difference when compared to this, allowing you to calmly and easily verify your identity using ever-present biometric data, at your own pace.
__________
WebAuth is the way that identities were meant to be verified. In a world where passwords can be stolen, and devices can be lost, your accounts should be secured with no less than your own biometric information – something that can never be lost or stolen.
Welcome to Web 3.0 – WebAuth is making it possible.
