How do I make a key file undeletable in Python

Question

0.00/5 (No votes)

See more:

I am writing a script that allows users to use a USB stick as a 2FA Login Key on their computer, but if they accidentally delete the key on the USB their computer would potentially permanently log them out, so I would like to make the key file undeletable by the user.

Can I make the drive read-only in python, or are there any other solutions to stop the file being deleted?

What I have tried:

I cannot find any documentation on doing this, except an old python 2.0 stack overflow thread, so i don't know if it is possible in python 3.11 anymore.

Posted 28-Mar-23 22:09pm

bizbazboz

Updated 29-Mar-23 6:22am

v2

Add a Solution

Comments

Richard MacCutchan 29-Mar-23 4:10am

If you have found a suggested sample then try it and see what happens. If it does not work then you can post the details above and people will try to help you.

Member 15627495 29-Mar-23 5:05am

the file, or the usb key, have to be 'read only'.

by windows resource it belong to the files attributes,
for the usb key 'diskpart' can protect an usb key, or while processing 'format' action.

bizbazboz 29-Mar-23 6:00am

can I make it read-only using python though?
do i need to get diskpart from pip, or is it built in?

Member 15627495 29-Mar-23 6:20am

the easy way is to set the file as 'read-only',
you need to include in your script few Windows os package to interact with the Files resources and make the file key as read-only.

Dave Kreskowiak 29-Mar-23 12:23pm

That won't work. There is nothing stopping a reasonably knowledgeable user from removing the "readonly" tag.

1 solution

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

Dave Kreskowiak · Answer 1 · 2023-03-29T06:22:00

The problem is your "USB Key" isn't a "key" at all. It's a drive with a file on it.

EDIT: Also, there is nothing stopping the users from copying the "key file" to multiple USB drives and handing those out, completely defeating your "security".

You can get USB Key hardware that is not a drive, completely removing the ability for users to delete the key "file".

Google for "USB hardware key".