Anchor: Hardware-based authentication using SanDisk USB devices

Anchor showed up promising a slick trick: plug in a SanDisk USB stick and—voilà—your app’s database unlocks; yank it, and it locks again. Cross‑platform, clean idea, and the code’s on GitHub. But the crowd didn’t buy the “hardware security” crown. The top replies fired off like popcorn, calling it security cosplay rather than a real lock.

The loudest take? It’s just checking a USB’s serial number—the little ID that tells your computer what’s plugged in. Critics said any app can read that, it shows up in system logs, and worse, a fake device can pretend to have the same number. One commenter spelled it out in plain English: real hardware security usually means a sealed, tamper‑proof chip that proves who it is with secret math—not a serial sticker you can copy.

Drama level: spicy. The thread swung between “cute demo” and “dangerously naive,” with jokes like “So… my flash drive is my password now?” and memes about locking your house by recognizing the license plate. A few folks tried a gentler take—this could be a convenience toggle, not Fort Knox—but the room still booed the “hardware‑based” label. The community verdict: interesting concept, misleading branding, and a teachable moment in the difference between a key and a keychain.