Ever find yourself juggling endless passwords, worried about whether they’re secure enough? You’re not alone. In today’s digital landscape, protecting sensitive accounts and data goes beyond just a clever passphrase. Enter multi-factor authentication (MFA)—an effective layer of defense that makes sure a random intruder can’t waltz in with stolen credentials.
Time-Based One-Time Password (TOTP) systems are a powerful way to implement MFA, producing short-lived codes that are invalid mere seconds later. If you’ve ever used an authenticator app on your phone, you’ve already seen TOTP at work. However, building your own TOTP generator can offer greater flexibility for custom workflows, automation, and even just tinkering to learn something new.
In this tutorial, we’ll walk through a PowerShell script that securely stores your TOTP secret keys in the Windows Registry, then generates fresh codes whenever you need them. By the end, you’ll have a handy, easily integrable tool that keeps your secrets encrypted and your one-time passwords safe and ready on demand. Let’s jump in!