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Daniel
MVM
join:2000-06-26
San Francisco, CA

Daniel

MVM

Enabling Two-factor on Your Internet Accounts

Hi guys, long time no visit. This was my first forum back in the day, so it'll always be home.

Anyway, I wanted to post a quick piece of advice: Consider using an app like Authy (or something similar) to create/maintain two-factor authentication to as many of your key accounts as possible.

More and more sites and services are supporting 2FA, so it's a good time to start. Some that do include:

- Google
- Dropbox
- Github
- Cloudflare
- Amazon (business)
- Wordpress (with a plugin)

...and there are many more.

Having a second factor is a good way to improve your security with minimal effort.

Frank_IT
Premium Member
join:2003-11-01
Montreal

Frank_IT

Premium Member

I second that. It's a good thing to do, and have good password too.
30598988 (banned)
join:2013-10-31

30598988 (banned) to Daniel

Member

to Daniel
Yes it`s a good way to make your site more protectable !!

Ian1
Premium Member
join:2002-06-18
ON

Ian1 to Daniel

Premium Member

to Daniel
I've never been a huge fan of 2 factor. Seems redundant if you use a good password.

It also is a good way of giving Google/Microsoft/Facebook yet another piece of data of yours that they can and WILL sell.

Daniel
MVM
join:2000-06-26
San Francisco, CA

Daniel

MVM

With 2FA, what are they selling?
Daniel

Daniel to Ian1

MVM

to Ian1
An advantage of 2FA is that even if you are somewhat more relaxed on password security, brute forcing will still likely be ineffective.

Ian1
Premium Member
join:2002-06-18
ON

Ian1 to Daniel

Premium Member

to Daniel
A common thing for two factor is to use your cell phone number.
Ian1

Ian1 to Daniel

Premium Member

to Daniel
Better to use a password manager and use good passwords then. Why be "relaxed" at all about the passwords you use?

Daniel
MVM
join:2000-06-26
San Francisco, CA

Daniel

MVM

It doesn't mean you should be relaxed, I agree, but another layer is not a bad thing. You should really be doing both IMO.

Ian1
Premium Member
join:2002-06-18
ON

Ian1

Premium Member

I think measures should be to combat a demonstrated threat. I have never, ever, heard of a person with a good password having their account breached. Not saying it's never happened, but it's certainly not common.
nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ

nonymous (banned) to Daniel

Member

to Daniel
On say cell have had dead batteries and delayed texts. If time happened to be critical I could see two factor as an issue sometimes.
85160670 (banned)
"If U know neither the enemy nor yoursel
join:2013-09-17
Edmonton, AB

85160670 (banned) to Ian1

Member

to Ian1
Agreed ...... "very" good password is my first choice & one time I forgot my smart phone,than coul not auth. ;-(

Ctrl Alt Del
Premium Member
join:2002-02-18

Ctrl Alt Del to nonymous

Premium Member

to nonymous
said by nonymous:

On say cell have had dead batteries and delayed texts. If time happened to be critical I could see two factor as an issue sometimes.

You can download and install an offline Authenticator that will generate the codes for you, so you don't have to worry about getting a delayed text message. Examples include Google's Authenticator on iOS/Android/BlackBerry, and Microsoft's Authenticator on Windows Phone. Since these apps use standard methods for generating codes, you can add any account to one of these apps.

As for your cell battery dieing, that's a tradeoff you make for 2 factor authentication.

Kilroy
MVM
join:2002-11-21
Saint Paul, MN

Kilroy to nonymous

MVM

to nonymous
I'll vouch for that. The iOS 7.0.3 bricked my iPhone. It wasn't a big deal for me, until Blizzard wanted my 2nd factor so I could log in.

Second factor gives you the same protection as a good password. Insurance when the organization requiring them loses control of their user names and passwords.

The real question you should ask is do you trust the 2nd factor provider?