#TechTip Use 2 factor authentication for the websites that have it. Makes it that much harder to hack & will alert you if someone tries
We continue our week of Password protection in our Tech Tips blog for the week. As we mentioned the past few days, changing your password is important, and choosing a password that is complex enough not to be broken easily is essential to online security. Along with that, each online login should have its own password, and you should use a password manager to keep them all secured.
Today we look at 2 Factor authentication. Many website are starting to implement this to increase security to its users by making it difficult for someone just with a password to access your account.
What is 2 Factor Authentication?
The concept behind 2 factor authentication is that you basically have 2 passwords: Your normal password, and a separately generated password that is given to you each time you log on, or an item that you must use to access your information. You may be most familiar with 2 factor authentication in the corporate world using secure login tokens. When a company needs you to log into their secure computer system, you will have to enter your password, as well as a code generated in the token key. Typically these systems have been reserved for businesses who can afford the high security, but not it is becoming made available to average users through different means.
For portals like Gmail, Google has introduced 2 factor authentication using text messages sent to your smartphone. When you activate it and log on, a text message with a 6 digit code is sent via SMS to your mobile phone. You then enter that number into the next screen after your password and then you are let in. The obvious benefit to this is that even if someone gets your password, they won’t be able to access your email unless they can also intercept that text message.
Twitter as well has added additional verification as a security feature to your twitter account. Twitter has both SMS verification as well as a feature built into the Twitter app for Android and iOS phones which require you to have your smartphone when you log into Twitter. This ensures that anyone wishing to access your account will need both your password and your smartphone to get in. More information on Twitters additional verification features can be found on their Support page.
PayPal has its own version of 2 factor authentication which includes either SMS or a digital token. When you log on to your enabled Paypal account, you will be asked for a second step. You can either have an SMS message sent to your phone, or you can get one of their authentication tokens. They use a credit card sized token that generates a new passcode every time you press the button on the card. It costs a few dollars to get the card, but its good security if you don’t want to use the SMS feature.
If you are concerned about access to a particular site, you can look in their help sections to see if they provide additional sign in options that will give you the extra security you need.