
In such cases you must rely on app passwords-a password you generate on the main website to use with a specific app (such as Xbox Live). That interface has no facility to accept the second code. For example, if you have 2FA set up with Microsoft, that's great-until you try to log into Xbox Live on the Xbox 360. Here's a video Google made about two-step verification basics it provides a good idea of what's involved.īe aware that setting up 2FA can actually break the access within some other services. The codes in authenticator apps sync across your accounts, so you can scan a QR code on a phone and get your six-digit access code on your browser, if supported.

Password manager LastPass launched a 2FA authenticator for iOS and Android as well. Twilio Authy (free on iOS including Apple Watch, Android, BlackBerry, macOS, Windows, and the Chrome browser) and Duo Mobile (on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone) do the same thing, and with far more color and style both make Google's app look washed out and ancient. The arguable leader in this area is Google Authenticator (free on Android, iOS, and BlackBerry). The app, pre-set by you to work with the service, has a constantly rotating set of codes you can use whenever needed-and it doesn't even require a connection. More and more services support a specialized app on the phone called an "authenticator," which will do that same job. In most cases, the extra authentication is simply a numeric code a few digits sent to your phone, which can only be used once. The problem is, we are far from ubiquity on having biometric scanners for fingerprints and retinas as that second factor. Two-factor means the system is using two of these options." Rubenking puts it, "there are three generally recognized factors for authentication: something you know (such as a password), something you have (such as a hardware token or cell phone), and something you are (such as your fingerprint). Even the White House has a campaign asking you #TurnOn2FA.Īs PCMag's lead security analyst Neil J. It's sometimes called 2FA, or used interchangeably with the terms "two-step" and "verification" depending on the marketing.


That's why many internet services, a number of which have felt the pinch of being hacked, have embraced two-factor authentication for their users. What you really need is a second factor of authentication.

But what is a person afraid for their security to do? Well, you should definitely change your passwords-regularly! By sheer brute force or simple phishing, passwords are, to be honest, a pretty laughable way of authentication. In 2014, the Heartbleed exploit left everyone's log-in information potentially up for grabs thanks to one itty-bitty piece of code. Best Hosted Endpoint Protection and Security Software.
