Understanding 2 Factor Security
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 10/2/2016 1:00:00 AM
Here's a quick overview of how 2 factor security works, and why it's so important to turn on.
One of the most common ways a hacker gains access to a victim's account is by tricking them into giving away their password. The easiest way to do that is by sending them a fake email that looks like it came from their bank or a trusted company like Google that contains links to a fake login page. Because the fake page will have the same logos and layout as the real thing, it's very hard to tell it's not real.
Since the fake login page looks exactly like a page the victim is familiar with, they willingly enter their ID and password, which then sends that information to the identity thief. Once the thief has the victim's ID and password, they can take over the account and cause damages that can take months or even years to fix.
The best defense against this kind of identity theft is to use 2-factor security.
When you turn on 2-factor security for a website, you will get a text message with a 6 digit code every time you sign in using a different device or location. Because the 6 digit code is different each time, an identity thief can't sign in without having physical access to your mobile phone too.
What this means is that you can literally tell everyone your password... even put it on a billboard in Times Square and your account will still be secure, because you can't sign in without the additional code.
Not every site offers 2 factor security, but by now most of the most important ones like Gmail and many banks have started to implement it. The trouble is, you often need to look for it somewhere in your account settings, or you won't even know it's available.
As a rule of thumb, any time a site offers 2-factor (2 Step) verification, you should enable it.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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