Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Secure Yourself by Using Two-Step Verification on These 16 Web Services

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

OK, I agree that passwords can be hacked and that two-factor authentication is more secure. For example, "Facebook's 'Login Approvals' feature requires you to enter a code whenever you login from an unrecognized computer. The code will be sent  to your mobile phone via SMS." But I have resisted the repeated (and repeated, and repeated) entreaties of Google and others to use my mobile phone for this, because I know that they just want my mobile phone number (and hence, access to a billing account, courtesy of my phone service provider). It has nothing to do with security, and everything to do with marketing and data analysis. There are mechanisms to do it without a smartphone, but as you can see, it's a lot of fuss and bother (so much easier to hand over your verifiable phone identity). But more and more solutions are coming on stream, and two-factor authentication may well become mainstream (and mandatory) in the next year or two.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Dec 22, 2024 5:42 p.m.

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