This is the age of internet fraud and digital crimes. It is very difficult for anyone new to the internet and online activity to be aware of being highly secure when accessing online accounts. There is great importance given to usernames, passwords and foolproof security logins on the net. But, do you know that there is another great way to secure your online activities? This is known as the Two Factor Authentication or 2FA. There are even chances for many people to be using the two step verification every single day, but you are not aware of what it is and how it works to provide you with an extra security layer.
What is it?
Two-factor authentication or two step verification is a way of identifying the users by making use of two different components. The components that are used in the verification may be something that the user is aware of or something that the user possesses or could be dearer to the user. All modern day digital crimes and threats like malware, phishing, ATM skimming, etc., are ineffective when they face the 2FA. It is also called the multifactor authentication that needs not just your username and password, but something extra that only the user knows. So, any intruder cannot do anything with just your username and password. He or she would need the special piece of information to steal your online data. The two-step verification has now become very popular among many email services like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Outlook.
Why is it Important?
The 2FA has an extra barrier that you need to pass apart from the normal username and password details to access your online account. If you are having a bank account, then this is how two-factor authentication works. If you are looking to log in to your bank account using your mobile phone, then you will first need to enter the usual username and password in the login page. After this, your bank will send a security code to your mobile phone in the form of a test message. You will have to key in this security code in the box provided for the same to get authorization to access your bank account details on your mobile. This is a very safe way to secure your online transactions from internet fraudsters and hackers. Only the person who possesses the physical device to which the text message comes will be able to use the code to access the account.
Using 2FA
It is important that you turn on the two step verification for highly sensitive accounts like email accounts, bank accounts and any place where you have confidential and valuable information stored and used. If even a single component in the two-factor authorization is missing or entered incorrectly or misspelled, then the person will not have access to the account that he is trying to access.
There is no doubt that 2FA offers an extra layer of added security for all your important and confidential online information.