The Importance of Double Verification

I talked earlier this week about 5 ways to have more effective passwords. For those of you who read to the end of the post may have seen me mention something about double verification. Double Verification (or Multi-Factor Authentication) is a layer of security for your online accounts which requires you to enter a code that changes every time. This code (secondary to your normal password) is generated to you and send to you via text or e-mail verifying that you are the person who wants access to your account. when you receive the verification code you enter it and you are given access to your system. The reason for this is so that when hackers or bots are trying to access your system (potentially) even if they are able to access your account (which one hopes that they can’t) they are required to enter a code that they will not get. Double verification is used for a variety of reasons;

 

1) Better Security – While one password is good, having a second password that is randomly generated is better. having a secondary level of encryption on your various systems makes it so that your information, your e-mail, your social media accounts, even your online bank accounts are more secure. Tell me that being more secure is something you wouldn’t want.  There are some services that simply require it as apart of their enrollment process. This is a good thing because you know that the company is interested in your security if they are requiring you to verify your account.

 

2) Deters Hackers – I should be clear here. it DETERS hackers, it does not stop them from trying to access your account. a couple of years ago I did not have double encryption on my cloud account. I remember getting an e-mail one day with a notification from my cloud account informing me that I had tried to access my account at 8:30 in the morning that day. The only problem with that was that at the time I was walking my kids to school. suffice it to say I enabled double encryption that day and have not had a problem since.

 

3) It costs nothing to enable – Seriously, it costs exactly nothing. for 90% of your accounts (e-mail, cloud account etc.) you will have to go through some setting changes to enable double verification but after that, it’s done. After that, you just have to be able to enter your confirmation code when you log into your systems and you will be good to go.

 

 

Trying to keep yourself secure is one thing that we all do. We lock our doors, we put on security systems. This is not because we don’t trust people, It’s because we know that there are certain people out there who if we were to leave our doors open would simply walk in and take our stuff. In this digital age, it is important for us to take similar precautions with our Digital information and lives. More and more we are existing online and in the cloud. This is a very good thing, however, we do need to take precautions to ensure that we keep our Digital Lives organized, but also safe.

 

Do you use Double Verification? Do you think you’re going to start?