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How to Enable Two-Factor Authentication On Twitter (And Everywhere Else)
” Twitter rolled out two-factor authentication last week, joining a growing group of tech companies to support the important security feature. Two-factor authentication can help mitigate the damage of a password breach or phishing attack.
The Three Authentication Factors
- A knowledge factor, like a password or PIN. Something you know.
- A possession factor, like a key or a hardware dongle. Something you have.
- An inherence factor, like a fingerprint or an iris. Something you are.
The principle comes from the idea that any authentication system—whether it’s the deadbolt on your front door, the lockscreen on your smartphone, or the bouncer at a secret clubhouse—works by confirming something you know, something you have, or something you are. Each of these are called “factors.”
Normal password logins just check whether you know a password, which means anybody else who learns it can log in as you. Adding a second factor—in this case, checking something you have, your phone—means that even if your password is compromised by, say, a keylogger in an Internet cafe, or through a company’s security breach, your account is safe.”
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Eric Allie’s Furious Diaper
Newsmax
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