Online security is important. We’ve been doing what we can to get that message out there, including publication of our own online security ‘guide’. One of the easiest ways to be more secure online is to use 2 Factor Authentication (or 2FA).
A popular service for managing your 2FA “vault” is Authy, because of its multi-device syncing and backup functionality, as well as its availability across multiple platforms and browsers. One small inconvenience until recently has been its reliance on a PIN number to unlock the app. However, it looks like that’s changing: according to an update to the Android app today, Authy is preparing to add fingerprint to unlock capabilities to their Android app.
While entering a PIN isn’t a big deal, the fewer speed bumps in any process, the greater its likelihood of adoption. There are those who say that fingerprint to unlock isn’t as secure as other methods, and technically they are correct. However, surely turning on 2FA and using Authy via Fingerprint to unlock is a net gain over having no 2FA at all?
If you use “Google Authenticator” style 2FA or you want to start using 2FA, I highly recommend Authy. It’s in the list of first 5 apps I install on EVERY Android Device I use, and if you don’t use 2FA, you should really think about starting today. Now if only more companies would switch to using Google Authenticator style 2FA so they could all be in the same app and I didn’t have to rely on SMS.
Grab the new Authy from the Playstore today:
As a side note… I know SafeInCloud isn’t necessarily among the more popular password managers out there, but since it doesn’t rely on a 3rd party server to store your passwords (unless you use a cloud service, which you probably already trust anyway, for device syncing), I’d rate it as among the more secure. But a short while ago, SIC added support for Authenticator-style 2FA right within the app. You simply set up the field via a QR code, just as you would in Authenticator itself, and the new code appears as another field for that site. But yes, if… Read more »
I used to use Safe in the Cloud because of the 2 service security, but alas no ChromeOS support. I have to say having used both Lastpass is better at what it does.
What Chromebook do you use, @duncan_j:disqus ? I’ve been running Android apps on my HP 13 G1 since they became available in the dev channel, and now in the beta channel, and SafeInCloud works almost flawlessly (just a couple of UI things related to using keyboard input instead of touch). I couldn’t work out how to manage custom data types in LastPass. For some sites I want to store my member ID as well as my login/email and password. I also want to store my drivers license and passport details in there. LastPass only seemed to store websites, usernames, passwords,… Read more »
I’ve got a HPG4 on stable, still no apps 🙁
Ahh right. Yeah I couldn’t help myself but to dive in.. in no small part to get SIC working.
For many apps, the experience is still meh, because the devs haven’t taken into account keyboard/mouse navigation. But some, including SIC, it’s almost perfect.
I realize this post is 4+ months old but I had to point out that LastPass definitely has the ability to do what you mentioned. I’ve been a LastPass Premium customer for 7 years now, and they have had these features for as long as I can remember. When you edit a site, near the bottom of the window there will be a wrench icon, this will allow you to edit/add/delete any form fields. This would allow you to store, and have it auto fill if desired, custom fields like member ID etc. The Secure Notes feature is accessible from… Read more »