2 Step Verification is becoming more and more important in an online world that’s filled with people trying to get their hands on your data. Whether it’s your Evernote, Google or Facebook account or something more precious like your banking details, if you haven’t already done so, get onto any and every site you use that supports 2 Step Verification and enable it! At this point in time, it’s probably the best option there is available to protecting your data.
Check out our HowTo for activating 2 Step Verification for your Google Account
When you enable 2 Step Verification on a Google account – or any web based application for that matter), you have the option to use an app-based token system to authenticate yourself. If you use more than one service, you’ll quickly pile up all the services’ related apps, so this is where Authy comes into the picture.
Authy works for any site or service that uses the Google Authenticator system. Use of an app (instead of an SMS) is my preference for 2 Step Verification, as it doesn’t require your mobile phone to be in service range.
Some things I really like about Authy:
- Ability to add a pin to even open the app.
- Cloud backup of your accounts, so you can change your device quickly and easily
- Multiple device support
Great if you’re not quite as security conscious as you could be and leave your phone lying around at times, leaving you vulnerable to someone quickly grabbing a code – or perhaps just grabbing your phone.
Authy is a pretty simple app that’s useful and free. If you’re a 2 Step Verification user, it’s definitely worth a look.
If you’re not a 2 Step Verification user, why not? Do you have any other apps you’d recommend?
Backing up to the cloud sort of defeats the purpose of 2 factor authentication.
I am using this for non-critical stuff though but still using the official Google Authenticator for my Google accounts w/ offline backup codes in my safe for when I need to reset it.
Before you use this app, have a read of the privacy policy https://www.authy.com/privacy
hint they track location, URLs, call logs and SMS logs….. to name a few things
I highly recommend everyone read the privacy policy before using this app
https://www.authy.com/privacy
They collect everything about you, from location and URLs visited to call/sms logs!
I’ve been using this app for a while now and highly recommend it for anyone using multiple devices on a regular basis, or regularly flashing custom ROMs.
Maybe they’ll have Android Wear support soon?