Two-Factor Authentication: The Big List Of Everywhere You Should Enable It Right Now


Two-factor authentication is one of the best things you can do to make sure your accounts don’t get hacked. Here’s a list of all the popular services that offer it, and where you should go to turn it on right now.

Image remixed from Boguslaw Mazur (Shutterstock).

What Is Two-Factor Authentication?


Passwords, unfortunately, aren’t as secure as they used to be, and if someone acquires your password, they can easily access your account. Two-factor authentication solves that problem.

Google’s anti-spam guru Matt Cutts explained it well for us recently: two-factor authentication is a simple feature that requires both “something you know” (like a password) and “something you have” (like your phone). After you enter your password, you’ll get a second code sent to your phone, and only after you enter it will you get into your account. Think of it as entering a PIN number, then getting a retina scan, the way you’ve seen in every spy movie ever made. It’s a lot more secure than a password that anyone can hack, and keeps unwanted snoopers out of your online accounts.

Where Can I Use It?

Unfortunately, you can’t use two-factor authentication everywhere on the web just yet. But a lot of sites have recently implemented it, including many of our favourite services. Here are some services that support two-factor authentication, with instructions on how to enable it:

If you use any of these services, you should head over and enable two-factor authentication right now — it’s one of the best ways to keep your data (and, in many cases, your money) safe. Of course, you should also make sure you use a unique, secure password for each of your accounts; if you don’t do that already, now’s a good time to start.

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