Just last week, Instagram confirmed reports that it's working on modifications to its two-factor authentication setup that will allow you to create passcodes in your favourite security app - like Google Authenticator, for example. While this isn't the sexiest of news, it's great to see this security practice growing in popularity: using an app, rather than a text message, to authenticate into other apps and services.

Until now, in order to use two-factor authentication (2FA) with your Facebook account you needed to give Facebook your phone number. Which seemed a little dumb as, in order to improve your privacy, you needed to give the largest data collection service in the world more data. But that's changed with a new 2FA system coming into play that lets you use third party authenticators.

Facebook recently added two-factor authentication (2FA) to their network, plugging a long-standing security issue. The new system works using several different options for the second authentication factor including a security code sent to you via SMS. But it turns out people got a lot more messages than they bargained for when they took this option. As a result, users started getting notifications over SMS that had nothing to do with security.

If you get a text from Facebook, then you probably don't want to respond -- even if your response is something along the lines of "Stop texting me."

A long, long time ago, having a good password was all you needed to make sure your Gmail (or other online) account was secure. Now, if you don't have two-factor authentication, or 2FA, then you're missing out on a really simple way to protect yourself. Why, then, do less than 10 per cent of Gmail users have 2FA enabled? Great question.

Dropbox has jumped on the two-factor authentication (2FA) bandwagon with changes to their mobile app. Now, when an attempt is made to log into your Dropbox account, a notification is sent to your mobile device where you can tap a button to authenticate your identity. There's no code to enter.

One of the primary vehicles used by bad guys to access our systems is stealing log-in credentials in order to impersonate real users. All the security processes and tools in the world are circumvented when someone has your username and password. That's where two-factor authentication (2FA) comes into play. 2FA works by adding another authentication challenge to the equation. It's not just about what you know - your password, it's also about something you have. That's where the authenticator apps from Microsoft and Google come into play.