MFA/2FA
PopCykol Tip
What is a Multi-Factor Authentication?
MFA stands for Multi-Factor Authentication. It is also called 2FA or Two-Factor Authentication or even Two Step Verification. MFA is an additional way to secure things like emails and banking.
You can use it to get into a bank account online, your social media account, business/retail websites, and your emails.
MFA adds an extra layer of protection from a bad hacker who wants to steal your information, like Personally Identifiable Information (PII). It includes things like your name, home address, phone number, birthdate, email, and Social Security Number (SSN).
Why is MFA important?
Use MFA when you need to access information for school, work, banking, emails, social media accounts, apps on a phone, and other private information.
When do you use MFA?
Where should you use MFA?
Implement MFA on all sites that you access.
The site you’re visiting typically has a setting that will let you enable or turn on MFA, like Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and banking sites as well. Typically, it’s a toggle that you switch on.
Once you enable MFA on a site, you will get a call, text message, or email to verify your identity and that you want to access that site. You can also use an authenticator, like Google Authenticator. The authenticator will provide a code to input into the site to verify your identity and ensure you want to access the site.
If you get a notification that someone is trying to access the site and it wasn’t you, you can deny access. PopCykol recommends immediately changing your password to a strong password. See our PopCykol Tips - Passwords, for more information about creating strong passwords.
