I’ve been writing about online security for years now, and covered different two factor authentication (2FA) apps you can use. But I’ve not gone in-depth about it on my blog. I have written a general post on how to protect your accounts online and set up 2FA, but I wanted to go a bit deeper into what I’m using personally. You can read that original post here, which serves as a basic how to:

https://www.nafisa.co.za/how-to-protect-your-accounts/

Having gone through a few different 2FA apps, I’ve stuck with using Authy as my preferred 2FA platform.

I’m not a fan of repeating what I’ve written but because nobody takes it seriously or one only pays attention until after it happens to them, i’m going to say it again, using SMS for 2FA is the least safe option. SIM card cloning is rife in SA so for that reason alone, I would not recommend it. Plus if your phone gets stolen and it takes a while to do a SIM swap, while you are using a temp phone, you will be locked out of your accounts.

Use an authentication app instead. Here are options to consider:

  • Google Authenticator
  • Microsoft Authenticator
  • LastPass
  • Duo
  • Authenticator App (2Stable)
  • Authy (my pick)

Here’s why I prefer using Authy:

  • It has multi device support – this is NB which means you don’t have to rely on your smartphone solely. You need to go into the settings and turn this option on. I have Authy logged into my Mac as a backup if I can’t access my smartphone.
  • I like the layout of the app. No bells and whistles. And you can create an iOS widget if you want and if you rearrange them to your most needed, it will appear on the top with codes without opening the app.
  • You can secure your data through backups and it uses encryption so Authy will never know what your passwords are. This option requires you to create a backup password, in addition to login ones.
  • When you launch the app, you can add another layer of security with a PIN code or face ID or protect the entire app.

Other basic features:

  • You can add accounts manually or by scanning a QR code
  • The codes are time based and you can easily see the 30 second countdown
  • It works offline
  • It’s available on Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Linux

You can read more info on their website: https://authy.com/