ISSUE 62 • ANDROID ADVISOR 91FEATUREis super convenient, especially if the account you’re
signing into is on your phone.
Should you use it? Any two-factor authentication is
better than none, but if you’re serious about security,
SMS won’t cut it.
Authenticator apps
What it is: Like SMS-based two-factor authentication,
authenticator apps generate codes that need to
be inputted when prompted. However, rather
than sending them over unencrypted SMS, they’re
generated within an app, and you don’t even need an
Internet connection to get one.
How to set it up: To get started with an authentication
app, you’ll need to download one from the Play Store
or the App Store. Google Authenticator works great for
your Google account and anything you use it to log
into, but there are other great one’s as well, including
Authy, LastPass, Microsoft and a slew of other
individual companies, such as Blizzard, Sophos, and
Salesforce. If an app or service supports authenticator
apps, it’ll supply a QR code that you can scan or enter
on your phone.
How it works: When you open your chosen
authenticator app and scan the code, a 6-figure code
will appear, just like with SMS 2FA. Input that code into
the app and you’re good to go. After the initial setup,
you’ll be able to go into the app to get a code without
scanning a QR code whenever you need one.