You know, the one you no longer have.I apologize if this has been discussed before. Then it happens: a request for the 2FA code that was sent to your phone. In a panic, you realize that you’ll need to remotely wipe the device. Regardless of whether it’s an Android phone or iPhone, you can use the available tracking tools to attempt to locate your lost or stolen phone.īut if it has been turned off, these services won’t be able to locate it. Here’s the scenario: you have one phone and it gets stolen or lost. When is Two Factor Authentication a Problem? More specifically, what happens if you lose the phone you use for 2FA and then you can’t sign in to the very tools you might use to find your phone because…you know…you don’t have your phone.

Of course, there’s a cloud for every silver lining and, in the case of 2FA, that cloud comes in the form of what happens if you lose your phone.

For the most part, additional layers of security are a good thing. That second layer of security is what makes using 2FA a really good idea. RELATED: What Is Two-Factor Authentication, and Why Do I Need It? That code might come from an app like Google Authenticator or Authy, or it might come from a text message that the service sends you. After you enter a password, you’re asked to enter a code that shows up on your phone. When you sign into a site or app, it asks for your password. While that can be something like a smart card or USB key, for most people it’s their smart phone.

The something you have is a physical thing you own. The two factors that the name refer to are generally identified as something you know and something you have. The something you know is your password or passcode.

Put simply, 2FA gives you additional security for an account over just using your password. But if you have it enabled on your Apple or Google accounts, this could really come back to bite you in the worst way. Two factor authentication (2FA) is generally a great security tool.

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