One of the worst nightmares for anyone who has a Facebook profile or any other online account is that an attacker can sneak in and pass himself off for us, sharing material that doesn't concern us or spying on everything we do. This type of violation is still very fashionable, so much so that the methods for spying on online profiles are among the most sought after and popular on the net. If you want to defend your Facebook account from cyber attacks of this type, you can use secure authentication to access Facebook, Google, Amazon and other online services (such as Amazon for example), called two-factor authentication.
With this method, even knowing the password of your account, you will be asked for a code (sent via SMS or via app) in order to authenticate yourself correctly; in this way the attacker cannot simply use your password to access undisturbed!
This type of option requires the user to enter, after the login password, a variable code that can be received via SMS or that can be generated using a phone app such as Google Authenticator (available for iPhone and Android)
It is important, to avoid being left without access in case you no longer have the smartphone that receives the codes, to also set a secondary phone number or an email address, in order to still be able to recover access even with two-party authentication factors.
In addition, it is also important to print or mark the backup codes somewhere, which are instead fixed codes to be used to access the account in case it is blocked.
Even if these are very tight security measures, it is important to set them to stay safe, also because on the computers and phones that we use every day you can make sure that the request for the code is disabled, so as not to do this every day authentication if we are sure that nobody can access that device.
In this guide you will see how to obtain two-factor secure authentication on Facebook, Google, Amazon and other sites, plus at the end of the article I will show you a series of apps that you can use to speed up secure authentication by using your smartphone to the generation of the codes, so that no one can ever come to spy on your profile (obviously you will have to be very careful to leave your smartphone lying around without protections!).
READ ALSO: 5 ways to create secure and easy to remember passwords
LINK | Security and Google Account
Within this web page click in the sidebar on the item Access to Google . Here you will find the two-step verification item, with which to enable secure authentication.
Please enter a valid phone number to confirm secure authentication. From now on you will receive an SMS every time you want to access this Google account, even when you use it on smartphones (if you buy a new smartphone for example, you will still be asked for the SMS code) or use it on a PC.
If you have already configured a smartphone for two-step verification, the latter will be used as a "secure access device": a Google notification will appear on your smartphone every time someone uses your credentials, it is up to you to choose whether it is legitimate this request or is an attacker who wants to access your credentials.
READ ALSO: Login and login Google and Gmail with two-step verification
LINK | Facebook Settings
Once you have entered the account, click on the upside-down triangle symbol at the top right and, in the drop-down menu that opens, click on Settings . You will find yourself in front of all the settings for the Facebook account; to activate two-way authentication, simply go to the Security and access menu and click on the item Use two-factor authentication .
If you have not already done so, you will be asked to enter a phone number where you can receive the SMS with the confirmation code.
Once you have entered the mobile number, log out of Facebook and try to log in again: in addition to the password, you will be asked for the code sent to the number indicated on Facebook, so as to prevent access to users in possession of the password for petty purposes.
Even the Amazon password can be stolen, with all the risks involved! Amazon stores the data of your credit card used for purchases, making transactions automatically.
If an attacker gets his hands on your password, he can buy in your name or scam you by buying things you don't want. To avoid this I highly recommend you to activate secure authentication for Amazon!
To enable two-factor authentication on Amazon, first of all, access the e-commerce site settings from the following link.
LINK | Amazon
Among the menus available click on Access and security settings ; here you will find the item Advanced security settings .
Please enter a valid phone number and enable two-factor authentication for your account.
From now on you will receive a confirmation code via SMS every time someone tries to log in with your credentials to Amazon.
Before that happens you can protect your PayPal account with two-factor authentication. To activate it, enter your PayPal credentials on the following site.
LINK | PayPal
Within this web page, click on the access key item.
You will be asked to register a mobile number, so as to receive a code to be used at each access to the service. Once configured, log out of PayPal and try to log back in: after entering your username and password you will be asked for the code sent via SMS to continue, so as to prevent any attacker from appropriating your money.
With this method, even knowing the password of your account, you will be asked for a code (sent via SMS or via app) in order to authenticate yourself correctly; in this way the attacker cannot simply use your password to access undisturbed!
This type of option requires the user to enter, after the login password, a variable code that can be received via SMS or that can be generated using a phone app such as Google Authenticator (available for iPhone and Android)
It is important, to avoid being left without access in case you no longer have the smartphone that receives the codes, to also set a secondary phone number or an email address, in order to still be able to recover access even with two-party authentication factors.
In addition, it is also important to print or mark the backup codes somewhere, which are instead fixed codes to be used to access the account in case it is blocked.
Even if these are very tight security measures, it is important to set them to stay safe, also because on the computers and phones that we use every day you can make sure that the request for the code is disabled, so as not to do this every day authentication if we are sure that nobody can access that device.
In this guide you will see how to obtain two-factor secure authentication on Facebook, Google, Amazon and other sites, plus at the end of the article I will show you a series of apps that you can use to speed up secure authentication by using your smartphone to the generation of the codes, so that no one can ever come to spy on your profile (obviously you will have to be very careful to leave your smartphone lying around without protections!).
READ ALSO: 5 ways to create secure and easy to remember passwords
Secure authentication for Google
Your Google Account is also at risk! The Google password can be used to access your Gmail inbox, your YouTube account and all other services associated with Google. If an attacker has your password, Google can also use your Google credit or your credit card to buy apps you don't want on his smartphone! You can protect your Gooogle account by enabling two-factor secure authentication; to activate it, visit the following page and enter the credentials of your Google account to be protected.LINK | Security and Google Account
Within this web page click in the sidebar on the item Access to Google . Here you will find the two-step verification item, with which to enable secure authentication.
Please enter a valid phone number to confirm secure authentication. From now on you will receive an SMS every time you want to access this Google account, even when you use it on smartphones (if you buy a new smartphone for example, you will still be asked for the SMS code) or use it on a PC.
If you have already configured a smartphone for two-step verification, the latter will be used as a "secure access device": a Google notification will appear on your smartphone every time someone uses your credentials, it is up to you to choose whether it is legitimate this request or is an attacker who wants to access your credentials.
READ ALSO: Login and login Google and Gmail with two-step verification
Secure authentication for Facebook
To activate secure authentication on Facebook, simply access the account from the website.LINK | Facebook Settings
Once you have entered the account, click on the upside-down triangle symbol at the top right and, in the drop-down menu that opens, click on Settings . You will find yourself in front of all the settings for the Facebook account; to activate two-way authentication, simply go to the Security and access menu and click on the item Use two-factor authentication .
If you have not already done so, you will be asked to enter a phone number where you can receive the SMS with the confirmation code.
Once you have entered the mobile number, log out of Facebook and try to log in again: in addition to the password, you will be asked for the code sent to the number indicated on Facebook, so as to prevent access to users in possession of the password for petty purposes.
Secure authentication for Amazon
Even the Amazon password can be stolen, with all the risks involved! Amazon stores the data of your credit card used for purchases, making transactions automatically.
If an attacker gets his hands on your password, he can buy in your name or scam you by buying things you don't want. To avoid this I highly recommend you to activate secure authentication for Amazon!
To enable two-factor authentication on Amazon, first of all, access the e-commerce site settings from the following link.
LINK | Amazon
Among the menus available click on Access and security settings ; here you will find the item Advanced security settings .
Please enter a valid phone number and enable two-factor authentication for your account.
From now on you will receive a confirmation code via SMS every time someone tries to log in with your credentials to Amazon.
Secure authentication for PayPal
PayPal is also at risk! If your PayPal password is beyond your control and ends up in the hands of an attacker, he can transfer all your balance to another PayPal account or to a current account, stealing money.Before that happens you can protect your PayPal account with two-factor authentication. To activate it, enter your PayPal credentials on the following site.
LINK | PayPal
Within this web page, click on the access key item.
You will be asked to register a mobile number, so as to receive a code to be used at each access to the service. Once configured, log out of PayPal and try to log back in: after entering your username and password you will be asked for the code sent via SMS to continue, so as to prevent any attacker from appropriating your money.
