Elon Musk recently announced Twitter will be limiting SMS authentication to subscribers of its new Twitter Blue subscription. After March 20, if you don’t subscribe to Twitter Blue and you do want the increased security of two-factor authentication, you’ll need to choose to authenticate through an app or hardware key. — AP
Two-factor authentication is a security option you should be using wherever you can.
It is an extra layer of protection that requires you to enter a code after you enter your login and password to log into various websites and services.
A lot of two-factor authentication is done via text message. You enter your login and password, and you’ll receive a code via text message to enter before you get access to whatever you’re logging into.
This is a convenient method of authenticating, but other methods are more secure, including hardware security keys and authenticator apps.
Given the option, most consumers will pick SMS (text message) because they don’t need to set up anything to make it work.
Twitter offers all three options when you turn on two-factor authentication.
Elon Musk recently announced Twitter will be limiting SMS authentication to subscribers of its new Twitter Blue subscription. After March 20, if you don’t subscribe to Twitter Blue and you do want the increased security of two-factor authentication, you’ll need to choose to authenticate through an app or hardware key.
I made the switch today away from SMS.
At work, we use an authenticator app called Duo Mobile, which isn’t free, but it works for Twitter.
There are free authenticator apps you can use, including Authy, Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator. These are apps you load on your phone. You can download either from the Google Play Store or iOS App Store.
Setting up an authenticator app is quick and easy.
When you enable two-factor authentication in your Twitter settings and choose to use the authenticator app, Twitter will generate a QR code on the screen.
Launch the authenticator app on your phone and you’ll be presented a screen to set up your first account. Touch the option to scan a QR code and point your camera at the QR code on your computer screen and you’re done.
Now when you log into Twitter, you’ll be asked for your login name (usually your Twitter name), then your password, then a code. You get the code by opening your authenticator app. A new code is generated every 30 seconds, after which the codes expire.
Once you enter the code, you’ll be logged in.
But what if you lose your phone? How can you log in? Twitter will generate a single-use backup code you should copy and keep in a safe place in case you need it. Microsoft Authenticator and Authy also let you back up your two-factor settings to the cloud so you can restore them on a new phone.
According to Twitter’s latest account security report, only 2.6% of Twitter users secure their accounts with two-factor authentication and of those, 74.4% use SMS.
For more detailed instructions, go to help.twitter.com and enter “two factor” in the search bar. – Tribune News Service
